Page 168 of Whispers of Wisteria
This was his most constant gripe.
“He doesn’t even realize,” Shui said bitterly, tossing a rock into the water. “He’s too busy lecturing everyone aboutethics. He’s not seeing his weakness.”
I hummed and looked at the sky. It was late, and I was too tired to run interference between Tu and Shui tonight.
Not that Tu cared what Shui thought. He hardly paid attention to the world around him. The witch had his plans—his morality—and was slow to move on them.
It was my most constant annoyance.
But I would trust and endure.
“And what might his weakness be?” I asked vaguely.
It didn’t really matter. We all had them.
A witch could outsmart a fae, for example, if the witch planned well enough. And a fae, commanding intent, could win against a shifter.
I’d be surprised if Tu hadn’tconsidered this before.
No one was all-powerful.
“Blood,” Shui replied, frowning. “They bind their rituals in blood. They make it the core of the spell. He should be grateful for my benevolence.”
Blood.
Shui touched my arm. “Mu?”
How did I not see it before?
Necromancers ruled over blood, and the practice of necromancy itself pulled from the essence of a person. Other methods were acceptable, and items could be used, but the ideal was the purest, untouched part of a person: their blood.
Witches used bloodall the time.
I laughed. “Are you going to tell him?”
“Let him figure it out himself,” Shui grunted, crossing his arms. His mask was pulled under his chin, so his self-satisfied smirk was clear. “I’ve told you because I like you the most. Are you going to tell Jin yours?”
“I don’t think so,” I repeated, then added in a whisper, “He needs to tell me his first.”
That was one I hadn’t figured out yet. What was Huo’s weakness against Jin?
I’d never seen the dragon beat him.
Until then, I’d keep the fae’s safe.
While I trusted my quintet, there were some things better not to keep an official record of. After all, without the threat of retribution to keep order, humans were quick to delve into chaos.
“So,” I asked, “are you going to tell me how it works?”
He glanced at me.
I leaned forward and asked, “How does a necromancer defeat a witch?”
I really wanted to know.
“Bianca?” Gloria’s fingers brushed over my forehead. “What’s—”
She gasped as I pushed myself to my knees.
