Page 97 of Reckless Witch

“You think the Illumina doesn’t know about your illegal activities?”

“So, the Grand Witch knows?” I hadn’t considered this possibility. I am beyond stupid.

He shrugs. “I can’t say that such inconsequential news has reached her ears.”

“Why not tell her?”

“You’re a High Potential. Who am I to question who the Stone names?”

A shadow flickers in his eyes and his words in my dream repeat, “They are not who we need fear.”

“Why are you afraid of me?” I ask.

Surprise slips through his cool mask. “If you mean, why do I fear the trouble you make, the answer is, you act before thinking.”

He isn’t completely wrong. But he’s lying. I realize that his secret is closer to the surface than usual. I want so badly to demand to know what he’s hiding, but I can’t pry the truth from him even with magic. Or can I… Just how hard would it be to use a truth spell on him?

“I would think twice about that,” he murmurs.

I jump. What did he say? I would think twice about that?

He can’t read my mind. Can he?

“Think twice about what?” I ask.

“Whatever it is you’re contemplating.”

“Who says I’m contemplating anything?”

He stares.

“What’s tonight’s lesson? How to win a staring contest?”

“The consequences of using magic for personal benefit,” he says.

My mouth falls open. “You’re kidding?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“You’re telling me you never use magic to help yourself?”

“I have lived as long as I have by not being a fool.”

“Just how long have you lived?” I ask.

His expression remains neutral. “Personal details of my life are not a part of this lesson.”

“Personal details like why you didn’t tell me that Blade was the person investigating my grandmother—which makes him the person who judged Grams guilty.”

“You are misinformed, Ms. Crowe. Blade only reported the facts gleaned from his investigation. One of Blade’s finer qualities is the ability to be objective. He had no personal stake in Miriam’s guilt or innocence. It was the evidence that damned her.”

“Damned her?” I repeat.

I swear, something sizzles in the air.

Raith lifts a brow.

Yes, that sizzle was Stony. She doesn’t like Raith.