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Beside me, Gabe sighs heavily. “I think we need to show you what we found in the woods near the unicorn pool.”
Lords glances at each of us in turn. “What did you find?”
Gabe swallows hard. The memory must be painful; I know it is for me.
“Easier to show you,” I say.
Lords nods. “Let’s go.”
Earth-Walking myself and one other person used to require serious effort. It’s a little strain to Earth-Walk the five of us, but no more than a good sparring session with Charlie. The three boys surround me after we come out of the ground on the path to the unicorn pool, touching and kissing me, giving me back some of the energy I’ve expended. But the well of magick within me is so deep now, I don’t really need them to.
I’m not sure if that should thrill me or make me nervous.
Gabe leads us off the path and into the woods. I can see the unicorn pool glimmering faintly between the trees as we leave the path, but there are no unicorns. Just the frostbitten ferns and a faint peeping like frogs in spring, although it’s much too early for peepers.
A few minutes’ walk takes us to the clearing where we first met “Uncle” Jou. There’s no sign of the demon now, but his handiwork is evident in the shards of stones, half-buried in the crunchy leaves.
Lords walks around the circle. He stands in the middle and I feel himpull, in a way I rarely feel other magi summon power. Beside me, Gabe shivers before he wraps his arms around me.
The pull dies. Lords stands with his head down for a moment, before walking back out of the disrupted circle. “Who did this?” he grits.
“I did,” Gabe admits. “Professor Dantel told me to place the null stones. All but the last one. He said it was an experiment he and Professor DeWinter were doing to establish a baseline. I had no idea ... what would happen.”
“The area’s completely magickally dead. You didn’t know that would happen?” Lords asks, his tone sharp and accusatory.
“He didn’t,” I say.
There’s no faking Gabe’s reaction when we found the dead fae.
Lords shakes his head. “I’m very surprised at your professors. Surprised and a little appalled. This is ... it’s a terrible thing.”
I stroke Gabe’s forearm, snugged across my chest. “Tell him what we found.”
Gabe rubs his cheek against the back of my neck. He speaks into my skin, his voice muffled and broken. “We found eleven dead wild fae in it. I don’t know if they were drawn into it like a trap or just tried to cross the circle and died. I think—maybe Professor Dantel didn’t know what would happen. Maybe he didn’t check. I don’t know.”
Gabe’s weight against my back increases and I feel Charlie’s bonfire magic as he wraps himself around Gabe. Darwin sidles in against my side and takes my hand in his. Warmth runs up my arm and down into my fingertips, making me aware of how chilled the walk through the woods and this conversation have made me.
“I hope you’re right, Gabe, but that’s negligent at the very least.” Lords runs his hand through his hair, rumpling it into dark wings that frame his face. Like Charlie, he hasn’t had a haircut since the start of the semester. He’s looking more and more like his future-self. “And, like so much in this investigation, it doesn’t get me anywhere. I can’t question Dantel or DeWinter without tipping them off.” He grunts, low, annoyed, and kinda hot. “Maddening.”
“Do you need this?” I ask Lords. “As proof or sommat?”
Lords shakes his head. “I know. You know. That’s enough.”
I turn in Gabe’s arms and look up at my boys. “I want to fix it.”
Gabe strokes my cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “Do you feel ready?”
“No, but I haven’t felt ready for anything we’ve done.”
Darwin rubs his hand up my arm. “That hasn’t always gone well.”
“This time we prepare. We research. We practice. Then we restore the magic.”
“Teddy, what are you talking about?” Lords asks.
I turn back to face him. “Uncle Jou told us that once we got the quaternion locked down, we could bring the magic back.”
“Uncle Jou, the dead demon lord?” Lords asks, deadpan.
