dozens of employees sitting up in the lawn, watching with horrified expressions as their work falls down before them.
Then Archer’s gaze narrows, and he calls for backup. He races toward the Hunters on the front lawn, shouting for someone to freeze.
He and another officer haul Benton’s parents to their feet. Their wrists are handcuffed behind their backs, and Mom pulls Cal and I close, wrapping an arm around our shoulders.
“Ryan is a good man,” she says. “He’ll be okay.”
My heart breaks all over again. Even without his memories of magic, he still kept his promise. He stopped the people who took my dad from me.
“I can’t believe it’s over,” I say, and Mom presses a kiss to the top of my head.
Cal stares into the sky, a failed attempt to keep the tears at bay. I reach for his hand, and he squeezes tight. “We can’t let Keating get away with this.”
I watch as Archer guides Mr. Hall into the back of his car and slams the door shut. A thrill of victory washes over me, but Cal is right. This isn’t over.
Not yet.
33
THE NEXT FEW DAYS go by in a blur.
Cal and the rest of the Council don’t get a minute to relax. Several teams are tracking Elder Keating—the former Elder—while several others analyze the personnel files Cal managed to steal from Hall Pharmaceuticals. They identify every possible Hunter, and just like Wes admitted to Archer, there were fewer than a hundred in all.
Now, none of them remember magic exists.
After their initial arrests, it didn’t take long before Benton’s parents were officially charged with Dad’s murder, and the news is everywhere. Fresh whispers start up at school, and though this time the air is eager and willing to bring the gossip close enough to hear, I let it go. I try to focus on classes, even though I’m on edge waiting for updates about Keating.
The following Saturday, Archer stops by the house to visit Mom and me. He’s Detective Archer to us again, not Archer or Ryan. Without his memory, he’s no longer a Council agent. It’s strange to see him, to talk to him and wonder how the potion has changed his understanding of our relationship. I wonder how the potion altered his perception of all the time we spent together this fall, all the hours of preparation to recruit Alice and David. How does he think he got the injuries on his hands?
I wish he’d let us remind him of the magic he lost, but Mom is helping me accept that this is the life he chose for himself. Even if I don’t fully understand, I have to respect that.
“Is everything okay, Miss Walsh?” Detective Archer looks up from his little notebook.
His caring tugs at my heart, and I press the heels of my hands against my eyes to push back the tears. “I’m fine,” I say finally. Mom slipped away to get us drinks, and I glance toward the kitchen. “You said you had updates?”
“I do. Mr. Hall—the younger one, Benton—struck a deal with DA Flores as part of his agreement to testify against his parents.” Archer flips back a page in his notebook, and I can’t tell whether he’s afraid of my reaction or simply wants to get his facts exactly right. “He’ll plead guilty to aggravated assault and spend the next five years in prison.”
A few weeks ago, learning that Benton wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life behind bars would have sent me spiraling into despair. But now? With the threat of the Hunters gone and Benton’s only reason to hate me erased from his memory? I can live with five years.
“Miss Walsh?”
“I’m okay,” I say quickly. “Did he ever say why he did it?”
Detective Archer closes his notebook and pockets it. “He says his parents made him do it, but he hasn’t been able to explain how.”
I nod. Benton isn’t entirely wrong. His parents raised him to hate us. They raised him to expect violence for his failures. And though I’ll never forget what he did to me, maybe someday . . . Maybe someday I could forgive him.
But today is not that day.
Mom appears in the doorway, a cup of tea in each hand. “I’m sorry to rush you out, Detective, but I just heard from my mother-in-law. We have a family thing to take care of this evening.” She shoots me a meaningful look, and my heart skips a beat.
Elder Keating.
They must have finally found her.
“Of course, Mrs.