And Evie? She couldn’t forgive me for not fighting harder to stay. For not running away from Austin and coming back to her. For staying away for so long.

“Sorry I’m late.” I slipped into a chair and Evie glanced up from her phone. She had a wicked smile on her face, and I raised one eyebrow. “What’s that look for?”

“This guy I’ve been seeing–” she frowned. “What’s wrong, Dani?”

At least she was calling me Dani again. That was progress.

“Nothing,” I attempted a smile, and my sister simply raised one eyebrow, glancing away. Her gaze landed on a group of werewolves who were taking shots at the bar. One of them tipped his head back and recognition swept through me. Matt. I’d met him when I interviewed his alpha a month ago. He was looking better than he had that day, but I had a feeling Nathaniel wouldn’t be pleased to learn that such a recently turned werewolf was drinking.

Meredith’s was a squat, brick building with a small outdoor area that was rarely used. Wobbly stools lined the beaten-up bar, the floors were scuffed and chipped, and the lights were dim. It was one of my favorite places in Durham.

I turned back to Evie. Silence stretched between us. I didn’t want to admit what was bothering me, but she had a right to know what was going on.

“I terrified a couple of kids today.” The words tasted like ash.

Evie’s face creased. “What do you mean?”

I took a deep breath. It was time to tell her the truth. “It turns out my father wasn’t human. Or mage. Do you remember that dark fae guy who was hanging around mom for a few years before we left?”

Evie’s eyes flashed at the reminder, but she put it away, frowning as she took a sip of her rum and coke.

“I don’t think so.”

“You were probably too young. Anyway, I think he might have been my father. My power is dark. Likely unseelie. Someone put a suppression spell on me when I was a kid.”

Evie gaped at me, her eyes wide. I almost laughed. She looked like a Disney princess who had just learned that the birds who helped her get dressed every morning were dead.

My sister took after my mom. Huge, aquamarine eyes, thick, glossy blonde hair, perfect skin, and curves in all the right places. When we’d taken family photos, I’d always felt like the odd one out with my dark hair and petite frame. Now I knew why.

“But suppression spells are only for witches who’ve been sentenced by the High Coven.”

“Yeah. Except they weren’t suppressing witch magic.” The magic I’d inherited from my mom was a trickle at best. “It was unseelie power.”

Evie tilted her head. “So, you’re like, uber powerful now?”