The Dragon Realm (Dark World The Dragon Twins #2) - Michelle Madow Page 0,42

was more than that. They also looked worried. They cared about me. Mira loved me. Ethan… I didn’t know what he felt for me. But he cared about keeping me safe.

I straightened and took a deep breath. They weren’t going to drop this. I wouldn’t have dropped it if the situation were reversed and Mira had absorbed some of Torrence’s dark magic.

I’d do everything I could to get that darkness out of my twin.

It was only a small bit of dark magic. Not nearly enough to consume me, like how Torrence had been when we’d met her.

But I was strong enough to handle my emotions without the dark magic numbing them. It was harder, but I could do it.

Because the most important thing was finding the second piece of the Crown. If getting rid of the dark magic meant it would be easier to work as a team with Mira and Ethan, then I guessed that was what I was going to have to do.

“Fine,” I admitted. “You’re right.”

Mira looked stunned. “So you’ll try getting rid of it?”

“How would you suggest I do that? Bring Mary in here and ask if any of her witches would mind absorbing some dark magic that accidentally got transferred into me while we were in Ember?”

“We already told you how we think you should do that,” she said. “Most of the witches wandering around the Eternal Library are basically catatonic. You could transfer it to one of them.”

“I won’t do that,” I said.

“Why not?”

“Because like you said—they’re basically catatonic. And like I told you, I can control the dark magic. I won’t force it on someone who can’t.”

“Then we’ll go with your idea,” Ethan said. “We’ll ask Mary.”

“Deal.” I finished up the letter I’d been writing to her, folded it up, and sent it as a fire message.

Mary came alone—as we’d requested—and listened to everything that had happened to us on Ember. Including how I’d accidentally siphoned some of Torrence’s dark magic.

“I don’t think you should try giving that magic to another witch,” Mary said once we were done.

Ethan sat back, shocked. “Why?”

“Because that magic is stronger than dark witch magic—it’s dark mage magic,” she said. “We don’t know what’ll happen if Gemma does this. It could kill the witch who tries to accept the transfer.”

I should have been disappointed.

But I wasn’t.

“So what should we do?” Mira asked.

“I think that question is better suited for Hecate,” Mary said.

“If she’s ever around to answer it,” Ethan muttered.

“Hecate will be around when she needs to be around.” Mary smiled knowingly, then looked to me. “In the meantime, most witches aren’t either fully light or fully dark. Having dark magic doesn’t make someone a bad person. The biggest difference with your case is that the dark magic inside of you was taken from someone else. But you appear to be in control of it.”

“I am,” I said steadily.

“And I trust you want to remain in control of it? That you don’t want to give into the darkness?”

“I don’t.”

On a base level, I knew it was true. I wanted to help people. I wanted to love. I wanted to be happy.

I couldn’t do any of that if my emotions were numbed.

“As I thought,” Mary said. “I need you to understand—witches who turn dark do so because they give in to dark feelings. Pain, anger, jealousy, heartbreak, and fear, to name a few. Everyone experiences these emotions at points in their lives. But witches who go dark let these feelings consume them. They welcome the dark magic as an escape from their pain. It’s like a drug, and they become addicted. But I can sense a strong soul, and I have full faith that this challenge is something you can handle.”

“I don’t like this,” Ethan said.

“Neither do I,” Mira agreed.

“You don’t think I can control it?” I asked.

“I know you can control it,” Ethan said. “But you shouldn’t have to.”

“I guess I’m not the only one doing things I shouldn’t.” I held his gaze, daring him to keep pushing.

Keep fighting me on this, and I’ll tell Mira what happened.

He froze, and realization dawned in his eyes.

We still hadn’t spoken about whether I’d drank that memory potion or not. But now, we wouldn’t have to. Because I knew that he knew I hadn’t.

Mira looked back and forth between us. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that we should be using that dragon heart to locate the second half of the Crown,” I said. “Instead, we’re sitting here,