Not her recently discovered fae lineage, or her ability to tap into a strange magic we’ve yet to identify, or the fact that she’s the one with the rune on her neck in the photos I’ve shared.
It’s clear that I’m being guarded, but Tatiana doesn’t push.
She never does. Just lets me come to things in my own time, like any good professor should.
While she gathers the ingredients for the perimeter spell, I chance a quick peek at my phone, checking the security feed for the library.
My witch is curled up on the sofa with the Codex, diligently transcribing.
Every few minutes, I tap my phone, sending her a little jolt. The sight of her pink cheeks and squirming body is enough to bolster me through the long night ahead.
Still thinking of you, Wild West,I text her now.
I wish I could tell you you’re the worst,she replies via her watch,but I love every horrible thing you’re doing to me, Professor.
Stifling a chuckle, I text back,Nothing will prepare you for the horrible things I’m going to do to you the moment I return to Blackmoor.
At this, she glances up at one of the security cameras and flips me off.
“The spell needs to simmer a bit,” Tatiana says, gesturing for me to bring the tea and cookies and follow her into her home office. “Let’s get to those questions. Is this about the rune?”
I nod. “And some other things that may or may not be related. Have you had a chance to look at the new images I sent? Do you still think it’s a binding rune?”
“Yes and no.”
“What do you mean?” I move a pile of old tomes out of the way and take a seat in a worn leather chair beside her desk.
She hands me her tablet, one of Auggie’s photos on the screen—a closeup of West’s rune. “This appears to be the dark fae rune that loosely translates to the word ‘kept,’ but can have different meanings and uses related to that word. Such as… kept out, or kept safe. Much like your perimeter spell.” She smiles. “You can see how such a symbol could be used as a binding rune—tokeepone’s inherent magic at bay, or tokeepone from accessing it, for example.”
“I assumed that’s what we were dealing with. A magical lock box, so to speak.”
“Yes. However, the second set of images you sent are much more clear.” She scrolls through the screen and brings up one of the shots I took on my phone the night West cracked open the Codex. “See this tiny white swish on the bottom right of the rune? It’s not visible on the other images, so I didn’t realize it right away. But once I confirmed it wasn’t dust on your lens, I did some more digging and discovered that this little swish slightly alters the meaning. So in this case, the word ‘kept’ takes on a meaning more closely related to the word ‘owned.’”
My gut clenches. “Owned? I don’t understand.”
I don’twantto understand. My mind is already racing to form the conclusions, and then just as quickly railing against them.
“It’s a dark fae rune of ownership often used by royal lines to mark their heirs,” she says. “It’s a property claim, so to speak.”
“Like… like a fuckingbrand?” I grind out.Fuck. I close my eyes and sigh. “Forgive my language, Tatiana. This is just… it’s very unsettling.”
Her warm touch on my hand brings me back, and when I open my eyes, I find her watching me with a mix of compassion and concern.
“Itislike a brand,” she says softly, “but it wasn’t branded onto the skin in the way you’re thinking. It’s the magic. In most royal fae, it never appears at all. But this person is obviously here, in our realm, and has been for some time. The longer they’re separated from their homeland—from their bloodline and its connection to the land—the stronger the marking will become. The magic wants the bearer to be reunited with its people. Its home.”
I bite back another curse. Draegan and Jude were right—it is like a tracking device.
“Even if its so-called people are monsters?”
“The magic makes no distinction.” She sets the tablet on her desk and takes a seat behind it, steepling her hands over a pile of old journals. “Rook, this... rune bearer. They could be in danger.”
I meet her gaze over the rim of my teacup and nod. “She,” I finally say, realizing I’m going to have to reveal more about Westlyn than I’d hoped if I want Tatiana’s help. “Shecould be in danger. And Tatiana? There’s more.” I recall the few details that Jude and Auggie were able to glean from Dr. Belinda Eckhardt. “Do you know anything about someone—or something—called the Moon Blessed? Possibly also known as the Peacebringer?”
Tatiana closes her eyes, her chin dropping to her chest. Now it’s her turn to bite back the curse.
“Rook. Tell me this isn’t connected to the rune. Tell me it’s just a…” She shakes her head and sighs, her gaze slowly rising to meet mine across the dim space again. “What am I saying? Of course it’s connected. There are no coincidences.”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
