A female cursed outside the door.Mrs. Peabody.Lucky for me, the old bitch wasn’t an especially powerful witch, so it would take her a while to unpick the lock spell.
“I have to go before she sees me with you.” I pulled Raven to her feet. “If my father gets wind…”
Raven’s shoulders slumped, and she nodded. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
Before I could overthink it, I pressed my mouth to hers and kissed her like this was the last time we’d see each other. She tasted of coffee and mint, and for a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe as my magic surged inside me, causing sparks of electricity to spark above our heads.
The doorknob rattled some more, breaking the spell holding me in place. I rested my head against Raven’s, soaking up her scent, and then dashed over to the window.
“Go back to the dorm,” I told my witch before I dove out the window and crash-landed in a bush.
52
Alaric
Dad’s strident voice rose above the tinkle of polite laughter. Several mages grinned when he talked about the latest demon attack in a small coastal town. Ten seal shifters and several selkies had perished when demons struck at a bonding celebration.
I’d seen videos of the carnage posted on social media: the magical community was in an uproar about the escalating attacks, but my father seemed unconcerned.
As usual.
Did he not worry that his position as leader of the Supernatural Council would soon become untenable?
There was a great deal of muttering online about the disparity between responses to demon attacks against lesser magicals and those against mages and witches. Online forums were busy fanning the flames, pitting the more powerful magicals against the lesser magicals.
With Dad preoccupied talking to his minions, I pulled my phone out and checked the latest headlines.
There’d been a large demonstration organized for this evening. From what Arron had told me, several thousand lesser magicals had taken to the streets in several of the larger cities, including Washington and New York, to appeal for greater protections against demon attacks.
Even the humans were taking notice; demons didn’t differentiate between humans and magicals. They were equal-opportunity predators.
Arron had sent me a link to a video posted on a forum. The video showed mage special-ops personnel with masks and weapons herding protesters into an alley before hitting them hard with attack spells.
The camera footage jerked as the person filming ran from the mages before cutting out. There were already thousands of comments below the video. A few applauded the heavy-handed response to what was clearly a peaceful demonstration, but most were critical.
I closed the video and swiped to a popular news site but found nothing about the incident. Just a fluff report on how my father was working hard to keep the magical community safe.
I scoffed to myself, only to see Dad watching me from a distance. He didn’t look happy, and his not-so-subtle nod in Petronella’s direction told me I was supposed to be wooing her.
Whatever that meant.
Was he suggesting I fuck the bitch?
Not gonna happen.
“You should be more careful, Alaric.” Rink’s slimy voice grated on my last nerve. He reminded me of a viper, always slithering around, hiding in dark corners, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“I could say the same about you,” I replied with a smirk. “One day, my father will decide he doesn’t need you any longer, and then…” I let my voice trail off.
But Rink just smiled. “I know my place,boy.Can you say the same?”
Goddess, I hated him. But I returned his smile. “I’m the son and heir, whereas you’re the lackey hanging on to my father’s coattails. I’d say that puts me in a stronger position.”
My nemesis’s smile tightened. He didn’t like being reminded of his lowborn position. The bastard son of a witch who whored herself out for money and drugs. Dad had found him chewing a dead rat in an alleyway and seen his potential. Or so I’d been told.
I watched Rink scuttle away like the cockroach he was before wandering over to the wet bar for another drink. A hand on my shoulder and the waft of heavy perfume told me Petronella had given up waiting for me to make a move.
“You’re ignoring me, Alaric,” she whined.
