Page 41 of The Soulless Witch

I slid back into my seat while Lily blinked a few times before looking at me.

“When is it supposed to work?” she asked, but before I could tell her it already was, she looked at Roman. “Is this… holy shit, you are pale!” She clasped her mouth with her hand while Roman smiled. “I’m sorry, professor, I didn’t mean to offend you. You have a spell on you?”

He raised his hand, turning the ring on his index finger. “This artifact changes my appearance to look more human. Darker skin, darker eyes. Hides my fangs too.” He smiled wider and Lily gulped. When exposed, his fangs reached past his lower lip, but when he showed them earlier, I doubted she saw more than normal canines. “Other than that, I look pretty much the same. Turn around.”

She did as she was told, eyes gliding over the tables below. I couldn’t see anyone wearing glamor or appearance-changing artifacts, but I had noticed several eyes watching us from the trees, and the splashes in the fountain in the middle of the square were too high to be made from the fishes.

“Look closer.” Roman nodded behind her. Lily turned in her chair, staring at the tall, dark trees surrounding the place. I smiled when a slender figure stepped from behind one of them, keeping well away from the closest table while her green skin gleamed under the lamplights. Her eyes narrowed at the laughing humans, and she tugged on her brown hair in annoyance before strolling back into the shadows.

Lily turned, gaping at us, and I pointed at the trees again. Returning to her vigil, she let out a low squeak as she noticed the other tree spirits dancing through the branches, their light flickering similarly to the fireflies flying in the night.

“What are those?” she asked.

“Dryads, mostly,” I explained, pulling my magic back from her eyes. “The small ones are new spirits, bound to their trees until they grow strong enough to venture out. The one that resembled a woman—that’s a fully grown dryad, and judging by her expression, she is the guardian of this small forest. And the ones in the fountain are probably naiads. There has to be a lake or river nearby; they usually live in bodies of fresh water.” Lily looked at the fountain but soon frowned in disappointment.

“I don’t see anything.”

“I took my magic back. That’s enough for tonight.” She gave me a disappointed look but nodded. “Shall we leave?”

“Bill is already settled, we can go,” Roman replied readily, and I got up. They followed while Lily looked several times toward the trees.

We drove in complete silence. I could feel Roman glancing at me from time to time, but I kept my eyes out the window so he didn’t say anything. Lily seemed even more lost in thought, so when the car stopped, she barely noticed. It was only after Roman cleared his throat that she looked up.

“Lily, you can go back inside. Celeste and I will go for a ride.”

The girl’s eyes flicked to me, and I nodded.

“Should I tell Mom you’ll be late? She will be worried,” she said, opening her door.

“Yes, I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

She nodded, bidding goodbye to Roman before hurrying toward the house. We waited for her to get safely inside before Roman drove off. Neither of us said anything until he joined the main street, the late hour leaving the path almost devoid of traffic.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Home,” he replied, keeping his eyes on the road even as I continued to stare at him. “I found information that will tell us where they have taken your artifact, and I’m not talking about it somewhere where I can be overheard. I will drive you back before sunrise.”

Chapter 22

Celeste

“Youaremoreattachedto those humans than I thought,” Roman said after what felt like forever, darkness pressing on all sides with only the headlights of the car cutting through it. The night wind had brought heavy clouds in, swallowing the moon and stars and promising a vicious storm.

I raised my head from the hand where I was leaning it on. “What of it?”

He let out a heavy sigh, which was usually his way of showing disapproval without actually saying it.

“If that’s what you want, so be it,” he said in the end, his hands tightening on the wheel. “But you should mark them before someone else finds your connection to them. Without the mark, they are fair game.”

“Marking people without permission is your style, not mine,” I said without thinking, and he finally looked at me, anger flashing in his eyes.

“The mark means protection, not ownership,” he said with a painfully controlled voice. “Your mark has more power than you do right now. Every supernatural creature out there knows who you are, Celeste, and they will be wary of your power, regardless if you have it or not. And something with your imprint on it, they won’t dare touch it unless they are absolutely sure they could get away with it. Like it or not, symbols matter.”

The giant mansion came into view, light spilling from the windows despite the late hour. Roman drove through the raised door of the garage, moving effortlessly in the darkness. I exited the car, running my fingers over its side since, unlike him, I could see nothing. Once the metal disappeared, a cold hand wrapped around mine. We had barely stepped into the dimly lit corridor when a figure appeared in it, bowing at the waist.

“Welcome home, Master. Welcome home, Mistress,” the butler said, moving out of Roman’s way.

“I thought I told you not to call me that.” I sighed, and the butler smiled at me.

---