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"It's noI told you that Thorne Abbey would be consuirl would be returned to you, and so she has been"

He pointed at Aislinn The surface of the er, like a stretchy bubble "And I told you that you would lose Grace to one of the beasts No one wanted to believe that one," he said to me "And yet, here you are Proof that my prophecies are always correct And what I told you is true, Aislinn," he added, turning to her "This girl will stop the Casnoff witches" A heavy silence fell over the roolass, and I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that the Brannicks, witch kill ers extraordinaire, were listening to a prophecy-spouting warlock, and that said warlock had apparently tappedStill, I didn't likereferred to as a "beast," so I tried uys have a ic mirror? You should've mentioned that earlier," I said to Izzy "I mean, that's way cooler than barbed wire and bunkers"

"It isn't a ic mirror," Izzy replied, and I couldn't help but notice the way her eyes never moved from Torin "He's our prisoner"

"Guest," Torin snapped, but everyone ignored hie to trap a warlock when you don't use ic?" I asked

"The Brannicks didn't trap him," Mom answered "He did that all by himself"

Torin suddenly beca his back to us

"He was atte for him," Finley added "Ended up stuck in there, back in 1589"

"1587," Torin corrected "And the spell was in no way 'too big' for me It was justtrickier than I'd expected" Finley snorted "Sure Anyway, Avis Brannick found hiht the mirror back to the rest of the family"

"When Avis discovered that Torin had the power of prophecy, she realized he could be a useful tool We've been his guardians ever since," Aislinn finished up I wondered if they always told stories in a round like that It relances that Elodie, Anna, and Chaston used to do, and I felt another one of those weird pangs in my chest It wasn't as if I'd liked those three, but now one of the God only knohat had happened to them

"They have been corrupted," Torin said, and I startled

"What?"

"You were just thinking of titches you knew back at your school, wondering what happened to them," he said For the first time, I realized his eyes were so dark brown, they were nearly black "You suspect the Casnoff women turned them into demons They did"

"Wait, so you don't just tell the future? You know other stuff, too?"

He nodded, pleased with his, Sophia Mercer And you have so many questions, don't you? Where were you for those seventeen days? Whatever became of your little bloodsucker friend and your father?" Without thinking, I crossed the roolass "Is my dad alive? Is Jenna-" I broke off as Torin started chuckling and backing away "I can't give away allhis hands wide

Every ounce of lass and blast hi the fraround, theonto the floor

Strong hands grippedto see Aislinn holdingback up," Mom said to her sister As Aislinn draped the canvas back over theto find your dad, sweetheart And Jenna" She shot a glare at the now-coveredto use Torin to do it" Her eyes swung to Aislinn "We never should have started listening to him in the first place"

"We don't have many choices left, Grace," Aislinn said She sounded tired

Whatever had been in that green drink was starting to wear off, and I could feel weariness seeping back into o back up to hed and said, "We can talk about all of this later It's nearly sunset" She irls, tier Brannicks headed for the door I watched the when I could sneak back in here to have a word (or a thousand) with Torin when Aislinn clamped a hand on my shoulder "You too, Sophia"

"What?"

"All Brannicks under eighteen are required to patrol the grounds during evening shift" She handed , and it took me a few seconds to realize what it was: a silver stake I blinked at Aislinn, not understanding She grinned, and it was terrifying

"Welcome to the family"