Millicent remains composed. “Strange times,” she replies smoothly. Then her eyes sweep over Iris, assessing, searching. “You have magic, yet I see no markings? Are you a mage?”
Her gaze flicks over the slivers of exposed skin, visible from where Iris’s dark green overalls dip at the ribs and shoulders. If Iris were marked like witches, Millicent would have already seen the evidence.
Iris throws her head back and laughs, her body shaking with amusement. Her laughter lightens the room. It always does.
“Goddess above, no!” She exclaims, pulling her hair forward and twisting, sliding her straps down to reveal her back.
I already know what Millicent will see.
Across Iris’s back, an intricate tree, its sage-green swirls shimmer like winding patterns of living energy. It coils from the center of her spine before branches extend toward her shoulders.
The sight of it snags my chest.
An urge.
I can’t stop my gaze from dropping, tracking every swirl of the design, every curve of her bare skin—
Wait.
No, that’s not mine.
Kalix.
I flick a glance at him from the corner of my eye, already knowing what I’ll find.
He’s staring, completely unblinking. His entire focus is pinned on Iris’s exposed back.
Ignoring his attempt at burning the image into his mind, I return my attention to the two witches.
Millicent trails her eyes over the markings, her expression shifting to something close to awe and intrigue. “These are impressive,” she acknowledges, her voice carrying an edge of respect. “What is your magic?”
I’m surprised Millicent is even being civil. Then again, Iris is another witch. That must make her worthy of respect in Millicent’s fucked up hierarchy of human worth.
Iris slides her straps back up, securing her overalls once again. Her smile widens, beaming under the compliment.
“Necromancer,” she announces, as if that alone explains everything, “Here, I mostly work in the lab as more of…a biologist—a chemist of sorts! The boys bring me specimens, and I test them.”
Felix leans back, smirking.
“She dissects them.”
Iris waves a dismissive hand, ignores him entirely.
“I’m trying to figure out what the North is up to, what exactly they’re creating, and what the source is.”
She speaks faster now, her nerdy excitement creeping into every word.
Millicent’s brow lifts. “A necromancer? Do you have a bunch of beasts hidden somewhere?”
Iris’s eyes light up, and she nods enthusiastically.
“Once upon a time, yes, but not so often anymore. I mostly help with tragic accidents when animals are hurt. I still get the itch to make creatures, but they need to be fed, and that’s…not practical here.”
Felix clears his throat.
“Yes, we definitely don’t need your man-eating abominations roaming the castle.”
Iris barely acknowledges him, still grinning, until—
