Page 35 of Wicked Witch of the Wolf

I was losing it.

I glanced at the front door where I’d found Mom three years ago. The image of her lifeless body lying there was still so real.

“Why didn’t you tell me my father was the son of a demon? Why didn’t you tell meanythingabout him? Anything at all?” I asked her for the hundredth time since moving in.

“You said he died, but now I don’t even know if that’s true, and I’m afraid to ask because I don’t want to deal with the answer.” My throat ached, and my eyes filled. “Maybe I wouldn’t have understood about the demon thing. Maybe I wouldn’t have responded with grace, but maybe, just maybe, I’d have been better prepared for the rest of my life without you.”

Chapter

Eight

“Steaming on your skin?”

“That’s what I said, Joon. Twice.” I switched off the garden room radio and put my phone on speaker. I’d been out here since lunch, checking and rechecking the charms. My magic was stronger these days, but it wasn’t what I’d call dependable. I didn’t entirely trust it.

“Right. Well, it’s early here, so forgive me for being a little slow,” he said.

“I checked. It’s seven a.m. in Seoul. Aren’t you usually up by seven?”

“No. And definitely not after following a college kid around all night.” He coughed, and I heard a sipping sound. Probably coffee, maybe tea.

“Is it nice there?”

“How would I know? I haven’t been able to enjoy a single second of my trip. Remind me never to take a job from a government official again.”

“That’s not fair. Sounds like it’s less about the officialand more about her kid.”

“Remindme,” he repeated.

“I’ll make a note of it in my calendar,” I drawled.

“See that you do.” He chuckled softly. “To answer your question, it’s nice here. Mild, a little warm.”

“Same here in Smokethorn. Getting warmer by the second. I’m not looking forward to summer.” I stared out the window at the desert sky. It was wide, clear, and as blue as the ocean. “What do you think about this weird magic thing? I need the take of another elemental magical.”

“And you came to me? I’m honored.”

“You should be. I chose you out of all the zero earth elementals I’m friends with.”

He chuckled again. “So, thisweird magic thingstarted last month after you made out with Ronan in the park?”

I frowned at the phone. “I never mentioned making out with Ronan.”

“Ida and I talk.”

“Great. Fine. Wonderful.” I plopped onto the chaise and played with a sprig of chocolate mint. Cecil had just started growing the stuff, and it smelled like heaven. “That’s when it went full steam—no pun intended—but it started before that. I just didn’t pick up on it. Have you ever heard of one of us absorbing the soil into our bloodstream?”

“No. Not even for a spell. Blood magic isn’t something I know much about, though.”

“It’s not blood magic. It’s earth magic gone wild,” I said.

“Could be both. How do you access it once it vaporizes into your skin?”

“Good question.”

“But you did use it.” He gentled his voice. “When Cousin Stalker McMurderface tried to kill you.”

“I told you. It was a group project. I called upon my ancestors, the Lennox witches, and they helped me, uh, stop him.”

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