Page 47

“Come back and see me anytime, Witchling,” he said. “I don’t need any payment for this, but I’ll be right here if you’re ever looking for some fun.”

Chapter 17

Joy and Lilith stared down at the photos spread out on the table, silent and still.

“What were you up to, Alice?” Joy asked, her voice heavy with pain, as she traced the image of Alice sitting in the booth at The Last Drop with her finger.

“So, what do we know about this guy?” Lilith asked.

Fey shrugged. “Joy pulled some information about him and his work. Alastair said he was clean. He works at the university—some sort of Med Witch professor, I guess.”

The City University was funded through the Crown, and though it was open to all Factions and genders, it was mostly attended and staffed by males from the Witch Faction. Without any elemental power, the prospect of advancing the realm through research and knowledge was an attractive career option for many of them.

“Alastair, huh?” Joy asked, her eyes sparkling with barely constrained laughter. “You’re on a first-name basis with the club Vamp now?”

“Fuck off,” Fey answered. “He’s helping us, okay?”

“Why is he helping you, anyway?” Lilith asked, smiling. “You donating a little blood to the cause, sister?”

“And you can fuck off, too,” Fey answered. Lilith laughed.

“I have to say, I didn’t peg you for a Fang Chaser, Fey.” Lilith continued, ignoring the scowl Fey shot her. “Tell me, how big are his fangs, anyway? Is it true what they say? That it’s proportional to his?—”

Fey swung a wild punch, and Lilith dodged it easily, laughing and hopping aside.

“I’m not fucking a Vamp,” Fey snarled.

“That sounds like something a Witch who was fucking a Vamp would say,” Joy told her.

“Fey’s fucking a Vamp?” Willow asked, walking into the room and heading straight for the kitchen. She pulled a box of cereal from the pantry and hummed to herself as she filled a bowl.

“Fuck all of you,” Fey answered. “But Lilith in particular.”

Lilith snickered.

“Where have you been, little sister?” Joy asked, watching Willow.

“In Lilith’s library,” Willow answered, pouring milk into her bowl. “Reading about some of the other Blades.”

“Find anything fun?”

Willow nodded enthusiastically, spooning cereal into her mouth. “Oh yeah. Did you know the Queen can’t be poisoned?”

Lilith smiled. “We did.”

“But tell us why, sister,” Joy prompted.

“You can’t poison a Witch with Water and Earth,” Willow answered, smiling proudly. “An Earth Witch can sense poison, and a Water Witch can heal it if she knows what it is. Something about the combo—boom, poison resistant.”

Fey remembered this, remembered the enthusiasm she felt after her induction, with the sudden knowledge that was available to her. It’s curious how much of their history was kept under tight lock and key, available only to a select few.

“So, what’re you all up to?” Willow asked around a mouthful of cereal.

Joy beamed. “We’re going to dress up like college students and track down some sketchy professor—want to come?

Willow smiled widely. “Totally!”

Fey rolled her eyes, stacking the papers in front of them. Joy had managed to gather quite a lot more information about the professor who had met with Alice, including his class schedule and a copy of his university ID, complete with an ID photo.