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“So, they made the choice to go ahead, even knowing the risk?”
“They made the choice, but I’ll never know if they truly understood the risk. Not even I knew. Now I don’t give a person the choice. If I think it’s dangerous, I won’t do it.”
They dropped back into silence and worked for about a half hour before they took another break. An hour after that, Isaac only needed to add a few more finishing touches.
“We’re being sexist, you know,” Damon said out of the blue.
Isaac stopped working and looked up. “What? You’ve lost me.”
“Sorry, I was thinking about Morgana and Kate. We call them stubborn, but that’s being sexist.”
“How so?”
“If a man is stubborn, he’s considered assertive and applauded for going after what he wants. He’s thought to know his own mind, and that’s a good thing.”
“Hmm.” Isaac considered that for a moment and realized Damon was right; it wasn’t the first time he’d heard something like that. Isaac just hadn’t equated it to Kate. Like all the men Isaac had become friends with since moving to Blue Mountain, they appreciated that the women they knew and loved were strong and independent. “I just wish Kate wouldn’t put herself in danger.”
Damon barked a laugh. “Oh? Like when Morgana went down to Mexico on her own to face off with a cartel? Or when Meredith marched right into the lion’s den to find her mother? What about when Jo tricked that asshole Snake to save Simon? How about when Rowena went out on her own and?—”
“Okay, okay. I got it,” Isaac said, interrupting Damon. “I’ve just never felt like this about anyone…” Isaac let the sentence hang and focused on his work for a moment. Damon was his friend, but Isaac wasn’t sure how much to say. After all, Kate was his sister. Isaac didn’t have a sister and had never needed to worry about that whole bro-code shit about not going out with a friend’s sister. But it didn’t seem like Damon cared about it either. Isaac just wondered about how much to share.
“I’ll never want the dirty details, but I know you care about my sister,” Damon said as if reading Isaac’s mind. “She would be lucky to have you—you’re a good guy. And as for you, you’d be damn lucky to have Kate’s love. I happen to think my sister is amazing.”
Isaac felt the corner of his lip curl up as he looked at Damon. “Amazing and assertive? Strong and independent? Not willing to listen to reason?”
“Yeah, all that too.”
Isaac was just asking Damon if he wanted him to heal the tattoo for him, a perk of them being magic, when Jack reached out.
Everyone to the boardroom. Now.
* * *
Kate rolled off Isabella and moved into a crouching position. “Stay hidden,” she whispered, shuffling over to give Isabella more room.
“What happened?” Isabella asked, whispering too.
“A guy just ran in and aimed a bolt of magic at someone following him.”
“In public? What the—” Isabella cut herself off as her eyes widened in shock. Kate understood how she felt.
The restaurant had become a cacophony of sounds—crying, shouting, and banging that sounded like furniture being overturned.
“All magics show yourself!” a voice boomed with the volume of a megaphone. Kate guessed the man had used magic to make the projection.
“Holy shit!” Kate whispered. “They’re outing magics. Maverick has to be behind this. Maybe he’s trying to flush out magics to get them to follow him.”
“Or kill them.”
“Fuck. I didn’t even think of that.”
“I’ve got to look,” Kate said quietly and began to scoot out from under the table.
Isabella tugged on her arm and pulled Kate toward her to whisper in her ear. “Wait. Let’s just flash out of here.”
“We can’t. Look.” Flicking her chin toward the next table, Kate directed Isabella’s gaze. Other patrons had taken similar cover under tables, leaving anything Kate and Isabella did visible. “Non-magics will see us.”
“Magics have already been exposed. Would we really make it any worse?”
