Page 10 of Blood of a Huntsman

"That's natural," Luke replied for him. "Whenever the immortal part of us is predominant, our eyes brighten. It's a characteristic we've inherited from the gods: Zeus, Hades, Thor, Oden, Kronos. You name one, they get freaky eyes from time to time."

"That’s so cool!" Paul was easily excited.

It wasn't that his siblings weren't taking his change seriously. They knew he'd died. They knew he'd lost his purpose, his job, everything. They were just trying to make him feel okay about everything.

Trying, and failing, but Bash still appreciated their effort.

"It'll take a while for Bash to get used to it. But he's improved so much in just a few weeks."

Bash was so very tired of hearing how well he was doing. He knew better than to believe it. He felt like a puppy whose owner praised him every time he went outside to take a shit.

He forced a smile. His siblings didn't need his damn scowling whenever he saw them.

"Hey, I totally did some magic today," he said, knowing Emilia would genuinely flip about that one.

His sister was fascinated with anything that even remotely resembled magic. Always had been.

She didn't disappoint—her eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and she gasped and brought her hands to her mouth.

"You're fucking kidding!"

"Just a little magic." Bash shrugged. "I started to take lessons from a fae dude last week, and today he made us work out which element we had an affinity for. At first, nothing worked, but then—"

But then, the unsettling, unfriendly, painfully perfect princess who usually paid zero attention to him had given him pointers. Entirely unexpected of Catherine Stormhale.

He scratched his chin. "Nothing much, but the earth crystal lifted an inch or two."

"I’m so freaking jealous!" Paul cried enthusiastically.

"And interesting," Luke added. "Magic doesn't come easily to those who aren't born with a pronounced ability. You should be proud. If you can do that at three months old, you might give Levi a run for his money in a few centuries."

Bash snorted. Yeah, right.

Levi was the Leviathan, dubbed ‘demon of the sea’ by those who didn’t know better. That whole myth had been born when he'd synced with a massive sea monster and sunk ships full of artifacts that witches had been planning to use against their kind.

Bash was so far from him the comparison wasn't even funny.

"By the way, if you're trying to convince me to not apply to the Institute, you're going about it the wrong way," Emilia said.

Bash's jaw tightened. He wasn't a hypocrite; telling his sister that Oldcrest was too dangerous would earn him a well-deserved kick in the teeth. If it was safe enough for him, she wouldn't hear about it being too dangerous for her. There were evil witches, at least three known major demons, and plenty of vampire dens in Brighton alone, more in London. Cities were infested with evil things, and battling them was their profession. Emilia and Paul weren’t safe. They’d never be safe anywhere.

But he'd died in Oldcrest. He'd actually died. The idea of Emilia enrolling in the Institute was chilling.

He hadn't said a thing when she'd first suggested it, but she knew him too well and could accurately interpret his silences.

"If that's what you want," he bit out, slowly.

"But you'd hate it."

"But I'd hate it," he echoed.

Emilia smiled. "Well, Paul hasn’t got his first assignment yet anyway. How about we reassess after he starts working?"

Bash tilted his head, frowning. It wasn't like his stubborn sister to relent quite so easily.

"Seriously?"

She laughed. "I may not always show it, brother, but I respect your opinion. Especially when it's valid. The last thing we need is two of us on the front line while Paul is still a minor. Right?"

Now he just felt guilty. She was holding back because of him. Dammit.

"How about you come visit?" Luke suggested. "Bash is staying in Oldcrest through the summer holidays. You could come, get a feel for the place, and spend time with your brother."

Bash was surprised. "Can they do that?"

Luke shrugged. "It can be arranged easily enough if that's what you want."

Yeah. He was a lucky bastard, really. With friends like these having his back, it would be a crime not to get his shit together.

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