Page 66 of Shadow & Stars
Nursing a cup of tea on the salmon pink sofa opposite two matching armchairs, I began my story.
Grandmother and grandson listened intently, the latter never letting his Synth drop. In these days, the synthetic magic remained at its strongest, not weakening as it would in ten years.
Ironically, witches would one day live in a world without magic. Or at least diminished magic. Maybe even having to rely on Trace like the warlocks.
At the end of my tale, which included me revealing my demon nature and details on Roman’s device, they took a few minutes to process the information. A cuckoo clock ticked the seconds by, my apprehension building with each second.
Had I revealed too much? What if they called the ADU and I got banished to the demon realm by one of those talismans? What would I do then?
June sipped her tea.
Roman stared at me with an open mouth.
“You’ll catch flies like that,” his grandmother told him, breaking the silence.
The young witch closed his mouth.
I sighed. “What are you both thinking?”
Roman blinked, then rolled his shoulders. “That this is seriously weird.”
“I know.”
“And having a demon in my house was an idiot move.”
June put her teacup down, remaining calm. “There is a magical device inside his chest?”
“Yes,” I answered, flexing my slightly shaky fingers.
Roman released a heavy sigh, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his thighs. “I don’t get it.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He didn’t look up, shaking his head.
“This is…” June didn’t finish, getting up and shuffling out of the room.
I stood. “I?—”
“Leave her,” Roman said, now looking at me. His amber eyes flared with danger. “Give her time.”
I sat back down. “I’m sorry I had to tell you this.”
He sniffed, leaning back in his chair. “So, I got shot by the queen?” His Synth magic finally disappeared from his hands.
“You did.”
“And I work for her?”
“You do. You did.”
“And you’re my boyfriend?” He held up a hand, stopping my answer with a scrunched-up expression. “Don’t go there. I don’t want to think about it. Gross.”
“Understood.”
“Fuck.” He crossed his legs, slouching. “This is nuts.”
I walked on dangerous ground here. I couldn’t stop thinking about any permanent damage I may have caused the main timeline.
