Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters - Bella Forrest Page 0,53
fueling the magical world. It’ll be a comfortable prison, though, so you can blind yourself with that silver lining.” I struggled to hold back my tears as the Grendel shuffled forward and nosed the glass in front of me. I crouched down and put both palms to the orb, hoping he knew how sorry I really was.
Charlotte dusted off her hands triumphantly. “Right, that’s a job well done, I’d say. Took longer than I hoped, but we got there in the end. Now, I’m off to get this eye depuffed. I’ll probably see you all later if you aren’t lazing about, enjoying your Saturday afternoon while the rest of us are hard at work.” She smiled and gave the Grendel a mock salute before turning on her heels to exit.
“Wait!” I shot up, realizing I might not get this opportunity again. She was in a good mood after capturing the Grendel, and I knew that could make her more amenable to telling tales.
Charlotte turned back. “What’s up?”
“I was just curious about the guy who abducted me. Do you have any more leads on where he might be?” I blurted out. “I don’t know if you remember me saying yesterday, but he mentioned something called ‘Veritas.’ Do you know anything about them?”
Charlotte’s entire demeanor shifted from buoyed up to clammed up in two seconds flat. “We don’t have any new leads at the moment. As for Veritas, it could be anything, so I wouldn’t waste energy thinking about it. There are groups with all sorts of snazzy names all over the world, but they’re usually just wackos who believe in lizard people and stuff like that. Victoria will know where to look and how to proceed, so leave it in her hands.” I eyed her—the forced casualness in her voice couldn’t make up for her shifty body language.
You sound just like Victoria… Clearly, this was the party line. I felt like I was banging on a closed door, begging to be let in, but I didn’t have the credentials. I wished I could just forget about my abductor, but I hadn’t been able to. And until he was found, or named, or dealt with, I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest easy.
“I’m… trying,” I replied quietly.
Charlotte stepped forward and put her hands on my shoulders. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you went through, Persie. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be out of bed for a week, and I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d hidden away.” She sighed. “But you don’t have to be tough for toughness’s sake. You don’t have to carry the weight on your own. The weight of your name. The expectations. I get it, more than most people would. That’s why I’m giving you this advice: leave it to the experts and try not to get into any more trouble, because there are only so many emotional hits a person can take before it starts to change who they are. There’s a reason why lone wolves never last as long as the pack.”
I met her gaze. “I will.” I could see the sympathy in her good eye. We both had our legacies to fulfill, and reaching for those lofty heights could make people like us climb too high before we were ready. And we all knew what had happened to Icarus.
“Trust in the people around you, okay? We’re all on the same side.” Charlotte gave my shoulder a squeeze before finally leaving. This time, I didn’t stop her. She’d basically repeated what Victoria had said, but in a way I could stomach: if I kept acting out, going rogue, it would only get me kicked out… or worse.
With Charlotte gone, Genie came over and put her arm around me. “She should think about a career in politics. I bet she could sell a lamp to a djinn.”
“You don’t believe her?” I peered up at my friend, my heart heavy.
“No, I do… so maybe not politics. Maybe public speaking.” Genie hugged me to her side. “Sometimes, it’s not that we’re incapable, it’s just that our battles are too big for us to fight alone.”
I laughed. “I’m not sure there’s anyone you couldn’t take down.”
“Him, for one.” Genie tipped her head at my Grendel. “Although he’s kinda cute, in a massive, ugly dog sort of way.”
I bet she could sell a lamp to a djinn… Flaming eyes sparked to life in my memory, glinting in vivid flashback. The fine hairs on my forearms prickled, as if