Page 39 of Demon's Bane

David’s a witch.

Or, well, awielder, as male magick practitioners have taken to calling themselves, mostly to distinguish themselves from the covens they prefer to keep their distance from.

I met him during an ill-begotten excursion to a rare wielder-witch mixer in an abandoned warehouse when I was twenty-three. A cauldron full of indeterminate alcohol and a few hours of bumping and grinding later, I’d taken him home with me, and he’d soon become a fixture in my life.

At least until it all went ass-up and left me with the most wicked heartbreak of my early twenties.

But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that he’s somehow involved, and my first reaction to that news is… good, I think.

Well, notgoodthat he’s mixed up in all this. But good that there might be an unexpected third answer that doesn’t leave the coven or someone in the demon realm with the blame.

Seren lets out a disgusted snort. “Apparently some wielders must have gotten wind of the new bargain, because they’ve been trying to find their way through the Veil. Not that they’re likely to actually get to it on their own with as many wards asEsme tossed up around it, but who knows? The idea of all that freedom? Of being able to traipse all across the—”

“Wait,” I say, something about that not quite stacking up. “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing?”

Seren brushes the question aside with a careless wave of her hand. “That’s different. My intentions are purely to amuse myself. Not to do anything morally objectionable.”

Huffing a laugh, I lean my shoulders back against the brick wall. “So. What now?”

Seren joins me there. “Now it’s up to you to decide what you want to do with that information. As far as I’m aware, everything known about the Veil and the changes Allie made to the bargain would have had to come from a Crescent witch. So there’s still a chance he might not be acting alone.”

My palms start to sweat at the reminder.

I’ve been avoiding the topic with Rhett for the last few days.

Initially, my brain was too scrambled from the overwhelm of seeing him unglamoured to ask about what he or his village might have told Allie and Eren before he came here.

And after that, when I could finally think straight again…

Well, I still don’t know exactly why I haven’t broached the topic. I don’t know if it’s because I still feel a little guilty about going to the coven meeting, or I was holding out some kind of hope that Seren would have an answer that put both of us off the hook.

Or maybe it’s because these last few days have just been… nice. Maybe some part of me didn’t want to ruin it.

But apparently the time for avoidance is up. My mind races trying to come up with how I’m going to start the conversation with him when he gets back, and with how very, very shady I’m going to look when I do.

A clandestine trip to a coven meeting. Information I should have shared and questions I should have asked. My freaking ex involved in this.

With all the complicated layers piling up, maybe it’s time I stopped trying to juggle and compartmentalize and just be honest with him.

“But there’s nothing that would point to who that might be? Who might have helped David or any of the wielders get to the Veil?” I ask Seren, hoping she might know more.

She shakes her head. “Nothing yet. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and let you know if I learn anything else.”

Glancing to the end of the alleyway, I don’t see a glamoured demon, and don’t know when to expect him back. Hopefully it will be enough time for me to process all of this at least a little.

“So,” Seren says, shaking me from my thoughts as she changes the subject. “You went? To the gathering at the Veil the other night?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“And did you learn anything else?”

After taking a long, guilty breath, I tell her about my conversations with Allie and Esme and all the complicated coven bullshit.

“Fucking Esme,” Seren mutters.

“Yeah,” I agree. “Fucking Esme. Fucking me, too, though. I could have said something to Allie, and I didn’t. I just… froze.”

“So make it right, then. Talk to Rhett, and the two of you can decide what to do. Fuck Esme and fuck the coven.”