“I don’t need you,” she heard herself say. “But I’m glad you’re here.”
Slowly, invitingly, she tipped her head forward. Hudson studied her for a moment and then stepped closer to pick the debris out of her hair. Ellory wanted to fold herself against him, to close her eyes and know that she was safe, but she held herself still before she embarrassed herself again. His touch was gentle and focused. She let that soothe her frazzled nerves instead.
“What happened?” he murmured.
“I think I found one of the buildings for the School for the Unseen Arts,” Ellory said. “I did a summoning spell, and it led me to a clearing with a schoolhouse in it. I think it might have been the oldest one, going back to Letitia Rose’s time.” She told him everything she had found inside but excluded the portrait of his father. She would tell him, eventually, but not now, not like this. She thought of how small he’d sounded on the balcony, recounting how many lies his family had told him, and she didn’t want to cut him with another one when he was already so worried. “I think something terrible happened there. That scream…it was like the death echo of Malcolm Mayhew’s murder. It wasawful. If this is where Tabby died, then she was in incredible pain the whole time.”
Hudson cupped her cheeks, his thumbs caressing her damp face. Her breath caught. She hadn’t realized that she was still crying, andnow she was paralyzed by the look in his eyes, the protectiveness of his touch, the safety she’d found in his company.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered. “So, so glad.”
“I’m getting mixed signals here,” she whispered back.
Hudson laughed, more breath than sound, more relieved than amused. “I care about you, Morgan. Isn’t that obvious by now?”
Ellory was frustrated with him, and perhaps she always would be, but she couldn’t deny he was right. Itwasobvious. He had worried about her, and he was here. Every time she called him, he was there. Even when she didn’t call him, he was there. She had spent her entire life living for other people, embodying her parents’ hopes, keeping track of her aunt’s medicines, making her own meals even when she worked late. She didn’t need Hudson Graves, or anyone else, to take care of her.
But damn did it feel good that someone wanted to.
“We need to talk to Colt,” she said, shuddering at everything she had just seen. “Maybe he’s the key to tying all this together. And, even if he isn’t, I want to know whatever he knows.”
34
Ellory’s scheme to get Professor Colt alone worked with only a minor snag. He didn’t have office hours as a rule, leaving that to his TAs, so she pretended to have additional questions about his spring research project. He agreed to let her come to his house, and Hudson agreed to go with her for backup. She didn’t mention how quickly he agreed or that he’d have to skip a class in order to be there. He didn’t mention the smile she couldn’t bury for the rest of the day or how confidently she laid out the questions she’d ask, knowing she’d have him behind her.
That was how she ended up in a car on her way to Colt’s house, hoping she was doing the right thing. She wasn’t particularly afraid of the professor, not now that she had some level of control over her power, but shewasafraid of magic’s dangerous possibilities. She had been weakened and chased, attacked and cursed, and she worried that this was only the start of it all. Magic was powerful enough to rewrite her memories and alter her reality. It was powerful enough to kill for.
The car dropped her off at the end of the drive, but there was nosign of Hudson. She checked her phone—five minutes away, he’d texted ten minutes ago—and approached the house. No Hudson there either. She checked her phone again, and then she peered at the front door, where a scarecrow decoration winked from atop the familiar skull knocker. Had he gone inside without her, or was he late? Should she ring the doorbell? Should she walk back down the drive to wait for him?
Something felt off.
Ellory shared her location with Tai and Cody, then scrolled through her contacts until she found Hudson’s number. But before she could call him, the door swung open.
“I thought I saw someone wandering around out here,” said Colt with a welcoming smile. “Please, come in.”
Someone, notsomeone else. Ellory hovered on the steps, knowing that she should wait for Hudson. But what was she supposed to say?Give me a minute, Professor. I need to wait for a surprise guest?It was now or never.
Keeping one hand on the Taser Tai insisted she carry with her these days, Ellory stepped inside. She had caught Colt in the middle of grading papers. Stacks of them topped the coffee table in the study, along with a lukewarm mug of tea and a plate empty of all but a single smear of jam. As Colt left to put the kettle back on, Ellory sat in one of the armchairs. The papers had enough red swipes on them to make her nervous about taking his class in a couple of years. A low flame filled the fireplace, making the room cozy. It was impossible not to relax when faced with the combination of Colt’s soothing presence and his aesthetically pleasing home that seemed to croon that comfort was a luxury he intended to afford.
Of course, that was exactly how he wanted her to feel. Hisunique power was putting people at ease while feeding from them like a leech. Ellory forced herself to remember that.
Colt returned with two mugs and a tray of honey, sugar, and tea bags. She grabbed one, and he took the other, choosing an Earl Grey tea bag to mix into his water. Ellory copied his motion with oolong tea and slowly stirred honey into the drink to disguise the fact that she didn’t actually plan to take a sip. At home, she and Carol had a honey container shaped like a bear. Colt kept his in a silver-plated dish engraved with pomegranates.
“The myth of Persephone is one of my favorite classics,” he admitted when he caught her staring at it. “A woman of multitudes, the goddess of spring and the ruler of the underworld, so loved that her earthen mother cursed the world with six months of winter, so loved that her deadly husband was, by most sources, the only one who never strayed. Light and dark personified.”
“I didn’t know you liked myths,” Ellory said, holding her mug with both hands in case she needed to throw a hot beverage and run. “Do you know any about birds?”
“Birds,” Colt repeated, amused. “There are thousands, even millions, about birds. Did you want to hear about any in particular?”
“Owls. It’s for anotherCommuniquéarticle.”
“Owls.” Colt drank from his own mug, shifting into a more comfortable position on the couch. “It depends on the culture. Owls can be prophetic creatures or ruinous ones. They can symbolize wisdom or calamity. In the words of Lady Macbeth, ‘It was the owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman, which gives the stern’st good-night.’”
“So they’re associated with divination,” Ellory murmured, watching Colt closely. It felt like they were dancing on a knife-edge, and any wrong word would ensure she’d never leave this houseagain. “Like those free psychic readings you can get all over the place?”
The line of questioning didn’t seem to disturb him. “I can’t say I have any interest in the esoteric, Miss Morgan. Astrological charts and tarot cards and the like just seem like a way to rob us of our own free will. Maybe it’s my old age, but I want the future to remain a surprise. I want to wake up every day not knowing what to expect.”
Ellory remained silent, watching steam curl from her mug.
