Night Witch (Weatherstone College, #2)(57)

There was a terrifying moment of silence as I waited to hear my fate, and then Rafael laughed. That bastard actually laughed. “Ah, son. It appears that you were the one who changed the game, and we’re finally closing in on the check and mate.”

I exchanged a glance with Trevor, who wore the grimmest face I’d ever seen. “What are you talking about?” Logan growled. I heard Noah murmur, but his words were too low to make out through the muffled connection.

“You should take a seat,” Rafael said. “This is going to be a bit of a story.” The scraping of chairs sounded as Rafael continued. “It all started when Paisley was born. That was when I felt the change in Beth Hallistar’s power. I mentioned it to her idiot of a husband, mostly in concern, but he dismissed me.”

Mom’s theory of what happened wasn’t as big of a secret as we thought—Rafael believed the same truth. Which meant Logan was going to know.

He was going to know that it was my affinity that killed his mom, and despite my family’s reassurances, I had no idea how he’d react.





Chapter 26




“You think Paisley is the reason Mom died?” Logan wasn’t a fool, and he didn’t waste time with Rafael’s dramatics. “You believe her magic infiltrated Beth’s . . . Can the magic of a baby do that? She wasn’t even bloomed.”

Before bloom, we’d managed to form a magical bond usually reserved for true mates in control of their powers.

My affinity didn’t follow the rules, and while Logan knew that, he continued to play his part well.

Rafael’s next words snapped from him: “Just because we don’t bloom young doesn’t mean our innate magic isn’t there. When that baby developed in the womb, her magic developed too. Beth got a taste of the monster.”

“You can’t know this,” Noah said, harshly. “Maybe Beth has the same ability as Paisley.”

“Nope. It was gone after that weekend,” Rafael said, his voice breaking. “After it was too late, and Tom ignored me when I needed him to prove his goddess-be-damned loyalty.”

Dad’s face was dark as he breathed deeply through his nose.

“So, you decided to punish Paisley? Because it was her fault after all.”

Logan’s words slammed into my chest, and it was only the hand Jensen slipped over my mouth that kept my distressed noise slipping free; he must have forgotten the phone was on mute. My chest heaved as I attempted to breathe, all the while wondering if this was the point Logan stopped being all in with our bond.

This magical bond had existed last year, and he’d fought it. He could do that again.

Jensen dropped his other arm around me, holding me tight against his chest, offering the comfort he could.

“I’m still punishing Tom,” Rafael said simply. “He was my brother and he ignored me, which destroyed my wife.” Even through the phone I could feel the swell of his rage.

Across the table, Dad looked like he was about to start spewing lava, and deep in his eyes were flickers of pain and regret—he didn’t count himself blameless here.

“Why the Hel is Paisley sick, then?” Logan’s words were biting, his anger palpable. It simmered in my own energy as the metallic taste of Logan’s rage coated my tongue.

Rafael’s laugh this time was softer, less evil villain. “Nothing would destroy Tom faster than seeing his family fall. Paisley is just the first, but one by one, in reverse order of birth, the curse will take them all. Tom will be last, and he’ll live long enough to feel the true pain of his loss.”

Curse. Fuck. It had been mentioned earlier, but not with any real conviction because it was super dark and highly illegal magic.

“You cursed her? How? You have to place a curse personally, and in a way that the recipient is unaware you’ve had access to their magic.”

Rafael’s voice grew louder. Gleeful. “I didn’t curse her, son. You did.”

Jensen kept hold of me on the chair when my body jolted. I don’t know why I even reacted, because I trusted Logan implicitly and his father not at all, but a sliver of worry that I’d been played all along flickered through my subconscious. But why would Logan play me and then bring the phone in to reveal it all?

It didn’t make sense. How did he curse me, then?

“What are you talking about?” There was genuine shock in Logan’s reply, and I wished I could see his face.

“Why do you think I tried to throw you into her path so often?” Rafael sounded smug. “Even when you kept leaving her and observing from a distance, I kept pushing you to follow her around. She’s a pretty girl, Logan. You have a connection to her and have since you were a child. Don’t think I don’t know why you’ve never dated anyone else. It was always that Hallistar bitch for you. Which came in handy.”

Through our connection, in the swirls of our magic that had bonded us before we even understood why, I sensed Logan was about to lose his shit. His energy pulsed, and a crack rang through the speaker. In the scuffle, the phone was tossed around, and I panicked it was going to hang up in Logan’s pocket.

“What did you do?” Logan was snarling, loud and angry, and thank the goddess we were still connected and I could hear him.

“The first time you slept with Paisley, you cursed her.” Rafael sounded as if he was forcing words out through a hand around his throat. “Her magic is siphoning to my family line, draining her until eventually she’ll die, and the curse will transfer to the next little shit in her family. We will gain all the power, and the Hallistar line will finally fucking end. It’s been the hardest wait of my life for that last bitch to bloom, but it’s all worth it now to experience Tom’s true suffering.”