Page 76 of Wicked Deeds

“Well, I doubt he told her he was consorting with demonkind. In fact, I doubt he even was back then. Thirty-odd years is a long time for a witch who has anything to do with demons to survive. Perhaps Sara sensed something about him. After all, she hid you.”

“Because she didn’t want him to take her handy little demon sacrifice away.” My voice hitched, the bitter taste in my mouth matching the ache in my chest.

Cassandra touched my cheek gently. “Your mother was not a good person. She made bad choices. But you have not. You have Damon, who loves you. Your grandparents loved you, too. Lean into the love, not the regrets. And now you have a sister. Think of her, rather than Jack. We’ll find him in the end. And deal with him.”

“And then I’ll have a father who’s a known criminal.”

“We can keep your connection with him quiet,” Cassandra said. “We have a lot of leeway for that kind of thing. His crimes won’t require a high publicity trial. He falls under our jurisdiction, not the human one.”

I stole a sideways glance at her face. Which was grim. “What does that mean?”

“As far as the wider world is concerned, he’ll quietly disappear and be declared dead a few years later. So you don’t need to worry. He’s not going to be a problem you have to deal with long term.”

Hearing her say her plan was to execute my father should have made me feel bad, surely? But instead, I could only agree with her. The problem was catching him, so justice could be handed out.

She nodded back at the house. “Gwen should be thankful he left her alone and didn’t come back for her. He hasn’t pulled her into any of his crimes.”

“Logically, yes,” I said, “but that’s hard to explain to her. She doesn’t know the whole truth about him yet.”

“And you’re right, we should take it slowly with Gwen,” Cassandra said. “She’s had enough shocks in the last few days.”

So had I. But Cassandra was right. I should focus on Gwen.

“So how do we find out about her magic? I don’t like the idea of her doing something like I did and throwing fire accidentally.”

“We ask her what magic she learned in the realm and then go to Callum and the Lady. They can confirm her Fae magic. We’ll figure out the witch part. I don’t want her wasting too much energy trying to do magic while she’s healing,” Cassandra said. “And I need to search the Archives. See if we have records of half-Fae, half-witch children. Which means consulting with our British friends. I don’t remember any cases here, but they may have had some over the years.”

“Fun times,” I said.

“Yes,” Cassandra said. “So, let’s pick some of this mint and a few other things. Everyone here could probably use some nice soothing tea.”

Chapter Nineteen

Damon interceptedme as we came back into the house. “Cassandra, I need to borrow Maggie for a moment.”

She raised her eyebrows but nodded. “Tea will be ready in about ten minutes.”

I smiled weakly. Maybe she’d make it taste nice for once. Take it easy on Gwen?

Damon watched Cassandra walk into the kitchen before pulling me into his office, closing the door behind us. The room was soundproof, so I didn’t worry about warding.

“So, what was all that about?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.

“Cestis business,” I said, trying to dodge the question.

He was having none of it. “Maggie, I deserve to know what’s going on.”

I sighed. Cassandra hadn’t explicitly told me not to tell Damon. “All right, but you can’t mention any of this to Gwen.”

“Of course not,” he said. “She has enough to deal with. But before we get into this, how are you? This is,” he waved back in the direction of kitchen, “a lot. A half sister and maybe a father.”

“Well, there’s definitelyafather. I’ve always known that.”

“You didn’t always know it might be Jack.”

“I’ve had my suspicions since I saw the photo. You know that.”

“Sure, but suspecting is different to knowing.” He pulled me close, hugging me before dropping a kiss on the top of my forehead. “Don’t worry, we’ll know soon enough, and we’ll make sure he doesn’t find out about you. He won’t get anywhere near you.”

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