“And nothing,” Adrian finished with a sigh. “My spell didn’t turn up so much as a single sprouted head of garlic.”
“Oh,” Bex said, face falling. Then she scowled. “So why did you say ‘it worked a little’ then?”
“Because while I didn’t find what I was looking for, the act of searching did give me a different idea,” Adrian told herexcitedly. “Specifically, I think I finally figured out what I’m supposed to do with this.”
He nudged the piles of dried beans out of the way and placed something on the table between them with a softclack. It sounded like a rock, but when Adrian removed his hand, Bex saw it was an acorn.
“Is that the one your aunt gave me?”
“The very same,” he confirmed with a solemn nod. “I’ve been trying to figure out why she sent it to me ever since you handed it over, but things were so hectic in the Hells that I never got the chance to really think about it. Now, though, I’ve had tons of time, and while no can ever bereallysure what the Witch of the Future has in store for them, I think I’ve solved it.”
“That’s great,” Bex said with a grin. “What is it?”
Adrian dropped his silver eyes to the table. “That’s the bad part,” he confessed. “The spell I think she wants me to do is very dangerous. Even for a Soul Witch working within her own grove, there’s a certain amount of unavoidable risk. Since I’mnota Soul Witch and I’m completely cut off from my forest at the moment, the threat to me is even greater. I’d never have even considered it if my aunt hadn’t had you push the starting trigger into my hand. That’s as close to a direct command as the Witch of the Future gets.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to follow it,” Bex snapped. “You’ve complained since I met you that your aunts put the safety of the forest above everything else, including their own flesh and blood. I’ve seen how dedicated they are to the Blackwood with my own eyes now, and while I’ll be forever grateful to them for saving us, I know now that you were right. The Old Wives of the Blackwood will do absolutely anything to secure their coven’s future, including ordering you to perform a spell that will blow us all up along with Gilgamesh.”
“It’s notthatbad,” he insisted. “I mean, if the Old Wives coulduse me to blow up Gilgamesh, they absolutely would, but witchcraft doesn’t work that way. We’re trees, not volcanoes. The vine beats the stone wall by eroding the mortar, not by smashing it down. Think about it from that perspective, though, and the spell I’m considering actually fits perfectly.”
Adrian looked at the acorn he’d placed on the table. “Acorns are the essence of the future. I was worried about that at first because I’m terrible at divining, but I am very good at growing trees. I’ve actually grown one here in Heaven already, so I know it can be done. I’m certain that’s why my aunt chose to send me this seed in particular, because unless I’m grossly mistaken, that’s an acorn from my mother’s own heart tree. Not one of the big ones that could attract Gilgamesh’s attention but still a piece of the Old Wife of the Present’s connection to the Great Forest. The same connection she shared with me when she taught me how to be a witch.”
His handsome face lit up with the warm, confident Adrian-smile that Bex loved best. “Connection and patience are the core of witchcraft,” he said as he closed his long fingers around the little acorn. “My coven has already marked the path for me. I don’t know where it will lead, but as a Witch of the Present, I don’t need to. I don’t need to worry about the future or the past. I just need to grow the tree I’ve been given and trust the Forest to do the rest. That’s what I think my aunt is telling me.”
“If you say so,” Bex said nervously. “I’m not going to tell you how to do your witchcraft. If you say this is what you have to do, I’ll support you in every way I can. What do you need from me?”
Adrian blinked like he was coming out of a trance, and then he flashed that smile again. This time, however, it was just for her.
“Nothing,” he said, reaching across the table to touch her hand. “I didn’t tell you this because I needed help. I just wanted to explain what I was doing before I ran off and did it because charging into danger without talking it through first is exactly the sort of bad behavior I’m trying to leave behind. I meant it with every fiber of my being when I said I wanted to be your partner, and part of being in a partnership is making decisions together. That’s why I told you the spell was dangerous before I went and did it. I’m willing to take the risk, but I’m not the only one I have to worry about anymore. We’re in this together, so I’m not moving forward on anything unless you say you’re on board.”
Bex stared at him in horror for a moment, and then she dropped her gaze to their joined hands as her heart began to pound. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to being asked to make decisions—people asked her what to do all the time—but this wasn’t a demon beseeching his queen. It was Adrian.Adrianwas askingherif it was okay for him to do witchcraft, and that felt every kind of wrong.
“I don’t think I’m qualified to make that call,” she said at last, squeezing his hand hard as she struggled to find the exact right words. “Your witchcraft is yours. It’s part of what I lov—what I admire about you so much. I understand where you’re coming from, but leaving the decision to me doesn’t feel right. You should be the one to make that choice. It’s your magic.”
“Let me put it another way, then,” Adrian said, picking up her hand in both of his and pulling it across the table until Bex’s fingers were cradled right above his chest where his heart used to be.
“Bex,” he said solemnly, holding her gaze when she finally looked up and met his eyes. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she answered without a second’s hesitation.
He looked gloriously happy at her quick reply, but he didn’t stop. “Do you believe me if I say I can do this?”
“Yes,” she said again just as quickly.
“Why?” he asked.
That was slightly more embarrassing to explain, but he’d made it clear just how important her opinion was to him, so Bex forced herself to be honest.
“Because I believe you can do anything,” she replied as her face began to heat. “You brought me back from the ashes. You grew a tree that stopped a collapsing Anchor. You restored Nemini’s horns. I trust you more than I trust myself at this point, so if you say you can do this, I believe you, even if I don’t understand what ‘this’ is yet.”
He chuckled at that last part before his face grew serious again. “Do you trust me with the lives of your demons?” he asked, squeezing her hand hard. “I’m going to be casting a dangerous spell well outside of its intended parameters. It could blow up in my face, or it could bring Gilgamesh down on top of us. There are so many ways this could go wrong that I don’t even know them all, but if it goesright, it could be what gets us out alive.”
“You should have led with that,” Bex said, squeezing him back with a smile. “If you think this spell can free my people from this prison, then I don’t just trust you. I’m counting on you. You’re the reason we started winning in the first place, so if there’s anyone I believe can take us over the finish line, it’s you.” She squeezed his hand even harder. “From the first day we met, it’s always been you.”
Adrian’s face split into an enormous grin. “Then let’s not waste any more time,” he said, springing up from his seat. He swooped back down to kiss her next, pressing his lips to Bex’s so quickly she would’ve fallen off her stool if he hadn’t had his hands clamped around her shoulders. He kissed her lightly andsweetly, and then he was gone, running back to his room yelling for Boston while Bex sat in a daze at the kitchen table, wondering what in the Nine ruined Hells she’d just helped set in motion.
CHAPTER 2
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