I kept my gaze trained on my cup, trying to stay present. “It all happened so fast. And after it did, they all came for me. Accusing me of stealing the magick. Bas—” I slipped, catching myself a second too late. “The Dukedefended me.”
I didn’t mention feeling occupied by the darkness. Nor did I mention what I’d done with the horn alone in my room. Or Imogen’s prediction. It was all too much, and I was already stripping pieces of myself bare that were still raw.
“Well, of course, His Grace protected you. He’s a decent man. Not to mention you’re his sanguine partner,” Tansy said, completely unsurprised.
I swallowed hard. It was more than that. Much more than that. But I couldn’t tell her that either.
Devlinn regarded the wolf at his side, then said, “You’re more than just his sanguine partner now. You’re a powerful Dark Witch. One with the power to lead an entire coven.”
“I couldn’t lead a coven,” I said dismissively. “I don’t know the first thing about dark magick.”
I saw the tears swimming in his eyes. Saw the bone-deep empathy. Neither Devlinn nor Tansy charged their magick anymore. They chose to live a magickless life. But he understood better than I did what it meant to have dark magick.
“Claire,” he said, “if the stories are true, you are more than just a Dark Witch, but alivingrelic. A source of demonic power.”
I held his gaze, a crease forming between my eyes. It felt like trying to push a puzzle piece into a space that didn’t fit. How could I be a source of demonic power when it wouldn’t even work for me?
“I need your help understanding what that means, because these so-called ancient powersaren’tworking for me.”
He scrunched his nose. “What do you mean?”
A swell of terror rose up, threatening to drag me back to that graveyard, but I clutched the horn even harder, leaning on it for strength. If I wanted answers, real answers from people I trusted,unlike Imogen, then I had to be honest. “Right after themagick came to me, I had the power to call flames from the dirt. But then,” my voice wavered, “they juststopped.”
Thoughts of myexperimentwith the horn and the candle swam through my head. “I can’t seem to make the magick last for longer than a few moments. Even with a relic.”
I reached into my pocket and removed the sheep’s horn and set it on the table. When I did, a thrum of power shook the cups on their saucers.
Chapter 9
Entre Deux Mondes
CLAIRE
Iimmediately regretted putting the relic on the table. It didn’t belong beside scones and bone china. The curves, the point, the ridges—they belongedwith me. Inmyhand. My fingers twitched in my lap, aching to snatch it back, but something inside warned me it was too late. What was done was done; the moment had already shifted.
Devlinn moved aside a sugar bowl to take a closer look. “Where did you get this?”
I swallowed hard, strangling the folds of my dress to keep my hands still. “It was given to me. By one of the Kemps.”
Had it not been for her… Had it not been for the kindness and bravery of one person… I straightened my back, unable to take my eyes off the horn. “She asked me to charge my magick and preserve her grandmother’s powers.”
Devlinn reached out to touch it. I shouted, “Don’t!”
The word had leapt from my throat, not of my own volition.
Beads of sweat collected along Devlinn’s brow, glistening in the spaces between his freckles. I glanced at Tansy, whohad paused with her teacup halfway to her mouth, her fingers trembling just enough to make the porcelain rattle against the saucer.
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to regain a measure of composure. “I just don’t think you should touch it. That’s all.”
He gave me a weak smile. “Of course.”
I took a sip of my own tea, which had gone cold. “Do you have any theories as to why I can’t access my magick?”
Tansy and Devlinn exchanged a glance across the table. I waited, forcing patience even as my nerves threatened to crawl out of my skin. The clock on the wall ticked incessantly, each second scraping at my composure. After visiting Imogen, I needed real answers. Finally, Devlinn tapped his fingers on the table, eyes brightening with sudden realization. “Hold on, you’re not a Kemp, are you?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“If you aren’t a Kemp, then the magick won’t recognize your blood.”
