Page 37 of The Soulless Witch

“Enchanted objects.” I smiled bitterly. “An ordinary object can be enchanted by either a witch or a Fae. The enchanting part must be performed by someone with magical abilities, of course, but once that’s done, even a human can wield the object. Just like the hunters do.”

A shadow fell over Lily’s face, and she wrapped herself tighter in her cardigan. She looked cold, her body slightly shivering, but I doubted there was any level of discomfort that could make her stop the lecture.

“The hunters…That was the Guardians of Humanity Order, right? The one you said we should be most careful with?” I nodded, and she bit her lip. “And they are all humans like me? Yet they face supernatural creatures and kill them?”

“From what I know, the Order only accepts humans. They might accept someone of supernatural descent, only if they do not possess any extraordinary powers. Humans with an affinity to magic are rare, but the Order values them almost as much as the purest of humans. And each of them trains for years before they are made hunters. Their devotion to the Order is absolute, so once a person joins their ranks, they are expected to dedicate fully to the cause. Also, they don’t accept women in their ranks.”

“Misogynist pigs!” Lily grumbled, her hands balling into fists. “It’s not like I want to join them, but I’m pretty sure that some women can do better than some men. Including hunting and fighting! Ugh!”

I smiled, pushing my hair out of my face since the sudden wind that blew through the yard had sent it flying everywhere. “While some of them are misogynist pigs, that’s not the reason they don’t accept women,” I said and Lily looked back at me, her frustration forgotten. “They don’t want to risk witches infiltrating their organization. A witch can drain her power and pass for a human, so she can deceive their checks and be allowed into their Order. From there, she can learn their secrets.”

“Then what’s stopping the…um…wizards from doing the same?” Lily shrugged, confusion making her brows knit together.

“There are no male witches, Lily.”

She stared at me with even more confusion, as if expecting me to say that I was joking. When that didn’t happen, she rubbed her forehead.

“What, like, men can’t wield magic? Or male witches are never born? Because in the movies, it’s always the old wizard that saves the day.”

I bit my lip, cursing myself for stirring the conversation in that direction. I opened my mouth to say men couldn’t be witches, but then I stopped. Lying to her was only going to put her in danger.

“Men can be born with magic,” I said carefully, studying her face. “However, they are not allowed to live, because there is nothing more dangerous in the world than a male witch. Their magic doesn’t work like ours. From the moment they are born, they have so much power that they are wholly unstable. Some of the largest natural disasters and catastrophes in history were caused by male witches on the loose. So, even before I was born, there was one law that every witch must abide by. No male child with powers can be allowed to live.”

Lily’s eyes widened again, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she found her voice. “When you say not allowed…?”

“Male children with magic abilities are killed at birth. Sometimes, even before it, along with the mother, if she is unwilling to part with the child,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady. I could feel her eyes boring a hole into me, and a gentle touch of my magic told me she was full of anger, disgust, and sadness. “It’s a horrific rule, but one that has saved the world from disasters many times. We are lucky that male children with magic are extremely rare. But when they are born…disasters follow them, and ones of epic proportions. Even if I was at full power, if I faced a grown-up male witch, I would likely lose. A regular witch stands no chance.”

Lily lowered her gaze, wrapping her arms around her legs again. She didn’t say anything for a long time.

“Have you seen it happen?” she asked, her eyes cautious as the words slipped from her mouth. “The law…being enforced? Have you killed…” she trailed off, shaking her head as if regretting asking the question.

“No, I have not killed one myself,” I said just as quietly. “But I have watched one die.”

Lily was about to ask another question when the door to the backyard opened and Julia poked her head out, her eyebrows disappearing into her hair.

“I thought I heard voices. What are you two doing out here so early?” she asked. “Especially you, Lily. How are you even awake?”

“Very funny, mom.” Her daughter grimaced. “We were just talking. Do you need anything?”

“I’m making waffles.” Julia smiled, and at the mention of food, we both groaned. Lily grinned, the shadow of our conversation dispersing from her face. We slipped into the warm house, taking a seat around the table, while Julia brought each of us a steaming cup of coffee, returning a few minutes later with a tray full of crunchy waffles.

“Oh, by the way,” Lily said while finishing her second waffle, coated with a thick layer of chocolate. “Do you want to come with me later? I’m helping my professor with this case study for extra credits—and because I love his teaching, of course—and I think you’d love him! He is also very interested in magic and the occult, and he seems to have a fascination with witches.”

“Of course he does,” I murmured as I finished my coffee. “But I have nothing else to do, so why not?”

Lily beamed, stuffing the rest of her waffle into her mouth and clapping excitedly. Jake and Buddy barged in a couple of minutes later, a yawning Kevin on their heels, and the kitchen filled with conversations, laughter, and barking that made me hope I’d get at least a few years of this messy peace before something deadly came after me again.

Chapter 20

Roman

Glancingatthedarkscreen of my phone for the hundredth time today, I slid it into my pocket when the auditorium door opened and the first students slipped in, muttering their greetings.

Celeste hadn’t called or texted once, not even to say that everything was alright. It had already been several days, and while I wanted to give her the space to say her goodbyes, I couldn’t help but worry. There were hunters, werewolves, and witches out there, eager to kill her or take away the power they thought she had, but she acted like that wasn’t a problem at all. Maybe it was the fact that she had already died so many times that made her so unafraid of death; maybe it was that stubborn independence of hers that made her hide her fears from me.

It didn’t matter. This couldn’t go on. I needed to make sure she was alright, even if it meant showing up at that house and coaxing them into inviting me in. That part at least shouldn’t be a problem, not with Lily living there.

The door opened, letting in a familiar scent that made my entire body come alive in an instant. It was fresh and strong, meaning Lily must have seen her recently, which in turn meant Celeste was fine. So why hadn’t she called?

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