“But I don’t know what kind.”
I looked at Carrow. “Is her signature strong?”
“It’s thready,” she said. “Like it’s there, but struggling.”
Slowly, so as not to startle her, I approached Beatrix. “May I touch your hand? I am gifted with an excellent sense for reading magical signatures.”
“Um, sure…” Discomfort flickered across her face, but she held out her hand.
I rested mine over hers gently, feeling the faintest pulse of magic through her. It felt like a howling wind, high up in the atmosphere. Even the air that I breathed began to feel thin.
Beyond it, though…
Beyond it, I felt Carrow.
My gaze flicked to Carrow. “Did you sense your own signature on her?”
“No.” Confusion flashed on her face. “I felt a powerful wind, and the air was thin in my lungs, but there was nothing of mine.”
“But there is.” I focused more intently on Beatrix’s magic. “Deep in her soul, there is a small part of you. I can feel it. There’s no doubt that it is your magic.”
“Really?” Carrow approached.
I removed my hand from Beatrix’s and stepped back. Carrow raised her own hand. “Do you mind?”
Beatrix shook her head, and Carrow touched her shoulder. She closed her eyes and focused. Seconds passed, then a minute. Her eyes opened, and she removed her hand. “Maybe I feel it. It’s hard to say.”
“Well, I think I feel it,” Beatrix said. “Like you’re with me. It’s what drew me to you while I was still a raven and didn’t have my memory.”
Carrow turned to me. “This is the mystery that I want to get to the bottom of. If I could do this for her, then maybe I can do it for you.”
“Break the curse?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t understand how it could work. I just know that it could. And that this book”—she raised it—“has answers.”
“Did you read it all?”
“I couldn’t.” She flipped it open and showed me.
The text was indecipherable. More like tiny images of intricate shapes—not a language I’d ever seen.
“The whole thing is like this,” she said. “I want to take it back to Seraphia.”
“We’ll do that now.” I looked at her, unsure of how any of this would work. Were we even on the right path? My dream had made it clear that our time was short, and the afterworld beckoned.
10
Carrow
I looked at Beatrix, wondering what to do with her while Grey and I sought answers. She looked confused and worried. Mac had kindly offered to keep her company, but it seemed unfair to leave her here while there was so much outside my small flat. And I missed my friend.
“Want to see a bit of the city?” I asked.
Beatrix nodded, her expression lightening. “Yeah. I suppose I need to sort my life out, now that I have it back.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I said, unable to help looking back at Grey.
I could feel Beatrix watching the two of us, her radar going wild. She’d been my friend for so long that she knew when I liked a guy. And what I felt for Grey was far from something so simple and juvenile as like.
I grabbed my jacket and the book, making sure that Rasla’s seal was inside the jacket pocket. Together, we left the flat. At the street, Eve veered off for her shop, looking back twice at Beatrix, her brow creased with concern. There were hidden depths to Eve, and I was glad she’d felt comfortable enough to admit what she had.
Now we just needed to figure out my exact role and how I could use my strange skills to help Grey.
Mac, clever genius that she was, stuck close to Beatrix, pointing out the different sights around town. I remembered my first days there. My old friend would be having a hard time falling asleep tonight. Mac’s actions gave Grey and me a bit of privacy, and he joined me, walking close by my side.
“Thank you for the coffee,” I said.
“My pleasure.” He looked down at the book. “You truly think you have the ability to break the curse?”
“Yes.” I could feel it. “Or at least, I have the ability to fix our situation. I don’t know how, but my magic is screaming it. If only Seraphia can help decipher the book.”
We reached the library a few moments later.
Unlike the last times we’d visited, Seraphia was loitering outside the front door. She looked like she’d recently showered and put on fresh clothes, and her eyes looked well rested. She clutched a mug of tea and stared up at