Page 28 of The Powerless Witch
“Get us more eyes on the ground. Eyes that could see past spells and enchantments.” I took my phone out, unlocking it to find no new calls or messages. Oscar stillhadn’t gotten back to me after the last time we spoke, while he was doing a headcount on those who survived. “I need to go out and…”
The sound of approaching steps made me turn to the door a few seconds before Lily walked in, smiling broadly. She didn’t notice Nym until he rose, jumping to the floor.
“Oh, Nym, you’re back!” she exclaimed as the familiar walked to her, rubbing against her leg with a pur before leaving the room. “Wait, where are you going?”
“Where no one will annoy me,” the cat grumbled. “I need a nap.”
Lily raised an eyebrow. I shrugged, taking a step toward the door.
“I need to leave as well. If you need anything, ask—”
“Can I come?” She moved to block my path, but I easily sidestepped her. Making a sound of surprise, she ran after me. “Please, I won’t be in the way! I’ll just watch! Roman, you promised!”
“I promised you research, here, where it’s safe. I’m not taking you with me to a vampire nest.” I glared at her as she ran faster so she could walk backward in front of me. “Have you made progress on the search?”
She ignored my question, her pleading look making my skin crawl.
“I’ll be fine, I promise! I don’t have any open wounds and I will stay close. I won’t speak or go anywhere! I’ll stay with you at all times! Please! I’ve never seen other vampires! That I know of, at least…”
“No. Humans are not supposed to leave a nest breathing. This only proves to show you don’t know enough yet to let you come.” I considered using my speed to get to the garage without being impeded by her, but she grabbed my hand and squeezed before I could do it.
“How do you expect me to learn if you won’t teach me? Or do you plan to watch over me my entire life?” I forced myself to meet her gaze, and she released me, but the determination grew sharper on her face. “No, you don’t. Because that’s not what you want. You want Celeste, you didn’t sign up for all of us humans tagging along. So it’s in your best interest to teach me how to protect myself. This way, you won’t have to watch over us for Celeste’s sake, and you can focus on her instead. I’m not stupid, you know. So do this for me. Teach me,Professor, so we can both get what we want.”
I gritted my teeth, both annoyed and impressed by the way she presented her demand and supported it with facts. Just like in class, she made it look sological. Not to mention, she had figured out my thoughts when I had tried so hard to keep them hidden.
I sighed. “Fine, but you are staying in the car.”
“Fine,” she echoed, barely suppressing her victorious grin.
“Don’t move.” I strode to one of the rooms further down the corridor where I had stored Celeste’s magical objects that she had left behind. I didn’t bother with a light—I had spent enough time in this room, looking over and cataloging every little thing she created. Opening one of the ornamented boxes where I’d gathered the smaller items, I picked one of the silver rings engraved with magic runes and returned to Lily’s side.
She looked relieved when she saw me, as if she had expected me to break my word and leave without her. I signed for her to give me her hand and she raised it awkwardly so I could slide the ring on her forefinger. Her eyebrows rose when she looked at me, but the question died on her lips as her eyes widened in shock.
“Oh my god, I canseeyou!” she gasped, glancing at the ring. “Does this give methesight?”
“Yes. Now let’s go,” I said before I regretted my decision. She was quiet while she followed me to the garage, her attention entirely taken by examining the ring.
She tripped almost immediately after stepping into the pitch-black place, but I caught her by the elbow, guiding her toward the black Mercedes I was planning to take. She cursed when she smacked her hand against another car that we passed, so I did my best to lead her to the passenger seat without her seriously hurting herself.
I got us out of the parking space and toward the exit, where the door was already lifting.
“Wait, can you even go outside?” she gasped as the dim gray light crawled into the dark garage. “Won’t you burst into flames? Maybe we should wait—”
“The day is dark, and the car has protection,” I explained, suppressing a wince as the light pressed on the tinted windows, making my skin itch. “It won’t kill me, just make me very uncomfortable.”
I felt her stare at me as if expecting me to combust, and when that didn’t happen, she finally relaxed in her seat. We spent the next few minutes in blissful silence while she examined her new ring like it was some priceless treasure.
“You already know what vampires look like without glamor,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road. “Most Lower Fae are easy to recognize since they have unusualskin color or appendages. High Fae have more humanoid appearances, but you can tell the difference. They are more…appealing, their eyes are usually an odd color and their ears are pointed. You can’t tell shifters by their outer appearance, they don’t differentiate from humans, but your ring will heat up if there is one nearby. They are weak against silver, so touching that ring to them can confirm if you are not sure. I don’t recommend that though—just run the other way if your ring starts burning.”
“And witches?” she asked before I could finish. I glared at the interruption, but she didn’t notice because she was back to staring at the jewelry.
“When they touch their magic, there is a soft glow around them. The more energy they channel, the brighter it gets,” I explained, stepping on the gas. There was barely any traffic, and the road was perfectly dry, so I saw no reason to stay out in the open longer than I had to. The nest was located in an old industrial building with underground parking, so we could just wait for the sun to set before going back. Not sleeping or drinking enough blood seemed to be taking more of a toll on me than I thought.
Lily nodded, dropping her arms in her lap and looking ahead. She managed to stay quiet all but two minutes before she peeked at me. “Can I ask you a question?”
I had the feeling I was going to regret it, but nodded nonetheless.
“I know Celeste is your soul bonded, or whatever it’s called, but she is now that wolf’s mate, too. My parents told me what happened.” She elaborated as if she expected me to ask how she knew. “So I was wondering…how’s that going to work? And my mom told me you asked Isaac to do it. Why would you do that? I thought you, you know, wanted Celeste for yourself and all that.”