Page 101 of Faerie Hunted

My old room.

Elfwaite took off from her perch on my shoulder without a word. Within the next heartbeat, or maybe two, the front door swung open and her glow filtered across the path. A flurry of movement, her arm waving, and the three of us joined her inside.

The foyers smelled the same.

I didn’t expect tears to burn my eyes again. Part of me really hoped the waterworks from my reunion would have been enough to empty me out, but there they were again.

We were breaking and entering the only home I’d ever known.

I halfway wondered if Uncle Will would have let me search for the journal if I’d just asked him. It was better this way, I assured myself. Better to be in and out before he came home. The only thing he’d come back to was my scent, unless I did a good enough job of blocking it from him.

Something told me I wasn’t in full control of my magic tonight.

Livvy’s nostrils flared and she moved unerringly toward the office. I was used to seeing the door closed so that was no surprise. But to see the way her pulse of power undid the locking mechanism, to watch it swing open on well-oiled hinges…

Something about the scene struck me as wrong. Of course that’s where she would start the search. If she’d sent the journal with me, and I didn’t have it, then Will would have kept it somewhere close and hidden.

Like the office I wasn’t allowed inside.

“We’ll split up,” I said harshly, afraid to speak too loudly. “I’ll check upstairs.”

The place was huge. Will made great money as a defense attorney so we had a lot of ground to cover. I highly doubted the book Livvy wanted was in my room—but it didn’t hurt to start there.

The familiar scents of my life assaulted my senses the second I opened the door.

Nothing had changed in here, either.

The empty picture frames graced the top of my desk and the bedside table. The bed was made and my pillows propped in place. Not an inch of dust in the place, so Will must have sent the housekeepers up here to make sure everything remained spotless. Why?

My stomach constricted tightly, my ribs poised to puncture my heart and organs.

The last time I’d been here, I’d packed my bags and told him I had a headache before he left for work. He’d asked me if it was a goodbye. He must have suspected but he’d never tried to stop me.

Please let him stay gone.

I’d break if he saw us now.

There were good memories in this house. Great memories, before Will decided I was old enough to be a pawn. He’d cared about me. As a single male he’d done his best to raise me and make sure I had whatever I needed that money could buy. He was affectionate by nature, as most wolves were, and had helped me through my first shift. He’d been there when no one else was.

I had friends here. I’d come out pretty well-adjusted considering the circumstances.

He’d cared about me and no one could change my mind about it or convince me otherwise. So why had he hidden my mother’s journal from me? Did he know the truth about my three magics?

My head spun and I reached out to lean against the wall to my closet to get my bearings.

Elfwaite peeked her head around the doorway in a flutter of movement. “Did you find anything?”

“I haven’t even started looking,” I admitted. “I’m falling down on the job”

“There's nothing downstairs. Not even a hint of spellwork to show where he might have hired a witch to mask a hiding spot. I did, however, find a lot of alcohol.”

“So where would he keep a journal?” I ground my back teeth together. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“Why is this journal so important?” she asked.

I worked my lower lip. “There's a spell in it that we need. For me. That’s why we’re here, risking everything.” On edge, I crept further into the room.

“It must be worth the risk.”

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