Page 24

Chapter 24

Sophia Madsen’s Legacy

W e catch our breath under the covers, Natalie on her back, me pressed against her side and using her as a pillow, our legs entwined. Her scent envelops me, and though we’re both sweaty, I don’t want to move.

My pulse races and my skin tingles from her touch, as if my body is reveling in what happened. Thrill mingles with disbelief—I was beginning to think hooking up with her would never happen. I mean, she’s a solid ten in all departments… and she’s a witch .

Her breaths become deep and rhythmic, her belly rising and falling like a gentle tide beneath my palm.

I chew my lip, a question burning. I have to ask, even though I’m dreading the answer. “Now that I’m a member of the coven, is this thing between us any less forbidden?”

She peers down at me. “Not really.”

“Why? ”

“Because CSAMM’s secrets are layered. There’s a lot you don’t know—even a lot I don’t know. The Directors will think you’re trying to lure it out of me, which isn’t good for either of us.”

I scoff. “Come on. I’m not some femme fatale flirting my way to your darkest secrets.”

She kisses my temple, her lips soft. “Everyone insists they won’t tell their partners about magic, but it’s hard to be in a relationship and not let things slip. Like I said, Will got suspended once. His ex-girlfriend now has to spend the rest of her life having signed a secrecy agreement, and the Shadows check in on her once in a while. It stresses the hell out of her, knowing that if she slips up and mentions anything to do with CSAMM, she could go to prison.”

God, that poor girl.

I scowl. “I think someone’s partner finding out about magic is the least of CSAMM’s worries.”

Her brow furrows. “Why do you say that?”

“How’d the Madsens find out about magic if they aren’t witches? Who told them?”

She huffs out a breath of laughter. “Sophia dated a coven member, and he spilled everything.”

Ah. That’s not the answer I was banking on. In fact, it probably impacted this whole no-dating-outsiders rule.

Natalie must see my disappointment. “Yeah. Sophia became hellbent on collecting magical objects. She’s brilliant and comes from a wealthy family, so she always got whatever she wanted. She wouldn’t accept no , and she did what it took to get answers.”

I blow out a breath. “They tightened up the rules about dating outsiders after that?”

She nods stiffly.

“What happened? ”

She hesitates. “This was before I was born, so I only know the stories. There was a series of trials for the man she dated… He was stripped of his rank and went to jail. Took his own life in there when he found out Sophia had moved on.”

I shiver. “That was a pretty drastic punishment. Can’t you modify a person’s memory if they find out about magic?”

“No.” There’s a sharpness in her tone, like I’ve crossed a line. “And we wouldn’t do that sort of invasion of someone’s mind even if we could.”

There’s a pause. I listen to her breaths, rocked by the soothing rising and falling.

“So to sum up,” I say, “we can fuck, but we can’t let anyone know we’re together.”

Her eyebrows pinch, her lips turning downward. “I hope you know you mean more than that.”

I rest my chin on her shoulder, studying her profile. My heart thrums. “How would this play out if we could openly date?”

She brushes her fingers lightly up and down my arm. “I’d have taken you out several times by now. Tonight, we would go to a fancy restaurant… and I probably would’ve researched fun and unique date ideas in Vancouver , which means we would end up ice skating at Robson Square or playing glow-in-the-dark mini golf.”

I laugh. “Sounds nice.”

“Instead,” she says with a sigh, “we’ll have to call our curse-hunting assignments dates.”

“Which would be the most interesting dates I’ve ever been on, actually.”

She presses her lips into a thin line, unamused.

I reach up and squeeze her cheeks. “Stop worrying about me.”

“As soon as you stop getting into trouble,” she says through puckered lips, which makes me laugh.

A rap on the door splits the air .

Natalie sucks in a sharp breath and sits up, the sudden movement sending me tumbling onto the pillow.

The cozy warmth leeches away, dread creeping over my skin.

“ Ohmygod ,” I blurt, the blood draining from my head.

We stare at the door, a pair of guilty statues.

Natalie springs out of bed and rips open my dresser drawer, pulling out the first pajama top—my moon-phases t-shirt—and throwing it at me.

With wide, panicked eyes, she retreats into the bathroom, easing the door shut with a soft, nearly inaudible click.

“Coming!” I shout. My hands tremble as I pull the shirt over my head. It’s long enough to cover my nakedness, and after shoving our discarded clothes under the bed, I don’t have time to put on pants.

Humiliation floods my veins, prickling my skin. Is it obvious what just happened in here?

I rake my fingers through my tousled hair, taming my brown locks as best I can in the few steps it takes me to get to the door.

With a deep, steadying breath, I smooth my face into an approximation of sleepiness and open the door.

My stomach drops when I see Fiona, her eyes immediately raking over my disheveled state—hair, pajama shirt, bare legs. Her scrutiny is agonizing.

Of all people, why her?

“Katie, I’m sorry to bother you at this hour,” she says, her sharp gaze returning to my face.

“No worries,” I respond automatically, then suppress a wince. Was that too casual for addressing a Director?

“I was trying to reach you.” Fiona waves her phone. “I need you on your first assignment at four in the morning. I know it’s early, but there are signs of a curse at Waterfront Station, and it’s going to pose a danger to commuters. I’ll want you to help Natalie pinpoint it. ”

“Y-yeah, sure,” I stammer, caught off guard. Right, I have the responsibilities of a part-time job now. “Four o’clock, Waterfront with Natalie. Got it.”

She nods curtly. “Do you know where she is, by the way? I can’t reach her.”

“No,” I say quickly, then clear my throat. “I haven’t seen her since I left the ceremony.”

I cross my arms, the ravaged lines of ash and pollen hidden against my shirt. My mouth is dry as I avert my gaze to the door on the opposite side of the hall.

Fiona huffs. “She’d better pick up soon, or I’ll send you pounding on her door at four in the morning whether she’s ready or—”

“Excuse me?” A shrill voice cuts through our conversation, coming from the end of the corridor. “Fiona, are you talking to Katie?”

Fiona dips her chin. “Yes. Is that hers?”

My chest constricts at the sound of Agnes’s voice. Just when I thought this couldn’t get worse.

She stops beside Fiona with Ethel squirming in her arms. “Katie, you can’t let your cat roam around without being registered. We need to be able to trace all familiars.”

She holds out Ethel, who reaches for me like a child reaching for her mom, desperate to get away from Agnes’s grip. I take her gently, her body light and soft, and she purrs and nuzzles into my neck.

“Right,” I mumble.

“I called the number on her tag and got Katie’s voicemail,” Agnes tells Fiona as if this was some impressive detective work.

“I see,” Fiona says flatly.

Agnes scans me up and down, sucking back so her chin disappears into her neck. “Good God, were you already asleep? Well, early to bed, early to rise, I guess. ”

“It’s been an eventful day,” I say, focused on petting Ethel. I resist the urge to tug my shirt lower. All it would take is a simple lift of my arms to give everyone a show.

I can feel Agnes scrutinizing me, and when she not-so-subtly leans over to peer into my room, I put a hand on the door to close it. “Thanks for returning Ethel. I’ll register her tomorrow after I get back from my assignment.”

Ethel snaps her gaze around, staring intently at the closed bathroom door beside me.

Shit.

“Have a good night.” I offer a strained smile as I shut the door.

The moment it’s locked, I set Ethel down and cover my mouth, letting out a mortified noise comparable to dying bagpipes.

That was a dangerous near-miss. They’re probably suspicious. Could they tell I just finished having the best sex of my life on the bed behind me?

Ugh, end my suffering.

I swing the bathroom door open, and my heart somersaults at the sight of Natalie standing there naked. But all the earlier heat is gone—her face is ashen, her eyes wide with fear.

“I guess you should go—”

There’s a double tap on the door.

I groan softly.

Slumping, Natalie shuts herself in the bathroom again, and I pick up Ethel and answer it.

Sky stands there holding a small cardboard box. “Just wanted to drop off a congratulatory gift!” Her gaze lands on my shirt and bare legs, and her bright tone falters. “I woke you up. I’m sorry. I won’t stay—I just wanted to say a proper congrats and welcome.”

I take the box, warmth spreading through my chest. “That’s really nice of you. Thanks. ”

She bounces on the balls of her feet. “Open it.”

I fumble Ethel and the box, not wanting to put her down in case she runs away again—or worse, draws attention to the bathroom door. Sky takes pity on me and reaches out to open it, revealing a dark green leaf inside with a vaguely triangular shape. She swaps the box for it in my free hand.

It’s light and firm. I brush my thumb over the smooth, glossy surface. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a fingerless gauntlet made from an enchanted fig leaf. You use it like a shield.” Sky lifts her fist in front of her face as if deflecting bullets.

I gape at the gift. “Are you serious?”

I see it now—it’s meant to wrap around the base of my hand, the bottom of the triangle latching together at my wrist, and the top point looping over my middle finger to hold it in place.

“This is… the most badass gift anybody has ever given me.” My throat tightens with emotion. This means more than she knows.

She waves it off and backs up a step. “Just want to keep you safe, with everything going on right now.”

I’m speechless, staring at the gauntlet in my hand.

Enchanted.

Oaklyn’s dagger comes to mind, and the way roots erupted from it. That must have been enchanted too.

How will Natalie feel about me having a magical object?

“Get some sleep,” Sky says, backing away. “Oh, hey, do you know where Nat went? I’ve been trying to text her.”

I shake my head, hoping she can’t tell that her question hit me like an ice cube on the back of the neck.

Sky sighs. “Well, I’ll keep blowing up her phone ’til she answers. Night.”

With my hands full of Ethel and the gift, I lift my chin. “Night. Thanks again. ”

With a nudge of my hip, I close the door, then set Ethel down.

After a pause, I murmur, “All clear.”

The bathroom door opens.

“Jesus Christ, you’re popular tonight,” Natalie whispers.

My heart is in my throat. “How are you going to slip out of here without someone seeing you?”

She saunters over and leans down to plant a kiss on my lips, which loosens the tension in my shoulders. “Things quiet down around here by eleven. We’ll just have to find some activity to occupy us until then.”

I smile coyly.

She looks down at the gauntlet, her brow pinching. She lifts a hand as if about to touch it, but drops it at the last moment. “Sky’s right to give this to you.”

As the room’s warm light hits the leaf’s glossy texture, it shimmers with a gentle purple hue, as if hinting at the magic woven into its filaments.

“How common are enchanted objects?” I ask.

“They’re rare and valuable. Sky must think…” Natalie hesitates, then shrugs. “Well, I’m glad you have it.”

A tremor creeps through me. My first assignment looms over our heads, mere hours away. In a race against the Madsens, I’m going to head out into the world and do my part to neutralize curses.

The gauntlet comes to me in a new light—an extraordinary piece of armor that can help me survive what’s coming my way. Whatever its story and origins, Sky and Natalie think I’m the best person to have it.

Maybe Sky knows how Natalie feels about me and wants to protect me for her sake… or maybe she thinks I’ll need all the help I can get.