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Her flame. She’d conjured her flame. It was wild, twisting and twirling, like a beast left dormant but now free. Evelyn’s blood coursed hot, and her eyes almost welled with tears at the familiarity of her power.
She sent it out, controlled and steady, until she reached the rats surrounding Cyrus and scorched every single one. The leading demon bellowed through the hall, descending the dais toward her.
Cyrus joined Evelyn at her side, his leathers tattered but the injuries minor. With his head held high and eyes alert, he gave her a knee-wobbling smile and curt nod. Her flame flared at his proximity as if greeting an old friend.
The demon bared its teeth, a wave of rotten breath assaulting them. Evelyn cast a sphere of fire at its right flank, and Cyrus cut its left. It rose onto its hind legs. Scorch marks sizzled while cuts oozed black. It reared to strike, but Cyrus was faster, leaping from a pile of debris and swiping across its exposed belly.
As it fell, Evelyn slammed her staff one last time, sending a whoosh of flame over the demon. Her power fed on the darkness, ate its way around the demon’s body, and devoured it.
The demon withered and died. Evelyn’s flame fluttered back into her chest, like a hound returning to its master. All the rats in the grand hall dissipated into dust, vanishing into the wind as if the ruins of the castle swallowed their existence whole. Sunlight poured through the broken windows, and for a few, heaving moments, Evelyn relished their victory.
And then she laughed. Uncontrollably and sillily.
Cyrus stared at her, unsure, until he broke into a smile and laughed with her. Evelyn slumped against the rubble of the castle, beat from the fight, and celebrated her win in stitches.
For the first time in a long time, she was whole again.
Chapter Seventeen
Kade
Kade walked between Evelyn and Bleu, the sun sinking below the horizon of the sea past Callum. Puffs of chimney smoke rose over the town like miniature clouds, and lanterns glowed to life one by one as they climbed down from the hills.
Merchants, farmers, and traders passed as they left the market for the day. Kade nodded in greeting while Evelyn sent them a friendly smile. She’d been silent since they’d left Castle Connacht. Kade chanced a glance or two her way. She’d used her staff with ease, and it fit her. He recognized the dragon bone, the coveted material witches and werewolves adored. Evelyn had color in her cheeks, a sheen to her blue-gray eyes, and more bounce in her step.
It was as if revealing herself as a witch had awakened some side of her he’d not yet seen. Not only had they gained more clues about McKenna’s murder, but Evelyn had dropped her disguise. Guilt ate away at him.
Their fight with the demons had driven Evelyn to reveal herself as a witch. Kade hoped it meant she trusted him, but another part of him knew she’d done it because they’d been out of options. The moment the demons had appeared, his wolf had itched to be released, and he should’ve shifted. He’d feared revealing himself, feared he’d fracture whatever was building between them, and his protector instinct hated that he’d hesitated.
It felt wrong, playing this dangerous game of being Cyrus the huntsman.
“Cyrus, can I ask something of you?”
He hated hearing his fake name on her lips but hid his frustration. “Depends on what it is, Princess.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes but didn’t object. “I . . .” She paused as a group of merchants passed them on the path. Once out of earshot, she met his gaze. “Callum does not know I am a witch. Well, I take that back. My friend Tovi knows, and I suppose my new landlord does, too, but Miss Patricia, the others, they don’t, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Who was Tovi? Why did her new landlord know? Why did hiding her identity as a witch matter so much?
Her brows furrowed with worry, and hesitation laced her tone. She wanted him to keep her secret. She trusted him enough to ask, but he worried about why she wanted to keep her witch nature hidden.
“Saige, Callum would not treat you differently if they knew. There are other witches in these lands.”
The Great Burnings had overtaken Torren long ago, but peace now flourished in the Old and New World between those who possessed magic and those who didn’t.
Evelyn shook her head. “That’s not the point.”
Kade sighed. If he pushed her, he could break his cover by coming across overly interested. He’d found her. Gotten close to her. He couldn’t risk any of the progress he’d made—it had taken him a full year to find her.
The wind whirled over the hills, and a realization dawned on him. He’d never once found her trail by following clues left behind by a witch. Cirello to Sorin to Morrow, he’d followed the trail of the moonstones, the whispers of a young woman with raven hair, and the rare sightings of a miniature lion in tow, but never the sightings of a witch.
No magic, no spells, never flame. It finally clicked.
“Definitely good at hiding, aren’t you?” he asked out loud, an unintended assertion.
Evelyn didn’t catch his slip or realize his mistake. “It’s complicated.”
He almost laughed. How ironic. Keeping her magic hidden, going from town to town, not using her flame at least made sense. It was a gift from the Sun Goddess, unique to her as Daughter of the Goddess. But to hide her entire identity as a witch?
