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Holly woke up tired and restless. She had tossed and turned all night, and as she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, it felt like she was rubbing sand into them. Sighing, she sat up in bed. Sunlight streamed into the room from where Holly had forgotten to close the curtains the night before.
She swung her legs over the bed to the chilly floor. There was no point in lingering in bed. She definitely wasn’t going back to sleep. In the light of day, determination had settled into her bones. Her mates might not believe Holly was right about her papa and uncle, but Holly was sure she could prove it to them.
Crossing over the room to her bag that she had slung to the side last night, she pulled out a change of clothes. Crinkling beneath her fingers had her grabbing the piece of paper there. She pulled out the list of magic users Desmond had given them before he had left the hoard. This was perfect. She could review the list and come up with the most likely people and clear her papa and uncle’s name. Even though she wanted to clear both, she knew her papa’s actions last night probably meant her mates viewed him with more suspicion than her uncle. But it was fine—Holly would prove them wrong today.
She laid the list on the bed as she got dressed in a lavender dress. She had been wearing pants to travel in, but now she was at home, she fell back into her familiar outfits of skirts and dresses. Cinching the dress at the waist with the brown leather belt, she reached down and picked up the list.
Desmond had been right; it was a short list. His familiar scrawl across the page read:
To be objective, I included anyone who could have cast this level of magic.
Desmond Brandlevine
Frederick Brandlevine
Holly Brandlevine
Benedict Brandlevine
Andy Brandlevine
Claire Mayfaire
Vanya
Aiden Ashcraft
Wendy Knoll
Henry Storm
Lyle Fernwood
Wyatt Waterwind
Headmaster Dorian
Holly rolled her eyes at seeing her name included in the list. She wasn’t as powerful as Claire, for sure, so she knew Desmond only included her to make her feel better. She skipped over Uncle Frederick’s, her papa’s, Andy’s, and Claire’s names.
Vanya would have been able to cast that kind of magic, but he wasn’t the right-hand man. Well, maybe he could have been, but he and Roland seemed pretty evenly matched as the leaders of this mess. Aiden Ashcraft was that asshole Brent’s father. His coven wasn’t too far from Brandlevine. It was also Zack’s original coven as well.
Wendy Knoll was the witch they thought might have killed Claire’s mother before Henry Storm was revealed to be the killer. Henry Storm was dead at Claire’s hands, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have held the right-hand man role before then.
The other two coven leaders were also possibilities. Lyle of Fernwood coven and Wyatt of Waterwind coven were formidable magic wielders. Headmaster Dorian was less likely, but he had come from the Fernwood coven, so he might have some insight, at least.
Holly felt much better after reviewing the list. There were good possibilities on it. They should be able to cover the three coven leaders today at least. They seemed the most likely suspects. She heard sounds outside the door and realized the others must be up as well.
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. All three of her mates stood in the living room, looking like they were having a heated whispered discussion. Luca’s head was visible outside the window.
“I reviewed the list Desmond gave us,” she said, waving the paper in the air, not giving any of them a chance to say anything about last night. “There are three coven leaders on it. I think we should start with Aiden Ashcraft of the Ashcraft coven. They have reputations of being unpleasant.”
“Holly…” Synora started to speak, her brow furrowed, but Kallan touched her elbow lightly.
He nodded at Holly, his expression blank. “Let’s go, then.”
* * *
Holly walked next to Luca,selfishly allowing the dragon to be a barrier between her and the rest of her mates as they walked toward the Ashcraft manor house. She absentmindedly scratched Luca’s scales as the house came into sight. Holly frowned at the sight of thick black curtains draping the windows. Black was the color of mourning.
