“I’m fine. But Uncle’s right, if I didn’t have backup power, I would have been done for sooner,” I admit begrudgingly.
Ahren exhales as he leans back, lacing both hands behind his head. “Si… you could have killed yourself; you know that, right? Handling dangerous magic can cost you everything.”
“And not to mention, it is not easy magic. I have not been able to perform those spells unless forbidden magic is tapped-” I shake my head, interrupting Aunty Ri.
“We didn’t use dark magic!” I know we didn’t!
Jayce and Uncle Leo’s heads snap towards me as Uncle sits forward.
“We?”
Oh gods.
Fuck! I’m so stupid!
Her Identity
Jayce
All colour disappears from her face, and for a moment, she looks like a deer caught in headlights as she looks from Leo to Raihana, and then back at Leo.
I can see her trying to figure out her next sentence. Maybe if it wasn’t Leo sitting opposite her, she might be able to come up with a somewhat believable lie.
“Heaven?” Raihana asks quietly as she stares at Sienna, clearly trying to control her emotions.
“Not exactly…”
She’s lying.
So, Heaven helped her, and I thought us boys were fucking reckless.
“Ahren, go get her,” Raihana orders. “Allie and Tatum, too.”
Ahren’s gaze flicks from Sienna to Raihana before he disappears from his seat with a quiet puff.
“How do they work, Sienna?” Raihana asks her niece.
“They are basically like batteries, power-charged and remaindormant until I pull on them.”
Raihana visibly pales. Placing her hand on one of Sienna’s tattoos and closing her eyes, she whispers a spell, and I feel the buzz of magic in the air before Raihana jerks her hand away.
I can sense her anger and panic rising, but what intrigues me is how the panic is giving way to fear. I glance over at her as she sits there, trying to remain passive and in control. I wonder what is worrying her.
The door opens and the Rossis all troop in. Allie looks across the room, giving both Leo and me a disgusted look before taking a seat opposite me. What did I do?
Heaven sits opposite Sienna, and Tatum takes a seat opposite Ahren.
“The runes, Heaven, how did you create them?”
“Sigils,” Heaven corrects, brushing her fingers through her hair, her face emotionless. She’s hard to read. Right now, I can pick up on Tatum’s annoyance, Leo’s keen interest, Ahren’s anger, which he hides pretty well as he looks between his sister and cousin, and Alessandra’s disgust, no doubt about the seat she’s sitting in.
“Sigils. Whatever. How did you even come across the spell?” Raihana asks, her voice shaking ever so slightly.
Sienna frowns as she stares down at the desk, guilt enveloping her. This girl’s emotions are always off the fucking chart. She projects them so strongly, it overpowers everything else. “There were mentions of it in a certain book,” she now says, looking at Raihana before apologetically mouthing a ‘sorry’ at Heaven, who still remains unfazed.
“Yes,mentions.I am asking how you learned how to perform the spell!” Raihana’s snaps.
“Does it matter? No harm is being done. It’s helping Sienna, so I really don’t see what the problem is, Mama,” Heaven says lightly, but I sense the underlying tone beneath the nonchalance. She may not project her emotions, but she’s not happy.
