Page 19 of Livewire Witch

It stings that she doesn’t trust me.

Not something I’ve ever experienced before.

“You really think we’re going to rat you out?” I ask softly.

“No.” She hesitates. “I know Seb’s got illegal magic too and that you protect your own, I just—”

Frustration burns in my gut. “You’re one of ours too now, Silver. You protected Seb, and we’ll protect you, too. Whatever you need.” I’ll say it as many times as she needs me to, until I’m hoarse, if I have to.

Silver lets out a slow breath and takes a sip of coffee before responding. I don’t really like the defeated look on her face, but I keep my mouth shut for once.

“I can talk to ghosts. I might be able to do more with them, but I’ve never tried it, considering—” She licks her lips and clears her throat a few times. “—considering that’s the reason they arrested me when I was twelve. They locked me in a cell and I had to fake my death to avoid my execution.”

Well, shit. I didn’t see that coming.

“I can also blast fire from my hands. I can change my appearance with a glamor, I can make it rain on my command—but that’s a very new thing. I can create a blood sword out of not very much.”

“More of a blood butter knife,” Zeph mumbles, causing Silver to snort a laugh.

“I can also talk in people’s heads. And... I can make people do things, like carry two unconscious, heavy as shit mages for miles. I’m hoping I also persuaded them to never speak of the events of that night, although it was a bit of a gamble, considering I’d never tried it before. The whole changing my appearance thing doesn’t work as well as I thought either, since Felix recognized me from when I was a kid.”

“Illusion magic doesn’t work on any of my family. We can see right through any illusions and Felix has some weird magic that helps him to see people’s auras, so there’s no proper way of disguising yourself from him if you’re right in front of him,” I tell her. I’d know. I used to fuck about and illusion myself up when I was a teenager. It was the first rune tattoo I ever got. Missy the jaguar was my second. “But what do you mean about him recognizing you from when you were a kid?”

“Story for another time, I think.” Silver gives a wry smile. “Guess the whole aura thing is how he knew exactly who I was, ten years after I first met him.”

I really, really want to know what she means, but I also really, really, really want to know more about her magic. I mentally file away my curiosity, although in the mess of my head there’s astrong chance it’ll get lost among all the dancing flamingos and boy band lyrics.

“I’ve never heard of anyone having more than one type of magic before,” Zeph grunts. He sounds apathetic, but the way he’s looking at Silver is like he’s never seen her before. There’s both intrigue and more than a little banked heat just under the surface.

Or maybe that’s just me projecting. Finding out that Silver’s a magical powerhouse has just made her infinitely more desirable. And not because it’ll come in handy.

Competence is sexy as fuck.

“All those skills and she still barely knows her left from right,” Ember quips, earning him a sharp elbow to the ribs from the giant beside him.

“I do only have one type of magic. It’s just... a greedy little thing,” Silver shrugs with this self-effacing smile that has my stomach swooping.

“You can mimic other people’s magic?”

She turns to me and I immediately bask in the glory of her attention. Fuck, I might get hard if she directs that smile at me. My dick feels like it’s on a hair trigger at the moment.

“It’s not quite mimicry, since I can still use the power later. It’s more like I absorb part of the power.”

“You can make people do things,” Zeph says. He’s staring at her like he wants to eat her and while I fully get the urge, I try to catch his attention. I need to tell him to tone himself down a bit. Right now, he’sa lot,and he’s gonna freak her out.

“Like carrying your heavy asses home when you got knocked out and you had a broken leg.” She wrings her hands in front of her like she’s anxious. “But that was the first and only time I’ve ever used it. I picked it up from Dante during that first trip to his office, after I met you guys.”

The way she’s staring at Z, it feels like there’s some silent conversation going on between them I don’t fully understand.

I’m not a fan of silent conversations. I like to be involved. And the only way to converse isloudly.That’s my motto. Or one of them, anyway.

“The vamps have mind-control powers?” I ask.

That’s interesting. Worrying. What else can they do that we have no idea about?

“You saved us,” Z says, still staring at Silver with crazy intensity. “Even though you didn’t know whether the people you were manipulating would know what you were doing. That’s absurdly risky.”

It’s hard to tell if he’s complimenting her or chastising her. His tone and facial expression make it nearly impossible to tell the difference and I can see her giant brother, Rook, bristling in his seat.

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