Hunter

32. How to Actually Have an Idea

My statement would have been a lot more believable if I hadn't been doubting my own lineage at that moment. Witches and warlocks were the most difficult of the supernatural beings to identify. Unlike werewolves and vampires, they looked completely human. They only telltale way to spot a magic-wielder was to catch them in the act of performing magic. Some of the less practiced ones left traces of magical residue that hung around them in the air like an aura, but the ones who've mastered control were nearly untraceable.

So it was entirely possible that one of my parents was a magic-wielder in hiding. Not to mention the fact the I had an abundance of traumatizing memories that would have been more than enough to cause a magical block. And then there were the anomaly's that Rebecca had been talking about. The changes in temperature that rose and fell depending on my mood - hadn't the air been growing hotter as I grew more frustrated? And the wind, too, had picked up when I'd been thinking about it. Not to mention the sizzling of electricity I'd felt right before I turned into freaking Aang.

Trying to figure out what the hell was going on was a migraine-inducing task. Perhaps I could use my newfound magic to get rid of it.

Wait... hadn't most of my injuries healed themselves to near-completion overnight? My mangled shoulder, broken knuckles, the wounds I'd gotten from Rebecca - there was no way those could have healed so quickly without magical assistance. There was the possibility that Opal's magic was still in my system, but it was unlikely. Opal didn't have strong healing magic - meaning it wouldn't have still been healing me that long after I was exposed to it. Which meant...

I had healed myself. Subconsciously. Using this - shudder - magic I'd somehow unblocked.

Well, fuck, looks like I'm a half-witch after all.

"Now do you get it?" Rebecca must have seen the realization dawn on me as my shoulders slumped down in defeat. "Honestly, Reese, you have got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met. And that includes my brother."

"Being stubborn is the only reason I'm still alive," I muttered, steering the conversation away from my magical epiphany. I didn't want to talk about it right this second - in fact, I didn't want to ever talk about it. And with Simon and Evangeline standing only a few feet away, listening to my every word, I felt like this wasn't the right time and place for this anyways.

Rebecca, of course, would have none of that. "Now that you know about your magic, you need to be careful about using it. Unless you want Elijah to find out?"

"The Alpha doesn't know?" Evangeline narrowed her eyes. "You didn't tell him?"

"No, and I don't think either of you should tell him, either." Rebecca narrowed her eyes as her gaze darted between Evangeline and Simon. "I know you don't particularly like Reese, Evan, but think about it. If we had Reese's magic on our side... wouldn't that help us out a lot?"

"So you think she could be an asset?" Simon joined the conversation, which had turned rather confusing. Well, for me, anyways. From the looks on everybody else's faces, they knew exactly what was going on. "A secret weapon, of sorts?"

"For what?" I interjected. "If you want to have a covert conversation, please remember that I'm right here and am intently listening to everything you say. Not that I know what the fuck you're talking about."

"Our efforts to secretly help the humans," Rebecca said, almost absent-mindedly as she batted a hand in my direction in a random gesture. "It's no secret that the world is a terrible place for them right now, and Elijah is insistent on it remaining that way as long as he's in charge."

"Then get rid of him," I said. "I'll gladly help. None of you happen to have a silver dagger on you that I can use, right?"

Rebecca sent me an odd, knowing look, which was mirrored by Evangeline. I frowned, exchanging a confounded glance with Simon. What was that about? Did they think I wasn't strong enough to kill the Alpha? That I wouldn't be able to?