Black Wings, Gray Skies (Black Hat Bureau 4)

“The girls who work at my shop were taken by that black witch.” I curled my nails into my palms. “They were spelled and caged in a swimming hole not far from here.”

A popular trend among black witches, it seemed.

Got a problem?

Dunk it.

Maybe that’s where the phrase drown your sorrows originated.

“I’ve been softening those memories for months.” For their sakes, and mine. “So far, so good.”

“The girls are healing.” Aedan spoke for the first time in forever. “You’ve done well by them.”

“This is your…?”

“Cousin.”

“How unexpected that you bonded with that side of the family. Though you chose a daemon mate as well.”

“We’re not mated,” Asa told him before I got tongue-tied explaining. “Yet.”

“Yet,” I mumbled weakly. “We’re, uh, working on it.”

For several hours, just last night. Not that I needed to tell Hiram that.

“She’s reluctant,” Asa teased, “but I’m persistent.”

Amusement curved my father’s lips as he drank me in. “In that uncertainty, you take after me.”

The topic of genetics brought me around to a sticky topic. “I found your mother.”

Not so much as a pucker of his brow indicated concern about my discovery. Or about her.

Apparently, no one was worried Granny might break free. That dismissal had to burn her biscuits.

Good thing she had all that swamp water to cool her temper.

“That’s why I broke my silence.” He rubbed his whiskered jaw. “I had meant to remain a ghost.”

That hurt, but I didn’t want to fight, so I made a peace offering. “The ward containing her is brilliant.”

“It was your mother’s design.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “And some of my finest work.”

The idea that a light and dark practitioner blended their know-how into a cohesive whole stunned me.

Gray magic existed? Who practiced it? What were its limits? Its costs? Its benefits?

There was so much I wanted to ask him, so much I wanted to know, but I couldn’t help feeling there was a ticking clock floating above our heads. As if this were a timed interview with a final buzzer at the end.

“You left me a warning, at The Devlin Wildlife Center.”

“Which you ignored.” He scoffed lightly. “Your mother predicted as much.”

The chastisement oddly warmed me. “You also keyed the lock to me.”

“The spell was stronger with a blood tie, so that was the choice I made. You and I are the only ones who can set her free, but I would advise against it. She’s had a long time to decide how to take her revenge, and her throne. You’re better off forgetting you know where she is or that you ever saw her.”

“What about you?” I forced out the question. “Am I supposed to forget this too?”