Rachel takes a step back, as if the comment stung, but she doesn’t rush to deny it. “So what’s changed?”
“Um… everything?” Elizabeth smiles, the warm and genuine one I’ve come to know in our short time together. I wish I could hold onto it forever. To tuck it into my pocket, saved for my coldest, darkest nights in Hell.
“Everything’s different now,” she continues, glancing between her sisters. “This is important, guys. This is real. And we’re at the center of it. Demons exist. Some are neutral, some—like these three—are actually on our side. And some are… well. Let’s just say chaos spiders and leave it at that. And what happened tonight? That was just a preview of what’s coming.”
Rachel drops into an armchair, the color bleaching from her skin.
“Okay,” she whispers, a pale imitation of her earlier rage. “Maybe I didn’t want to hear it before. But now… I just… I need someone to explain all of this to me. Please.”
“Elizabeth.” I lift a finger. “If I may?”
“Give her the TL;DR version,” Elizabeth says. “Rachel has a short attention span unless she’s the one doing the talking.”
Rachel lets out a huff, but says nothing, which I’m calling progress.
“I have no idea what TL;DR means,” I continue, “but I’ll infer from the context you wish me to sum up the situation in succinct terms. I’ll shall endeavor to do that to the best of?—”
“Merrick!” Elizabeth circles her hand in the universal gesture forget on with it, already. A gesture I’m intimately familiar with.
I clear my throat. “Despite your desire to cling to your safe yet ultimately false notions, youare, in fact, witches. The last three in an ancient line tasked with maintaining the boundary between the earthly realm and that of demons, from whom your power originates. Given that you were denied a magical upbringing, I was sent here in the wake of your mother’s passing to assist with your education, ensure the demonic portal was stabilized, and ultimately…” I chance a glance at Elizabeth, regret burning my throat. I wanted to tell her about this privately. To explain myself. To take her fury like an arrow to the chest, which is no less than I deserve, and beg on my knees for redemption. Alas, there is no time. “…to negotiate the transfer of guardianship powers, along with the Bonnivarde grimoire, to the Council of Underworld Interests.”
I force myself to hold Elizabeth’s gaze, even as her eyes glaze with the sting of betrayal.
“Matthias,” she whispers. “You were supposed to sell us out to Matthias.”
Devil’s balls.
“At the time, we believed Matthias’s motives were… well, I won’t say pure. But practical. The truth is, the portal has been degrading for some time. It’s not entirely Evelyn’s doing, but she is partly to blame. We wondered if she’d shifted to other priorities, or if the responsibility was simply too great a burden for one bloodline to manage. Matthias thought demons could do a better job securing and monitoring the portal for threats, ensuring both Hell and the earthly realm could continue benefiting from ongoing witch and demonic relations.”
“So it was all a con?” Elizabeth asks, the betrayal in her eyes shifting to an unyielding show of strength. A witch coming into her power, finally realizing just how much of it she truly possesses.
Honestly, I couldn’t be more proud.
I only wish that ire wasn’t directed at me.
“Not a con,” I say. “Merely a slight lack of transparency.”
“Tell me how that’s not a con.”
“Per the Accords, the Guardianship can not be transferred by coercion, trickery, or false pretense. Should you have attempted such a spell this evening on Brendan’s orders, it would’ve backfired or burned itself out, and once the Wielders realized that, they would’ve devised some other form of magical blackmail or torture that likely would’ve resulted in your deaths.”
“So how were we supposed to transfer it to you, then?”
“I was tasked with convincing you to give it up willingly.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“We didn’t progress far enough in our lessons.”
Elizabeth lets out a pained laugh. “Good thing I was such a slacker, huh? If I’d been on my A-game, the deal would be done, and Matthias would’ve used that power to blow up the portal and unleash Hell on Earth.”
I bow my head in acknowledgment and contrition both. “I’m telling you this because I no longer trust in his authority. Clearly, he misled us.”
“Well, thank you, Merrick. That’s really magnanimous?—”
“It’s fine, everything’s fine,” Kate says, emerging from the kitchen with Oliver, who’s carrying a tray laden with teacups and saucers. The whole arrangement feels far too formal for the occasion, but I’m not one to turn down a good cuppa.
As Oliver distributes the tea, and Kate wanders to the windows to peer out into the blackness beyond, Rachel says, “What about Nathan Killroy? I don’t understand how he could’ve… I mean, I vetted him. Several times. Everything seemed aboveboard.”
