Page 39 of Cursed Magic

“Ryker?” Raven glanced over her shoulder at him. “What’s wrong with him?”

I pivoted so that I stood next to him, not wanting to miss any facial expressions he might reveal.

“Nothing iswrongwith me.” Ryker’s hands fisted, but his face remained a mask of indifference. “All we’re here to do is get some guidance on how to find the people responsible for killing packs and nests and abducting the witch we tried to go to first.”

Elara’s head jerked as she took a step back into the cottage, where the sheen made it a little more difficult for me to see her despite her pale skin. “A witch is missing? Who?”

“Iskaria,” Raven answered quietly. “In the thirty minutes it took for us to talk to her, get ready to leave, and drive there, she vanished into thin air.”

“Oh goddess.” Elara clutched a hand to her chest. “Why would she be taken?” Her brows furrowed, and her eyes darkened.

“We suspect she knew something that the Blackwoodsdon’t want us to learn.” I wrung my hands, trying to expel my nervous energy. I didn’t like the way she was studying us, as if she could see more than I wanted her to.

“Blackwoods?” Elara tilted her head. “I’ve never heard of that coven, so you should leave.” She tried to close the door, but Raven blurred and caught it before she managed to shut it an inch.

Ryker took a few steps forward, and Elara lifted her free hand, readying to perform magic. I grabbed his arm and yanked him back to me, my pulse racing. Ryker getting closer to her had put her on edge.

“The Blackwoods are a shifter pack, not a coven.” Raven leaned against the doorframe, making it clear she had no intention of leaving despite the threat of magic.

“We don’t get involved in pack business, and frankly, we try to stay out of vampire situations as well.” Elara’s lips pressed into a thin line. There was a flicker of something in her eyes, a reluctant concern she tried to mask. “The vampire queen may think she can call in favors, but I am not one to be swayed by debts alone.”

As the dim light of the setting sun cast long shadows across the cottage, the air grew thick with mistrust. I got a sense that she was done talking with us, and that would be detrimental. We needed something to impact her. “The Blackwoods are slaughtering packs, including mine, and they took out a large vampire nest in the middle of a vibrant town. They have a witch tied to their pack who must be aiding them.”

“That’s not possible. Witches don’t align with other species—it disrupts the balance.” Elara shook her head, but she scowled as if she finally believed me.

“The Blackwoods have crossed a line; why would they stop at just killing vampires and wolves now that they’vetaken Iskaria?” Raven dropped her hand from the door, practically challenging Elara to close it now. “You have a traitor in your ranks.”

Elara’s expression faltered, concern crossing her face before she masked it again. “Iskaria was a reclusive soul, preferring the solitude of her craft. If she’s gone, it’s not by choice.”

Now that she might believe us, we needed to capitalize on that while she was still listening. “That’s exactly why we need your help. The Blackwoods are using the witch affiliated with their pack to hide them from sight.” I was going to tell her that I could still see their shadows, but I paused. She didn’t need to know that because it was something I couldn’t explain. “Also, their scents are repressed to the point that you can’t tell where or who each one is. If they can do that, they’re a threat, not only to the packs but to your kind as well.”

“I can’t believe someone would betray their own kind like this,” Elara spat. “The witch who is helping them has the ability to cloak. That magic is rare. It’s not just about hiding—it’s about erasing someone’s presence entirely, including her own. Finding someone like that won’t be easy.”

Raven froze, and Ryker interjected, “Do you know where we might start?”

Elara’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she turned away, her movements deliberate. She paced the small space between the door and the room lined with bookshelves holding dusty jars. “I know a name. A witch whomightstill be alive. But I can’t promise anything. She’s…elusive. Dangerous, even. If she’s working with them, she’ll be hidden close to the Blackwoods in the forest. That sort of magic requires close proximity.”

“Well, their witch lives with their pack.” I’d never realized how separate witches kept themselves from most of us because I’d grown up with the knowledge that a witch lived among a pack. “So that makes sense.”

“No, this witch would need to live in the woods to harness enough magic to pull that stunt off.” She shook her head. “They must have two working with them, both of whom will be close to them.”

Finally, a lead. Not an easy one, but a lead nonetheless. “Is there a way to tell if Iskaria is still alive?” I had to ask because Briar was right. We couldn’t run from this.

Elara pursed her lips like she’d tasted something bad. “I can’t tell you that—onlyhecan.” She pointed right at Ryker.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

My head snapped in Ryker’s direction. Raven’s eyes narrowed, but the corners of her lips tipped slightly upward. She was no doubt thrilled that he was finally being called on his shit.

Ryker wasn’t amused at all. His nostrils flared, and his breathing quickened. “What are you talking about?” His voice was low, with a hint of menace lurking beneath the surface.

Shaking her head, Elaratsked. “Don’t play dumb. There’s no way you aren’t aware of the spell that’s been placed on you. You had to sacrifice a piece of yourself to gain it. It isn’t natural, and it’s one for which even witches struggle to understand the impact. It turns you into a different person—so long as the witch is still alive.”

He flinched, and my breath caught. His gaze darted to me, then to Raven before he turned back to Elara, his expression strained in a mask of controlled fury.

I wanted to ask what spell, but Ryker was barely keeping it together. I didn’t want to add to the alreadyvolatile tension, and I seriously doubted he wanted Raven to know all about it.

“I’m still the same person. What are you insinuating?” Ryker crossed his arms, trying to move in front of me again.

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