Page 83 of Magic Betrayed

It was a question I wasn’t sure how to answer. Was I still human? And human or not…

“Maybe I am,” I murmured. “But even if I’m still human, I don’t think you actually believe I’m innocent.”

I was pretty sure she hated me for saying it—hated that I could see the conflict raging behind her confident front. But Chesney was no coward, and like her mother, she was too proud to cower behind convenient lies. And in that moment, when it seemed she had nothing to lose, she finally chose to admit the truth.

“I’ve wanted to hurt you,” she said curtly. “For so long. It’s been the only thing I’ve lived for.”

For Chesney, this was personal. And the only reason it would be personal…

“Maybe you don’t remember,” she continued. “Maybe you’ve tried to forget. But I can never forget. I will always rememberevery detailof the day they took my magic and… and gave it toyou.”

My heart constricted painfully. I stared back at her, with no words to offer.

No form of comfort was possible. No trite phrases, no excuses. I’d suspected for a long time. I’d hoped I was wrong. But only two water elementals had lost their magic at Elayara’s hands, and after I defeated Talia by taking her own power away…

“I wanted you to be at fault,” Chesney said, her voice gone flat and empty. “Because you are alive and you are here. Elayara is dead, butyouI can still punish for everything that was taken from me.”

But…

“But since we took in Ethan, I have been forced to admit that he, and you, and the others, have suffered as well. Have lost the lives you believed you would have. Lost innocence and families and homes. And now that I know there is no going back…”

Her face was bleak. So empty of hope. Almost as if she didn’t care about the outcome of the battle we faced.

“Ruining your life will not bring back mine,” she said at last. “I will simply have to accept that there is no remaining path that will allow me to go home. It may take time to convince the others, but eventually they will understand.”

Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t see that broken expression on her face without wanting to fix it. “Chesney, there’s no reason not to go home. Your mom still believes you’re alive. She’s still out there, looking for you. She never stopped.”

Her entire body went rigid.

“She also nearly started a war trying to figure out what happened, and she cried when she realized we’d found you. What on earth makes you think you can’t go home?”

It was like a door slamming shut in my face.

“Shut up,” Chesney hissed furiously. “You know nothing, human. Never speak of my mother in front of me again.”

Shutting up.

“Okay then.” I kind of wished now that I hadn’t given in to the impulse to help. “I guess I’ll just go out there and try to save everyone from this crappy situationyoucreated, while you pout in here and claim that no one understands.”

Fair? Only partially.

Satisfying? Very.

Chesney looked as if she would very much like to stab me, so I bared my teeth in a parody of a smile.

“If you need me,” I announced, “I’ll be on the roof. Saving your asses.”

And I marched out, with the four Idrians glaring daggers, and Kes staring at me as if she couldn’t believe I’d dared.

I might feel bad for them. I might even understand their anger.

But they had willfully endangered my family and I would never, ever be willing to forget it.

NINETEEN

Which washow I ended up lying flat on the roof of a crumbling nineteenth century Victorian house, draped in fae magic, while an over-eager ghost hunter live-streamed his enthusiasm for what was likely to be his own impending demise.

If I ever got out of this…

---