But I don’t have to dwell on it for long today, because after Joan makes me and Callum some drinks to go, we’re ready to hit the road again.
Hit the road where, I don’t know, but Joan’s insight about where we might find our wielder—or at leastsomewielders who could give us an idea of where to go next—is still ringing in my ears.
It’s… not enough, though.
I need a better reason than a rumor before we go on a wild goose chase.
My magick stirs, restless and begging to be used.
The last time I drew on it, it led me right into a death trap with those lizard fae, and though I’ve never been gun-shy about drawing on my power, I hesitate.
“What’s wrong?” Callum asks from where he stands beside me on the sidewalk, just outside Joan’s shop.
Interesting, how perceptive he is.
Maybe he can sense my turbulent magick and my reservation about using it.
Or maybe I’m just not as mysterious as I like to pretend I am.
I glance up at him and see my own disquiet echoed back at me in the furrows of his brow.
“I have an idea of where I’d like to look for this wielder,” I say. “But I’m… not sure. I wish I had a better plan. Or some kind of confirmation. I don’t know. Just something better than a hunch.”
He nods thoughtfully. “Is it something your magick can help with?”
I worry my lower lip between my teeth, and he reaches out to smooth a thumb across my chin.
“You don’t have to,” he says hurriedly. “If it wouldn’t be a good idea for you to use it after everything you’ve been—”
“No.” I make myself stop fretting, make myself stop being such a worrywart. Because I’ll be goddessdamned if there’s anything that gets to me like someone—even inadvertently—insinuating I’m not strong enough to do something. “It’s fine. Come on, follow me.”
Grabbing Callum’s hand, I lead him down the sidewalk to the alley between Joan’s building and the one next to it where I left my car last night. With a quick glance up and down the alley to make sure no one else is around, I close my eyes and reach for my magick.
Like a trusty old friend, it’s right there. Always right there and ready for me whenever I call for it.
Even though this isn’t exactly going to be a smooth ride.
Almost immediately, it flares bright and just a little out of control, flailing without a solid anchor to latch onto. It’s not visible, but for someone who’s magick-sensitive like a witch or a demon, it would be pretty hard to miss.
Callum sucks in a breath. “Seren.”
I squeeze his hand. “It’s alright.”
It’s as much reassurance as I can give him. Drawing on my power like this isn’t easy, but it’s what’s going to get us closer to winning the fae queen’s prize.
Eyes closed, muscles taut, small beads of sweat breaking out on my forehead and the back of my neck, I dive deep into the reserve of power I rarely have to touch.
My magick is always harder to summon when I don’t know what I’m looking for.
If I’ve got a specific object, a person, a place, it’s easy enough to call it forward in my mind’s eye and get a picture of where I need to go to find it.
In the absence of that, I pull forward what I do know.
A human wielder.
A stack of love letters, painstakingly written and read hundreds of times.
A cottage where two people from different realms and different worlds might have fallen in love.
