Page 41 of What Is Dark Within Me

It waseasy to find Liam once she realized all she needed to do was follow deer trails to the patches of fresh blueberries. “Hey!” she called, spotting his golden hair from across a small clearing, as she remembered every horror story Violet had told her about hunters mistaking humans for animals.

She half-expected Liam to seem annoyed as the two deer nibbling at dark-green leaves scattered, but his face brightened at the sight of her. “Sorry about scaring them,” she said, plucking a twig out of her hair.

“It’s fine. I got a massive stag a few days ago. Should keep me fed for a month. I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to see you in the forest again.”

“Actually, I have a favor to ask. I want you to help me find another Remnant.”

Liam raised an eyebrow, but there was a look of amusement on his face. “Whatever for?”

“Practice,” she admitted. “I have to learn how to control my magic, and I’m shit at aiming. Shit at extinguishing the flames once I call them up. Shit at everything. I need real world experience against something prepared to fight back.”

“I’m guessing this request isn’t coming from Nicolas.” The statement surprised her until she remembered Liam had once been a soldier in the Knowing One’s army.

“No,” she said. “And I swear, I won’t tell him if it would compromise your hunting.”

A look passed across Liam’s face that was not one of his usual bright smiles. She’d wondered if the prospect of taking the Knowing One’s consort into the forest to hunt Astraelis without his knowledge wouldn’t be well-received, and this seemed to confirm it.

“I don’t know, Aleja.”

“The Remnants aren’t very dangerous, you said so yourself. I just need someone to watch my back.”

“Why don’t you askhimto accompany you?”

She froze, remembering the way his body had pressed against hers in dreams. The way they had clawed at each other like two hungry monsters.

“He’s busy and I need the extra practice,” she said, trying for conviction in her voice. It wasn’t exactly a lie, and it wasn’t as if Liam needed to know the more intimate details.

“I’ve seen what he does to those who—well, I suppose you’re right. They’re just Remnants. But I haven’t seen one in weeks now. We’ll have to go up into the mountains. I may need some time to track one down. Find me this evening, close to midnight, at the fork in the trail where we first met?”

“All right,” she breathed.

* * *

A Spell to Quell Your Anger

Don’t.

Open your mouth. Scream. Break something precious, but only if it belongs to you.

A note beside the entry,nearly illegible:

FUCK YOU, DR. J. How many women have you sent to be “cured”?

I missed a meeting with Agnes today. Didn’t even notice the text until seven hours after she sent it. I’d been staring at a blank wall. I don’t know why I started or how I stood there for so long without noticing.

The whole time, it was whispering to me. Begging me to return.

I threw my car keys into the trash chute in my apartment building, and an hour later, they were back on my counter. I don’t remember going to get them.

5

A SPELL FOR HUNTERS

“Come.You’re going to scry again.”

“Huh?”

Aleja startled. She was too exhausted for Bonnie’s company and had spent much of her day wandering the galleries again, listening for the click of Garm’s nails against the marble floor. Last night’s excursion with Liam had been useful—successful, even. He’d tracked down one Remnant, and once they’d wrangled it to the edge of a cliff, she had taken it down herself.

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