Page 24 of Light Magic

A faint smile adorned Magnus’s lip. “Lead the way, young man.”

I frowned, watching them go. Magnus had been so standoffish with me, but with his nephew and Belinda, he had been gentle and caring.

Maybe he was not fond of visitors and strangers.

Alone and in peace, I finished my delicious panini and drank some of my water. “Thank you, Myg,” I said, though I wasn’t even sure if this was her magic or the hall’s.

The moment I stood, the plate, the placemat, and everything disappeared. Seriously, if one day I settled down and had my own house, I wanted it to be magical like this, even if it was a cabin in the woods. Food that just poofed into existence and then dirty plates that disappeared forever? I was so in.

From the dining room to the library, I didn’t get lost, which was a small miracle. In the library, Abbie, Maggie, and Lacey were hunched over books on the long tables behind the tree, the snake wrapped around the chair’s arm. Gwen and Britt were in an alcove on the third floor’s landing, with books in their hands, talking to each other. The cat was napping beside them, and the raven was perched high up, close to the ceiling.

“They are studying,” Abbie said. Today she wore a dark blue gown that made her blue eyes pop.

“Magic?”

She nodded. “We have lessons almost every morning, and some afternoons.”

I frowned. “Are you in the middle of a lesson? Should I come back later?”

“No, you’re fine. I gave them an extra lesson to keep them distracted.”

The snake moved, which made me think of another animal. “How is Rune doing?”

“He’s resting in Trent’s room,” Maggie answered. “He’s a little scared to be out until we catch the last two ghouls, but he’s all right.

“I’m glad he’s better.”

Lacey got up and walked to me. She reached for my shoulder and my arms. “And how are you? All healed up?”

I had a scar where the vampire’s stake had cut through prior to coming here, but other than that … “I’m fine. All healed up and rested.”

She smiled at me. “Glad to know I’m good at my job.”

I almost smiled at her, but then I remembered something else. “About the ghouls, are we going hunting tonight too?”

“If Levi doesn’t find them first,” Abbie said.

“Levi?” I asked.

“That stubborn demon went to hunt for them,” Lacey said. “They are probably hiding, but he said that if he found them now, while they were sleeping, it would be easier to kill them.”

A pang cut through my chest at the thought of Levi infiltrating a nest and instead of finding two ghouls, he encountered twenty.

I pushed those thoughts away. What did I care about what he did or didn’t do?

Abbie gestured to the table. “Are you ready to start?”

“Of course,” I said, taking their lead and sitting down on a chair beside them along the table.

“All right, I know this won’t be easy, but tell us everything you can about your magic, and how you lost it,” Abbie asked.

I nodded and told them all about it, or at least, all I remembered.

Paimon, a former prince of the underworld, was able to absorb other supernaturals’ powers, and during a battle where Paimon was trying to absorb a dragon’s magic about six months ago, he absorbed mine.

“Paimon took your magic right before taking the dragon’s?” Maggie asked, frowning. She was listening attentively, but Abbie was taking lots of notes.

I nodded. “That’s what I heard. I passed out after my magic was gone. But Paimon didn’t get all the dragon’s magic. It was split between his daughter and him.”

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