Page 50 of The Powerless Witch

I frowned. “I don’t…know? I didn’tthink to check. Why?”

He didn’t reply right away, so I assumed he was ignoring me again. I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting back another groan while my headache worsened with my growing irritation.

“Because if he was born with powers, it would have affected the weather,” Nym said.

A chill ran down my spine as I dropped my hand, staring at him with shock. Celeste had told me about the danger of male witches and how her kind…killed them at birth. Could it be that Malia killed her son and hid it?

“But…why wouldn’t she have a funeral?” My mouth felt dry as sand, and I reached for the glass I had nearby. My trembling fingers brushed against it but it slipped in my clammy hand, smashing on the ground and splashing water and glass everywhere. I kneeled in a hurry, gathering the bigger parts and piling them on the table.

“Leave it,” Nym said, and the command in his voice had me straightening my back. When I looked at him, his eyes seemed to be burning brighter. “Sit down.” I obeyed again, pursing my lips while he strode closer, his muzzle stopping next to my face. He sniffed me—actually sniffed me—those intense eyes never leaving mine. “You’ve bonded.”

My mouth gaped with shock, but all he did was tilt his head. How could he tell? Was there something different about me? What did this mean?

“You are…unhappy about it?” He narrowed his eyes, as if confused, then took a step back. I sucked in a sharp breath, realizing I had stopped breathing. “Bonds are…complicated, but I’ve heard that they are rarely wrong. The Fated ones, I mean. Did she do something to you?”

I dropped my face into my hands, sighing heavily.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just I don’t usually…” I trailed off, staring at the palms when the realization hit me. He said ‘she’ like he knew. My head shot back up at him. “You knew? Did Celeste tell you?”

Nym gave me an exasperated look. “I may not be human, but I am versed in reading people. I had to be, considering who my mistress is and the threats that haunt her,” he replied. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think your parents know yet. But even if they do, I believe they will not mind. Your family is…tolerable. That’s why Celeste fawned over you so much.”

I scoffed, and Nym gave me a sharplook.

“Well, I’m glad you find us tolerable. We find you tolerable too,” I grinned, feeling the weight on my shoulders grow just a bit lighter.

Nym nodded toward the laptop. “Have you told any of this to Roman yet?”

“No, not yet.” I shook my head. “I wanted to find as much as possible before I went to him. I think I will…”

Nym’s ears perked up, his fur bristling in alarm when he raised his head, listening to something I couldn’t hear. I waited for him to say something, but he looked like he had forgotten I was even there.

“Nym? Is everything alright?” I asked. I still could not hear anything, but he continued to swish with his tail, so I got up from my seat.

“I don’t know.”

Striding to the edge of the table, he jumped off and headed toward the door. I followed, making sure to avoid the glass. Another shudder passed through me and I drew my cardigan tighter around myself.

Nym paused at the threshold, making me stop as he turned his head to look at me.

“You should rest,” he said, his eyes softening. “You are just human. Leave the monsters to the monsters.”

Chapter 22

Roman

Leaning my head on my hand, I opened the next file, skimming through the text. My hope of catching anything related to the Castle family, especially the youngest generation, rapidly dwindled. I had sent a team to check out the residence of Noah Castle, but they had reported no activity for the last few days—nobody came in or out of the place, like it was abandoned; no deliveries or visits; no light or movement. I was tempted to order them to have a look inside, but decided against it. I didn’t want to spook whoever might be living there just yet and besides, the humans wouldn’t know what to look for, anyway. I would have to go there myself to confirm if Noah was indeed the hunter, as I suspected. And if he wasn’t…that would be just another dead end to check off the list.

But if he was…it would make sense for the place to be unoccupied. Hunters forsake their old lives and families, so sticking to their birthplace would be against their doctrines. And if he had truly become a hunter, then that would explain why there was no information on him. The Order purged every possible paper trail of its members, creating brand new identities for them.

But why would they allow a witch’s offspring into their folds, even if he was magicless? And why would a witch spawn go after his own kind? Even if somethinghappened, that made him hate witches, to turn on his own living family…something wasn’t adding up.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed in frustration.

Four more wasted hours and nothing to show for it. But it’s not like there was anything else to do. I had received a message from an unknown number that the nest had been moved—most likely from Oscar. I hadn’t replied. I wasn’t sure if it would be intercepted, and putting them in danger was the last thing I wanted. As long as they got out of there in one piece, they could handle themselves and figure out their next steps. They weren’t my problem anymore.

A loud noise made me start up, looking at the screens just as they turned black, and a red banner with the word ‘ALERT’ flashed on all of them. My phone was on my ear before the alarm blared again. I turned the warning sound off a moment before somebody picked up on the other side.

“What is going on?” I demanded, trying to distinguish what the voices in the background were saying.

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