“You aren’t a weak Mirror Mage,” he said. “You lied.”
My heart thudded. “You don’t need to know everything about me. We’re just doing this one job together. As long as I get it done, it doesn’t matter how I do it.”
“True. But I want this to be more than just one job.”
We were getting right to it, then. “Can’t we talk about this later?”
“Now’s good.”
“I’m not feeling great, as I’m sure you can see.”
“Exactly. If I wait until your defenses are up, you’ll just leave. I want to know why you don’t use your power. After what you did with those rocks, I know you’re strong.”
“Strong? I made a mess.” I winced at the memory. That would be hard to repair. Impossible, probably. But if I hadn’t done it, Aidan might have died.
“Yeah, maybe. But you saved my life. It takes a lot of power to divert the path of thousands of tons of stone.” His dark eyes turned serious.
“Can you just say thank you and forget it? Consider it a favor to me for saving your life.”
His expression sobered. “You’re right. Thank you. I didn’t realize the ceiling was cracking until the boulder hit me. The place looked sturdy.”
“It was. A dumb demon tripped the most obvious booby trap in the book.”
Aidan quirked a brow, then grinned. “The golden orb on the pedestal.”
“How’d you know?” I liked that he was so quick.
“I’ve seen Indiana Jones. And I noticed the orb when I went in. Then right before the boulder hit me, something gold flew by my head. He chucked it at me, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
“Idiot. But you saved my life.”
“Which I might regret, if you don’t lay off.”
“Why are you hiding your strength?” His gaze searched my face.
“I thought you said that I was right and you were going to lay off.”
“No. I said you were right that I owed you my gratitude. But I still want to know why you’re hiding how strong you are. You’re not a weak Mirror Mage.”
“I was just never good with my magic, okay?” I said. “That’s basically the same thing as being a weak Mirror Mage. I’m too weak to control it, so I don’t like to use it.”
“So practice.”
“That’s a little difficult when one destroys everything around them when they try.” And I didn’t want to be good with my magic—at least not as much as I wanted other things. Other supernaturals were always interested in knowing who was the best at what. I just wanted to have my nice little life full of adventure and my friends—I didn’t need to be super powerful to have that.
“Didn’t your parents train you?”
The question hit me like a blow between the eyes. I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out.
“Hey, I didn’t mean—”
“Triple boosted latte, piping hot!” Claire said as she came out of the kitchen. Connor followed her with a plate and another cup.
I glared at Aidan, though my heart was pounding. I didn’t want to talk about my parents. Hell, I didn’t even know how to talk about my parents.
Aidan closed his mouth, but the look on his face was clear. This discussion wasn’t over. He looked like he was sorry he’d brought up a subject that clearly made me uncomfortable, but also like he wasn’t going to let go of it.
Just what I needed on top of feeling like I’d been run over by a truck.
“Thank you.” Gratefully, I took the steaming cup from Claire and sipped it.
Warmth and strength flowed into me. Not enough to repair me fully, but I felt a bit better.
“Brought you one of the same,” Connor said as he handed a cup to Aidan. “You don’t look as beat as Cass, but you could probably use it. “
“Thanks,” Aidan said.
“And some pasties.” Connor put the plate of savory treats on the little table in front of our chairs. His apron was dusty with flour, but the rest of his clothes—jeans, a t-shirt, and Converse—were spotless.
“You’re the best.” I grabbed one, not caring that it was hot, and bit into it. My stomach was suddenly cavernous. I vaguely remembered being famished after I’d used my magic in the past. The pasty was so good I almost groaned.
“What’s got you looking like you were dragged through a harpy nest?” Claire asked.
“Job gone wrong,” I said around a bite of pasty. “We’re looking for a tracking spell now.”
“You can’t get a read on something?” Connor asked.
I swallowed hard, the pasty suddenly a lump in my throat. Time to lie. They also thought I was a Seeker. I hated lying to my friends, but it protected them. They could get in trouble for knowingly harboring a FireSoul. If I were an actual good person, I’d probably stay away from them.
But I was weak. I liked my friends. And as long as I was careful, I could keep my secret and keep them safe.