“Madison Strauss. West’s mother—it seems she wrote them for her while West was in the womb. They’re… they’re about West’s true lineage. About the danger she…” I trail off, my throat closing around the word.
Danger.
This whole time, I thought the threats she faced were because of who the shadow magic societythoughtshe was. An augmenter. A witch with no power of her own who could only be used to further the goals of the corrupt archmage and his demon pets.
But the danger she faces is so much worse than that. Worse than her stepmother. Worse than the Forsythes and the mage bullies of her past.
Worse, I’m afraid, than even Zorakkov.
“You’ve read them?” Jude asks.
“Not all of them. Just the first couple—I didn’t understand what they were at first. What they meant. Once I realized they were from her mother, I skimmed a few more, just to see if the files contained anything else, maybe something encoded within the letters themselves.” I shake my head, setting my tablet on the sofa and heading for the bar. “I thought it would be best to let her read the rest on her own. Whatever she wants to share, that’s her call.”
“But that’s… good news, isn’t it?” Auggie asks, his face lined with concern and confusion. “Maybe now she can get to know her mom. Maybe even discover more about her bloodline and her magic.”
I don’t respond. Can’t find the words just yet.
I reach for the whiskey. Pour a stiff glass and bring it to my lips, drawing in a deep drink.
“Rook.” Jude’s at my side, his hand curling around the top edge of my wing, eyes scrutinizing my face. “What aren’t you telling us?”
I close my eyes and take another drink. Then, “Augustine, you’ve been sensing some kind of dark entity ever since we brought her here. Yes?”
“It comes and goes,” he replies. “But yeah. I sensed it that night at the Ryker plant, too. And the night she was attacked in the woods. But I don’t see what you’re getting at here, Rook. Are you saying this entity is real? That it’s… what? Attached itself to her, somehow?”
“Not attached.” I set down my glass and meet his worried gaze. “The dark entity… Itisher, Auggie. A part of her she may not even recognize—a part that’s lain dormant for most of her life, most likely muted by a binding rune someone gave her for that exact purpose.” I pace as the realizations barrel through my mind, one right after the other. Her extreme reaction to the Midnight’s Lullaby flowers in her wedding bouquet. The runes glowing on her skin. The reaction to a Codex containing dark fae magic. The real reason the demon wants her so badly.
“What the fuck are you on about?” Jude asks, and I realize I’m thinking all of this out loud, rambling a mile a minute.
“Think about it,” I say. “West was led to believe she’s a pureblood witch from a powerful family. Her mother was said to be one of the most powerful witches in an age, and her father was no slouch on that front either. Yet somehow, she’s born withzeromagic? Do you have any idea how rare that is?”
“Impossible,” Auggie says. “That’s how rare.”
“But you already figured that bit out,” Jude says. “Last night with the Codex, no? Westlyn was able to tap into her magic. She knows she’s not an augmenter. Shedoeshave magic—just hasn’t figured out how it all works yet.”
“Yes, she has magic,” I say. “But I don’t think it’s witch magic. At least, not all of it.”
“What the fuck else would it be?” Jude scoffs. “Pixie dust? A bit of hocus pocus and—”
“Fae magic,” I say. “Dark fae magic.”
Jude’s wings shiver. “That’s… a bit of a jump. I mean, we know she’s got a touch of dark fae blood back in the family tree, but… No. I’m not buying it. She’s a witch, through and through. Half from mum, half from dad. Anything else in the genetic mix is inconsequential.”
“All indications are she’s the natural daughter of Madison Strauss,” Auggie says, “who was a known and prominent witch. It’s hard to fake an actual birth. And even though we know the shadow magic society had something to do with that birth—and it’s connected to Hunter’s treatments—what would be the point of them forging birth records and lying about her birthmother? Now, there’s always a chance Brian Avery isn’t her biological father, but we can’t know that without a paternity test, right? And he’s off the grid, so we—”
“Wecanknow that.” I sigh, the knot of dread tightening in my gut. “It was in the first letter, guys. Brian Averyisn’tWest’s biological father. And she’s more than atouchof dark fae, Jude. She’s half.”
“But… What?” He scratches behind his horns. “No. That would mean—”
“Half,” I say again. “Fifty percent. The product of a witch mother and a full-blooded, dark-fae father.That’swhat it means.”
“Fuck,” he says.
“Fuck,” Auggie echoes.
“Fuck is exactly right. And that?” I drop onto the couch, a bitter laugh clawing its way up my throat. “That’s thegoodnews, I’m afraid.”
“We’ve just learned our girl is half dark fae,” Jude says, taking the seat next to me, “the evil part of her kept at bay by naught but a binding rune that may or may not be permanent, and if she’s like most dark fae that part of her is probably programmed to kill us, and all of this likely means the damn mages and demons want her for some purpose we can’t evenbeginto fathom, andthat’sthe good news? What the bloody hell’s the bad?”
