Chapter 29
At first the creature sniffed around the room like an actual mouse, getting down on all fours near the couches and gnawing
on empty space, chomping its teeth and swallowing as if it had found food.
“How are you going to control it?” Logan asked me.
“I know where the power to draw it comes from now,” I said, feeling those icy tendrils inside. “When I finally realized in
the graveyard that I was calling the monsters, I felt where the power stemmed from. Weirdly, my training last year was preparing
me for this moment, for when my magic would be free and fully infiltrated into my essence. I’ve got this.”
Previously, when faced with a monster, I’d tried to blast it away—like a wrecking ball smashing against an object. This time,
I used that cold tendril, recognizing the sensation of necromancy, which used to give me chills but now felt like coming home.
I sent out the icy tendril toward the monster it had called, and to my surprise, the creature jerked to a halt and lifted
its head to stare at me with black eyes.
Recognition passed between us, and I stepped closer.
Logan stayed right on my ass, and I could feel him readying himself for a fight; he was a blast of heat against my icy magic.
“Come to me,” I murmured, holding my hand out. I was sure that I’d tethered the monster, but it didn’t move from the spot.
Come. I used more magic, sending it along that arctic tether in my mind’s eye. The mouse-monster shuffled forward, and sulfur filled
my nose, drowning out every other scent. The tendril started to fray, and I had to reinforce it with more magic. The monster
wasn’t fighting me, but its energy ate away at my magic because it wasn’t supposed to exist on this plane. At least not permanently.
“You don’t belong here,” I whispered.
Drawing on my memories from necromancy classes last year, I let my magic seep through the planes of existence. None of them
were blocked to me, outside of the Eternal Lands, where the blessed rested their souls. It was easy to find the layer the
monsters hailed from: Purgatory. Their slimy, icy energy felt like this plane, and when my power stopped there, I added another
tether to my magic so there was one connected to the mouse-monster and another to Purgatory.
With me the conduit between the pair.
I dragged in a deep breath and forced my will onto the creature. “Return to your home,” I told it. “You can’t be here.”
Instinct rode me hard as I embraced the ancient magic inside me. Trusting in what I had to do. “Next time, I won’t bring you
here without a tether to keep you from hurting others,” I said, my voice swelling until it thundered. The monster sniffed
one last time, and I swore that my vision briefly crossed over to highlight layers of darkness in my house, before the creature
slipped along the other tether and returned home.
My vision reverted to normal, and I released my hold on that frozen plane and its inhabitants. The reaper magic sank back inside me, and I was secure in the knowledge that I could pull from it again whenever I needed.
A quick glance around eased the panic I’d been brewing—I hadn’t accidentally opened a doorway to usher in a million dark creatures
to the world. I’d done exactly what I hoped, trusting instinct and my magic, and I’d sent the mouse home.
“You’re incredible,” Logan said with a whoop, his excitement spilling over. “I could feel that frosty necro magic through
our bond, and the power . . . I’ve never experienced anything like it before in my life. Not even when my father channeled
other spellcasters to do his bidding.”
“It was all instinct,” I said, unable to explain it any other way. I had never been specifically trained as a reaper, but
the knowledge was there within me. Almost as if I’d inherited it. “It doesn’t feel as if there’s any training that could teach
me what my magic innately knows. This is ancient magic, Logan, and the council and elders just wiped it from existence.”
The excitement he’d been expressing faded slowly. “I won’t let that happen to you, Precious. We’ll be so powerful by the time
they find out that no one can come for us. Even if I have to build an army to make it happen.”
Letting my head fall against his chest, I just breathed him in until the scent of sulfur was completely gone. “I’d like to
show them I’m not a threat,” I said, revealing my deepest hope. “I don’t want to battle to stay alive for the rest of my life.
This magic should exist in the world. There must be repercussions for wiping out an affinity. I will figure out what they
are and show them that reapers are needed.”
Logan held me tighter, and I was relieved to feel his magic connect to mine with the same strength as always. “How are you
feeling?” I asked. “Do you need the night to recharge?”
“Your power refueled mine as if I was struck by an energy source,” he admitted against my throat. “I’m more than ready to start our mission and get these ingredien—”
The chiming of our phones interrupted, and I pulled mine out to see a message in the group chat.
Noah: You can cross two everlasting candles off the list. We’re heading for Weatherstone now to gather the plants.
There was another from Alice that we must have missed earlier:
Alice: Snake venom procured. Lucky our magic worked to calm it because they’re vicious little biters.
My fingers flew over the letters as I replied.
Paisley: Great job! You’re killing it. Logan just cleansed my energy of the suppression potion. It was tough, but all good here. We’re
about to head for the crypt.
“Looks like the rest of them are working fast,” I said. “We need to do the same.”
“Let’s get to the family crypt, then,” he said, pocketing his phone. “Your mom said we’d have to drive because there’s magic
preventing transport pockets all over the area.”
The family crypt was about two hours from Spokane. It was where my mom’s family had been buried for generations—we owned a
private burial ground, which was heavily protected by magic and wards.
When we reached the garage, I grabbed the keys to Mom’s Jeep. It was ten years old but ran well enough for this trip.
Logan held his hand out. “Want me to drive so you can play passenger princess?”
I snorted. “Look, this princess throws hands, but I won’t fight you if you want to drive.”
Logan’s energy wrapped around my body, drawing me to a halt. “I want to take care of you,” he corrected. “I protect what’s
mine.”
“I protect what’s mine too.” I had a stupid grin on my face as I released my hold on the keys. “Let’s go, mate.”
Logan’s eyes darkened. “I’ll never grow tired of hearing that, soulmate.”
He opened the door for me, lifted me into the seat, and clipped my seat belt on, all before I got myself together. Soulmate. That hit me hard enough to leave a permanent mark.
One I was proud to wear.
Once Logan was in the driver’s seat, he opened the garage door and started the car. Silence descended between us as we left
Spokane, the navigation system directing Logan toward the freeway. His large palm rested possessively on my thigh, while his
thumb ran along my jeans. It was a relief to feel the strong beat of his magic against mine, his energy already back to full
strength.
There was no ice in our bond, my reaper side dormant until needed, and I wondered if there were more reapers out there, hiding
their gifts the way Gran had hidden hers. Families who passed on this secrecy to their offspring, leaving us alone and broken,
unable to access our magic as we should.
“Now that my magic is unlocked again, do you think the council will track me through my energy?”
Logan took his eyes off the road to level his green gaze on me. “Yes.”
I jolted at the prospect, and he tightened his hold on my thigh, sending soothing heat through our bond. “Your power is strong and feels unlike any of the other affinities. We won’t be able to hide you for long, especially once the curse is broken. It’s still sapping your strength at the moment.”
I could feel it inside, like a tapeworm eating through my magic, one chomp at a time. I had power still, but it would be gone
within a few weeks at this rate. Maybe less.
“We need a plan for how to deal with the council by the time we break the curse,” I said with a huff, dropping my head back
against the seat. “Even if that plan is for me to go back on the suppression potion.”
Logan didn’t look particularly happy at the prospect of suppressing my magic again. “One step at a time, Precious,” he said,
eyes on the road as he navigated a pocket of traffic. “First, we save our lives. Second, we destroy my father. Third, we bring
the magical world to its knees. They will accept your affinity, and if they don’t, I’ll make my father’s mission for the last
twenty years appear like a charity run.” His voice grew harsher with each statement, and I feared what might happen to him
if he had to make the choice to fight his father or the council.