We both chuckle like teenagers caught by their parents. Liam frowns.
"Hm... You think we can run away?" he whispers.
"Not without our bike."
"My bike, Mara. It's my bike."
"Um..."
He rolls his eyes, and I chuckle, grabbing his hand and taking him back to Nora and the others.
It feels like the calm before the storm.
The eight of us, eating around a table in the shade, enjoying a simple meal and friendly discussions. Of course, all our topics are light-hearted. I have to give a precise explanation of what happened to me during what we apparently now call the mirror curse, and the Black Brothers and I alternate to explain about the fight inside the building too. Nora and Selena keep grimacing as we explain.
"What about you?" I ask Ben, suddenly remembering. "You were in bad shape last time I saw you..."
The werewolf boy nods, and lifts his shirt to show me the large bandage around where I remember his wound to be, with a bit of a blood stain, even.
"I'm fine," he winks at me. "It stings a bit, but I'll heal soon with a badass scar!"
"It's not badass to have scars all over!" protests Kelsi, upset. "You should have been careful, you knew it wasn't our Mara..."
"Sorry," he chuckles, still blushing a bit.
Damn, they are so cute together. All the couples are sitting next to each other, but Kelsi and Ben look almost as if they are on a bench together, so close and acting so cute.
It feels a bit strange for me too to simply be here, holding hands with Liam in front of his brothers. Moreover, neither of them seem to care anymore. Actually, I think I know why now. It's just like Selena's change of attitude. I think they felt the... bad I was still carrying inside until now. With the Dark Magic gone, it feels as if they have no reason not to trust me anymore. Plus, I more or less saved Liam's life too, and Damian Black mentioned it himself. Which makes me think he also changed his mind about me because of that, and his brother too.
"...I still think it was strange," says Selena. "She set so many buildings on fire in record time. It's not like Mara was late to the party, but that bitch basically started all those fires simultaneously."
"Maybe not so simultaneously if she had help," says Nathaniel. "However, no one reported another arsonist in the area. They all think it was Mara."
"You mean the Dark Witch," says Nora.
"No," her brother-in-law retorts, "they think it was Mara. Nora, those people don't know what we know. For now, most humans in town will think she is a Fire Witch out of control."
"They are wrong," growls Liam.
"...It's okay."
They all turn to me, surprised. I let out a long sigh.
"To be honest, the humans are the least of my problems, for now," I continue. "It's not like they ever loved me, anyway. What I am most worried about are the other witches."
"I'm curious about that too..." says Selena. "I expected them to attack right away now that Sylviana's barrier is down. Why don't they?"
"Either they don't know the barrier is fading away, or... I sent a strong enough message already."
"That fire was pretty big," nods Liam. "It was probably seen way farther than Silver City."
I shake my head.
"Not just the fire. If they felt the barrier disappear, they must have felt me beating that Dark Witch too. Witches are... connected in a more complex way than werewolves, but we feel... when things happen to magic itself. When my body was possessed, the Dark Witch mentioned a curse. A curse much older than the hatred Nephera had. Something darker, something I felt too, and that killed Clarissa. ...Nora, Selena, you don't have any idea what it could be?"
The two of them exchange a long look, but eventually, shake their heads before turning to me again.
"No... we told you the truth exactly as we know it. I don't believe either of us has ever heard of a curse whatsoever. If anything, we've heard more about blessings, like what our grandmother Queen Diane got, reborn as the Moon Goddess reincarnate."
