Page 16 of The Banshee and the Warlock

"Witches."

"Shouldn't you also be a witch?"

"I'm adopted."

Surprise, then horror flits over his face. "I'm..."

"Don't say sorry," I cut him off. "I've heard it my entire life. What's there to be sorry for? It's a reasonable question. My parents are witches, and I'm not one. Or if I am, I'm a really late bloomer."

"Could you be a necromancer?" he asks.

"Unlikely. I tried to reanimate a hamster once to try it out."

"What happened?"

"It got up and ran away." I take a sip of my tea.

"That sounds like successful necromancy to me."

"Yeah, but that's because the hamster wasn't dead yet. I just thought it was. I still don't know why. I just woke up one day and thought my pet was dead. That's when I decided to try necromancy, but it turned out that it was just sleeping."

"How disappointing."

"It died three days later."

"It did?" He gives me a curious look.

I nod. "I tried the necromancy again, but it didn't work. Presumably, because I'm not a necromancer. I did worry for a bit that I'd caused the hamster to die because I tried necromancy on it."

He chuckles. "I don't think that's how it works."

"I know that now, but it was a real worry at the time." I take another sip of tea, marvelling at how easy it is to talk to him. Maybe I shouldn't be telling him these things, but then again, there's no reason not to if I want to.

"Have you ever sensed anyone else's death?" he asks.

I frown. "I don't think so, but I've never thought about it very much. Why?"

"I didn't know if that was a clue to what you were." He drains his tea.

"It's okay that I don't know," I assure him. "I'll figure it out eventually. And if I don't, then it's not like I haven't already survived twenty-one years of not knowing. What's twenty-one more?"

"That's an interesting way of looking at it. I don't think I'd be able to go so long without knowing."

"Probably because you're aware of what you are," I point out. The warmth from the tea spreads through me, and I find myself relaxing despite the dream. This is certainly a better way to shake the effects than splashing cold water on my face in a communal bathroom. Maybe I should see if I'm allowed to have a portable kettle in the room. Though it's probably against the rules, now I think about it.

"Yeah, true." He sighs and leans back in his chair. "I like the hair, by the way."

I frown and reach up to touch it. "Weird time to tell me, but thanks."

"Why is it weird? I've never seen it that colour before."

I open my mouth to tell him that it's been purple the entire time we've known each other but I think better of it and grab a few strands of hair so I can see them. I let out a small groan. "Not again." The silver-white strands catch the moonlight drifting in through the window. Definitely not the purple I thought it was.

He raises an eyebrow. "Is it not purposeful?"

"It's my natural colour," I admit.

"It's nice, I like it."