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“I’m fine,” she said breathlessly. “We’re in your penthouse. But I was just watching a replay of the debate last night—it was on, and I was bored, and whatever. I happened to glance at the TV when something dawned on me.”
“What is it?”
“It wasn’t Sebastian in my apartment. Or at least not alone. Levian was there. He was the one who tied up Emmy. There were others, possibly your brother, but I’m sure it was Levian who tied her up.”
“How can you possibly be sure?”
“Do you remember how I said I have this weird talent to sort of read auras?”
“The whole thing with Belinda and the cursed garden gnome in Le Jardín?”
“Yeah, that’s part of it. Then last night, I commented on how Levian had a stupid, weird aura.”
“Right.”
I vaguely remembered the comment, but I’d probably been more focused on how close I’d been sitting to Trixie at the time.
“Well, I saw that same stupid aura this morning when I stumbled upon Emmy. She had this aura of fear, but there was a lingering aura there that I couldn’t place until I watched the debate today. It’s like Levian has tinted his elf magic with something darker, something evil. It’s very distinct. I’ve seen it before.”
“Where?”
“I remember it from my childhood,” Trixie whispered. “A few of my mom’s boyfriends had this aura mixed into their magic. I think it has something to do with The Veil and using black magic. When a person uses illegal dark magic, it poisons their aura, like they can’t quite wash it away once.”
I turned to Vix. “Have you heard about The Veil tinting magical auras?”
I expected Vix to poo-poo the idea of auras as it was too woo-woo for her, but she surprised me by giving a nod.
“I’ve heard things,” Vix said. “I don’t have magic, so I don’t understand auras. But I do take precautions so I’m not marked when I deal with it. Some black magic from behind The Veil is marked, and it has a way of sticking with a person.”
I cursed under my breath. “You’re onto something, Trix. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Don’t kill Levian,” Trix said. “I mean, I know he might be responsible for some of this, but I don’t want to lose you over him, Dom.”
“I understand. Goodbye.”
The truth was, Trixie wasn’t going to lose me over Levian.
I was going to lose her after tonight’s broadcast.
Chapter 23
Trixie
I stared at my phone that evening, waiting to see if Dom was going to text me back.
After I’d given him the update about Levian’s wonky aura lingering in my apartment, I hadn’t heard back from him all day. I’d texted Dom twice, once just a few minutes ago, to see if he’d be back to watch the evening broadcast with me. The broadcast where Dom and I declared our love for one another in a very public forum.
A glance at the clock told me the broadcast was due to start in five minutes. Emmy perched next to me, a glass of wine in hand that she hadn’t touched.
For most of the day, we’d snuggled up on the couch and binged reality TV shows because it hadn’t required any brainpower. Neither of us had talked about anything of real importance. There’d been a few moments—a squeeze of the hand, a tear down the cheek, a cringe at a loud noise outside the window—that brought everything back. But for now, we just needed to sit. To not think.
“Are you ready for this?” Emmy asked as the announcer came onto the TV, letting us know that an important election update would be coming through shortly.
“No. I hate being in the public eye.”
“If it’s any solace, I know Dom means every word of what he’s about to say.” Emmy gave me a watery smile. “That man loves you beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. Plus, the election’s tomorrow. Then you and Dom can be together—publicly, privately, whatever you want.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “I hope you’re right.”
