I stare into the fire, away from the scrutiny of his gaze.
“You’re not convincing, you know.” He stretches his long legs in front of him and leans back on his palms.
“I’m not trying to convince you of anything.”
“But there’s something you won’t say.” He narrows his eyes in challenge. “You’re keeping secrets.”
“Because I don’t know you.” I toss my hands up in the air. “What do you want from me? You want to read my high school diary?”
“I want you to be truthful.”
“I have been nothing but truthful. You just refuse to believe a word that comes out of my mouth.”
“Can you blame me?”
“I’ve never lied to you,” I whisper fervently. “But I don’t trust you, just like you don’t trust me. Even if I did tell you everything, you’d probably just choose not to believe me.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” he says simply.
I sit back down with a sigh.
“This is all new to me. A week ago, I thought Zadyn was a little old bookshop owner. My friend. Then he—he showed me this book. Basically forced me to recite these words, and next thing I know, Zadyn shifts into this hot guy, and I’m swallowed up by a puff of black smoke. I woke up in the Bone Forest, and you and your men picked me up. Zadyn snuck into the castle and explained everything. A week ago, my life was mundane—boring. I was blissfully unaware that magic was real, that the fae were real, and that, apparently, I’m a witch.”
I try to decipher his expression.
“Do you believe me?”
He nods after a moment of pregnant silence. “You’ve never accessed your magic?”
“When I read those words from the book, my hands, they—” I look at my palms carefully. “I all but burned a hole through the table. When I tried to do it again, nothing happened. I haven’t been able to do anything out of the ordinary since then.”
He’s quiet for a long time.
“What made you think I might be a witch in the first place?” I ask, earning his steady gaze. “When you found me that day in the Bone Forest, you took me straight to the king.”
“I was just following protocol. The king ordered every witch found in our lands to be brought before him.” He scratches the stubble shadowing his sharp jawline as he studies the fire. I fight the urge to lean in and lick it.
Oh my god, I need to stop.
“I first suspected it when I saw the shadow smoke. That’show Blackbloods used to travel. They were called shadow walkers. They could leap from one side of the world to the other in a matter of seconds, riding the shadows. Not many Bluebloods can swing that.” He pauses. “Also, from the way yourOrCatfriend was defending you, I assumed he was a familiar.”
“Is that a witch thing?”
“Yes, only witches have familiars. Thousands of years ago, it was considered uncommon for a witch not to have a familiar. Now, it’s the opposite. It’s rare among the Reds and Blues.”
“Do you think I made that smoke happen?” I ask. “I had just assumed it was the book.”
“I think the book acted like a catalyst in getting you here,” he says finally. “When you said those words out loud, I think you opened a door to our world and unlocked a part of yourself you didn’t know existed.”
I sit with this for a moment, studying the familiar planes of his face.
“I’ll go back to the castle,” I concede. “On one condition.”
He sighs in vexation but motions for me to continue.
“You bring me to the king, and we all discuss this like sensible adults. Then I will decide to stay or go.”
“Done.”
