“Thanks,” I say. Our eyes meet for a second, onethat somehow feels too long. I look away, activating my Schattenblüte and suit up, before crossing my arms.
“So, how exactly did you gain power? I need the full story.” I drop it in casually; I’m impressed I didn’t catch her off guard, as she doesn’t even bat an eyelid.
She sighs, looking around as she begins fixing the ground we’ve destroyed. There’s water leaking from somewhere. I think we destroyed some pipework, too, but she works on fixing it, and I know she’s buying herself time.
Well… I talked to Hecate…she begins after the pipe is intact and the ground is smooth again.
“Hecate. Ok,” I say, watching her.
She looks at me for a moment.You know how witch heritage works, right?she writes.
“Yeah, I might not be as smart as you, but I’m not that dumb either.”
Ok, well then you must know that Aunty Delsanra cut the ancestral link from my mama to all our previous witch ancestors, because Endora was trying to control her,she writes.
I know where this is going, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. “Yeah, I heard.”
Well, Hecate restored it, cutting only Mama from the equation.
Yeah, not what I wanted to hear.
I whistle. “Right, so that psychotic, power-hungry bitch is in your head right now?”
I have excellent self-control. She’s not in my head unless I allow her. She’s there for me to use when needed,she corrects with such confidence I might just believe her.
“And have you told your mom?” I ask.
I will,she writes with a defiant look.
I smirk. “So, am I the first to know?” I ask teasingly.
She rolls her eyes.Only because you’re so pushy.
“You like me pushy. And I mean, we can both agree I’m pretty hard to not like,” I say cockily.
Our eyes meet before she looks me over, shaking her head and folding her arms.
So, what do you expect to see from the surveillance footage?she asks.
It’s my turn to share; it seems we always do this. A secret for a secret…
“Well, I sensed an aura the night Ares was killed… and last night I felt it again and followed it…” I hesitate. I hadn’t been able to tell Jayce, not when I have nothing to go on. “I just need to know who was around at the time.”
She observes me for a second before nodding.I see. Do you have a suspect?she asks.
I shake my head. “None that makes sense.”
Tonight, meet me at midnight,she writes.
“Midnight it is.”
Sweat trickles downmy forehead as I keep hammering the heavy bag. Good thing it’s reinforced with magic, or we’d be replacing the damn things every day. I pivot and snap a roundhouse into the side of the bag. It whips back hard as I bounce lightly on the balls of my feet. I keep going. Upper jab, lower cut, switch stance, mix that shit until my muscles burn. My hair is flat with sweat, falling in my eyes as I keep going, my movements becoming a blur.
“Theo!”
I don’t stop, even when Ares’ voice cuts through the gym.
“Sup, man?” I call breathlessly over my shoulder, still throwing punches, feeling the weights strapped to my wrists and ankles forcing me to work myself harder.
