Page 31 of The Magic of Revenge
"Being full of secrets and never seeing what truth lies beneath the surface," I told her honestly.
She nodded as she thought about it. "You're right. Though, some secrets are better left hidden, wouldn't you agree?"
Hunter's face flashed behind my eyes and my fingertips tingled with electricity.What exactly are we talking about here?
"Depends on the secret. If it's something like, sorry dear but your pot roast is dry and tastes like shit—then yeah. Better kept a secret. But if it's something like, your dad isn't your dad, kind of thing? Might be a secret that isn't yours to keep." I crossed my arms and tried to analyze this weird power struggle that was happening between the two of us. I had a feeling she knew who Hunter was to me and that made me want to push her off this fucking cliff.
She snorted a laugh. "Dads are overrated. Never met mine. I turned out great," she smirked. "So Cam, let me tell you about this assignment." She led me away and we walked along the edge of the dropoff. Mist sprayed up with each crash of the waves below. Looking over my shoulder, I saw smoke billowing up to the clouds from the other side of the castle.
"Don't worry. That's just Sloane practicing. So much untapped potential there," she said, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Isn't it dangerous to try and level up your powers? We were always taught that in school. You can unlock extra power as you grow and master your affinity, but to try and change it? Is that what Asrael meant?"
"What you learned isn't the truth, Cameron. There's a lot that people don't know. Can you imagine if every witch and mage out there realized what they could do with the right training? It would be a shit show," she spat with anger. "The simple fact is, there are people like us, who can level up. Who deserve it and can handle that kind of power. Montague Industries has a special unit that specializes in finding those individuals, the rare ones, the strongest ones—who can handle the boost. That's where you and your team come in," she explained, coming to a stop when we reached an apple orchard.
I didn't like the sound of this. It was all very supreme race kind of talk. There had been plenty of magical people with the same line of thinking, but they'd never gained any traction. Because it was fucking wrong and despicable.
"What do you need us to do?" I questioned, appearing interested.
She stepped forward then and clapped me on the shoulder. "You're a good man, Cam." A shudder raced down my spine at the feel of her touching me. My eyes took in her face, the way her red hair whipped around in the wind, and her eyes... They were so green.
The hand that was on my shoulder inched up and landed on my cheek.This isn't the woman from my dreams. I wouldn't... There's no way.
"Don't you remember what we have?" she asked, an edge of hurt to her voice that had my brows lifting.
"What are you talking about?" I shook my head, trying to clear away the fog.
"What we have, baby. I'd hoped that a few days would allow you time to remember. I can see now that's not going to happen," she said, looking down.
Did I have a relationship with this woman? She had to be at least fifteen years older than I was. Not that I'd discriminate on age, but I just didn't feel anything other than... disgust when she touched me.
"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I don't remember."
"I can help you remember," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and going in for a kiss. My face jerked to the side and she met my cheek instead. "Cameron," she whined. "I know you'll feel it if you kiss me. Do it," she urged, a hardness to her tone that had me untangling her arms and stepping back.
"No. I'm not going to kiss you. I don't feel anything sexual for you, Laurie. My memories returning isn't going to change anything," I growled, pissed that she'd tried to kiss me without my consent.
Her eyes narrowed on me for a split second, before I felt the sharp sting of her palm slapping my cheek. Hard. The moment her hand connected with my cheek, all hell broke loose inside of me. The barriers were dropped and I. Remembered. Everything.
A hand smacking me while big green eyes stared me down. The mission. Emerald Lakes. My little witch. Oh fucking hell, my girl. My baby. The lies, the betrayal... The fucking pentagram. Fischer. No.
A snarl carried to us on the wind and I'd recognize that sound any-fucking-where. Bagheera was coming in hot, and he was fucking pissed. Fireballs blasted into the sky and I straightened to my full height. Laurie gasped, seeing the murderous expression on my face.
"I'm sorry for slapping you. I got carried away." She started backing up, but I pressed forward. My arm snapped out and I grabbed her by the throat, little zaps of electricity hitting her skin.
"You're a lying, treacherous, murdering cunt, and I'm going to make the rest of your short existence a miserable fucking hell, bitch." Her eyes widened as she took in my words. Leaning in close to her face I whispered her worst nightmare.
"I remember everything."
When I'd exited the castle, Asrael was already waiting with a resting bitch face that rivaled mine. Palmer’s assignment must not have been too far away for him to have already returned. I had to admit, I'd been curious about what he'd said at dinner the night before. The leveling up, having untapped magic? I wasn't a prick—well, yeah, I was—but who wouldn't want more power? Palmer had gotten some pretty cool boosts, so why not me?
I didn't want to work with the guy, but I'd take any information I could get. Especially if he was somehow giving certain witches and mages magical boosts and then using them for whatever agenda. The dude was bad news. Letting my mask slip into place, I approached him respectfully. My personality was never going to make me into an eager little puppy, but faking respect was something I was great at. Growing up in a house like mine, I’d had to be.
"Sir," I greeted.
"Ah, Mr. Sullivan. Nice of you to join me." He glanced at his watch like I was late or some shit. I wasn't, he was just a dick.
"So, what are we doing?" I asked, not one for small talk or mind games. My heart clenched as that made me think of Fischer. No. Not the time.
