Page 4

He always was a showman. “Some things never change.” Pearl had said it with a smile, but when she looked over to Corvus to share the joke, his face was deadly serious.

“But some things do change, Pearl, I promise you that.” He sat in a chair nearby and Mercuito jumped into his lap, the traitor. “Anyway, let’s see the master at work. I want to make sure I really did get the best.”

If he was attempting to distract from his puzzling statement, he was successful. “Don’t be rude. You and I both know my Type A personality wouldn’t let me be anything but the best at whatever I do. But if it’s a demonstration you need, then you’ll get one.”

Pearl closed her eyes and looked inward. Cursebreaking required intense focus and attention to detail. Her magic hummed within her, and she reached out with it slowly towards the book. The first layer felt like a warm hug. A voice dripped like honey into her mind. “Dear one. It’s been so long since someone read me. Won’t you pick me up and discover the knowledge I contain?” Pearl almost scoffed. Amateurs. When was the last time someone had been persuaded by an enticement curse? It only ever worked on voracious readers, and almost all of them were very cautious with old magical books because of this very overused curse. Opening her eyes, Pearl put out both of her hands and began making a drawing out motion - it only took a few seconds of pulling before she found the signature of the magic user who had placed it. Drawing her own signature in the air, the first layer dissipated with a sigh. It took 6 more layers and three hours of continuous work before the last curse was removed, and Pearl expected to be alone in the room upon completing her task. But there Corvus was with piping hot tea and a plate full of biscuits waiting patiently and quietly for her to finish, frustratingly with a sleeping Mercutio still in his lap. Cursebreaking was an exhilarating but exhausting task, so Pearl didn’t have the energy to argue against the refreshments. Plopping into the chair next to Corvus, she heaved a great sigh and inhaled a delectable chocolate biscuit.

Corvus remained quiet until Pearl had finished her first cup of tea (jasmine, of course) and an amount of biscuits Pearl would prefer not be numbered.

“Your accent seems to have faded quite a bit. And I’ve missed your colloquialisms. I haven’t had someone tell me to ‘pound sand’ in ages.”

Pearl laughed, but her look turned wistful. “I miss my accent, too. It’s not all gone, of course, but it’s softened over the years. Sometimes it feels like the last little piece that ties me to home is slipping away.”

Corvus seemed surprised by her response. “You always seemed so eager to distance yourself from your upbringing.”

“You’re not wrong. I had so much resentment towards all of them. But time and distance have taught me that in so many ways, they did their best. And I know I never told you that when I got the scholarship, they threw me a big going away party. It devolved into drunkenness and fist fights like all of our family parties did, but it wasn’t until later that I realized they didn’t resent me for wanting different things, so why did I resent them for wanting the lives they led even if I found them small and confining?”

Looking into Corvus’ eyes burning into hers, Pearl realized how personal she had gotten. She pulled herself up sharply and tried to redirect. “But anyway, you don’t care about any of that. I’ll get back to work.”

A gentle hand on her arm stopped her tactical retreat. “I care about your life, Pearl. I care about…”

Pearl really tried not to scoff, but she couldn’t help it. She cut him off sharply. “No. You made it quite clear to me that you don’t. Please, don’t try to pretend otherwise.”

Backtracking quickly, Corvus spoke in gentle tones. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have…what I mean is…I’m glad you’re here. And to be honest, I didn’t need a demonstration really, I just wanted to see you work. You could sell tickets for people to watch you do such intricate magic.”

Snorting into her tea (and sparing a thought to how offended Cecilia Winterbourne would be to know anyone had snorted into tea in her home), Pearl wasn’t above flattery - especially if it helped soothe her frayed nerves, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. “Corvus, I’ve already taken the job - there’s no need to flatter me at this point. Everyone knows watching a cursebreaker is like watching paint dry.”

“I’ll have to disagree with you. That kind of magic control and concentration is rare and impressive. You were good a decade ago - you are awe inspiring now. Your skills were in no way exaggerated.”

Pearl wondered how many more times he was going to mention the past. Did he really not recognize how painful it was? Or was he doing it on purpose? Was this some cruel way to punish her? But why? He hadn’t spoken to her in nine years - what would be the point of drawing her back out to humiliate her further. She set down her tea with a clatter - belatedly grateful it didn’t break - and began to head further into the library. “I need to start with my assessment so I can see where to go from here.” Sensing her distress, Mercutio was right on her heels.

Eagerly, Corvus got out of his chair to follow them. “Wonderful. I’ll be here to assist.”

Breath shot out of Pearl’s nostrils in frustration. “While I appreciate the willingness, it is not necessary for an assessment. I need to be able to focus, and I don’t need any of your blood today.”

Again, to Pearl’s surprise, Corvus’ smile held. “Of course. I want to be respectful of your work methods. I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” And he strolled out of the room without a backwards glance.

Chapter four

Past - September

“So you’re talking to the help now, are you?” Corvus wondered at times why he remained friends with Frederick Fairhurst. And never more so than when he uttered asinine sentences like this one. Just because their parents ran in the same filthy rich circles didn’t mean they had to put up with each other. And just because he was a sad, motherless child with three horrid older brothers and a father who didn’t appear to care whether Fred lived or died didn’t mean Corvus should have to put up with his constant nonsense. Especially when said nonsense insulted Pearl.

Corvus sneered at his friend. “Don’t pretend like you weren’t snogging that girl without a drop of magic in her veins at that disgusting bar you dragged me to last weekend. At least Pearl is a magic user.”

But if he’d been hoping to get under Fred’s skin, he didn’t succeed. Fred laughed as he responded. “They’re fine to snog with, but you’ve been looking at her in class like she’s the Gordian Knot and you’re Alexander.”

“And you don’t admire beautiful women?”

“Mate, there’s a difference between admiring a fit woman and wanting to cut her open to solve all her mysteries.”

Corvus’ lip curled in mock disgust. “How did you manage to make that sound both sexual and murderous all at the same time?”

The chastisement worked on Fred about as well as it ever did. “Just one of my many gifts, I suppose.” But Corvus didn’t even hear him. He was already thinking about how to get Pearl to talk to him again. Fred hurled a pillow at his head. “Oi! You’ve got a dreamy look in your eyes and it’s freakin’ me out. Just shag her and get it over with and you can move on with your life.”

A snort came out of Corvus before he could stop it. “Sure. Simple as that. I think she’d rather cut me up in little bits and feed me to the poor before she’d let me touch her.”

Fred grimaced. “And you call me morbid. I bet you’d taste gamey. You’re all legs. The poor wouldn’t get much good out of you.”