“Rowan?”
When I turned to look at him, I thought I saw a flicker of sadness pass across his perfect features—but it was so fast.
“Yeah?”
“Sunshine.” Disdain laced his voice. “What is that?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s sarcastic. Because…you know…” Suddenly, I found myself desperate to know what he thought of me. “Because I’m a downer.”
He studied me closely, and I expected him to say something mildly insulting. Instead, he said, “A downer?”
Given Orion’s history, I probably was a veritable ray of sunshine. “You know, I have a lot of stored facts about death and general fears.”
A line formed between his brows. “But of course you’d need that. Mortals die so easily. And you seemed particularly accident-prone.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“You’re not a downer. You are one of the most entertaining people I’ve ever known.”
“You only know, like, four people, and one of them had his head split open with an axe.”
A smile played about his lips. “See?”
I swallowed, then turned to walk back into my room, distinctly disturbed by the warm glow his words had given me.
I was, after all, ignoring him completely.
18
ROWAN
Five days until the trial.
After Orion helped me learn about my magic, I’d been rigidly controlled about avoiding him. Leaving the house at dawn before he woke, returning home when he was out. For the past three days, I’d managed to stay perfectly focused, envisioning a crown on my head and a peaceful demon city spread out before me.
With my teachers, I’d worked my way through one magical task after another.
At last, Legion allowed me to raise a monarch butterfly from the dead. Now it fluttered around my head, ignited with apricot light in the setting sun.
“Pretty zombie butterfly,” cooed Shai.
“Brilliant.” Kas beamed at me. “What do you think? Head home for the night, or do you want to go for gold and try summoning a witch?”
“I’m ready for the witch.”
“Let’s get the blood,” said Shai, looking perfectly witchy in a long black gown with lacy sleeves.
“I think she’s ready,” said Legion. “We have four days left. If there are problems with the witch summoning, we’ll need all that time to fine-tune it.”
“Oh, thank the gods.” Kas grinned. “I was getting incredibly bored.”
I inhaled deeply. “I’m going to need to recite the spell quickly, too. Belial University’s head witch will signal us to start, and then we’ll be racing to get to the end of the spell first.”
“Hmm.” Legion pulled a small crimson-filled vial from his pocket. He turned it over between his fingertips, then met my gaze. “So, you’re ready for this?”
I shrugged. “Might as well try it. But can you do me a favor and back up? Behind the trees, at least. In case I lose control of my magic.”
Legion arched a dark eyebrow. “You haven’t set anything on fire in days.”
“Right,” I said. “But none of us have much experience with Lightbringer power. Who knows what will happen?”
He shrugged. “Okay. Well, when you get to the summoning spell, let’s try with a witch we know. Someone gentle and forgiving. Someone who won’t mind being summoned from the dead.”
I took the blood from him and opened the vial. “Do you have anyone in mind?”
“Goody Pendleton,” said Legion. “Also known as Chemosh. I knew her long ago. She studied here in the eighteenth century.”
“Ah, good choice.” Kas’s deep voice seemed to hum off the tree trunks. He wore a dandelion behind his ears. The combination of a flower with his tattoos was very fetching on him. “Chemosh is lovely. She used to make me hot cross buns every Sunday. I think she had a thing for me.”
Legion sighed. “You say that about every woman.”
“Her Demonic name is Chemosh,” said Kas, ignoring him. “You’ll need to call her at the end of the spell.”
“Chemosh,” I repeated, with a sound like a hard H.
“You’ve got the pronunciation down.” Shai was flipping through one of the spell books. “Hang on, I’m finding the summoning spell.”
I pulled open the cork on the vial of blood. “Just so you know, once you begin the summoning spell, you could see a few visions of the dead.”