And there it was. The answer to his question. The answer he was hoping not to hear. Wyatt held back the natural reaction he had to knowing she hadn't taken the grimoire back to the Archives. The one where he grabbed his cousin by the shoulders and shook her until sense came back. It would be pointless, he knew. The curse had found its way into another of his family members and sunk its hooks into her deeply. The sentient object that would bring destruction down on Kaelyn.

Wyatt swallowed the building lump in his throat, knowing his voice would crack or be uneven if he spoke right away. Instead, he sipped from his coffee which only aided in the nausea that was building in his stomach. He cleared his throat for added measure and reminded himself to stay as calm and dismissive about this despite the dread that raised every nerve in his body. "You know Malva and I already translated much of it and it all pointed to bad. Any magic, spell... it came with a price to the person casting it." His fingers drummed nonchalantly on the cup to keep from doing anything else that might make this worse than he knew it was going to get.

"Kae," he hesitated briefly before turning his head to find her eyes. "You saw me. Saw what it did to me. What it made me do to others." His voice was heavy and pain filled. He hated revisiting the worst time of his life and what he'd become due to the curse that controlled his every waking moment. His next words were barely a whisper. "I nearly killed two people. Two of the most important people in my life. One of them almost being you." He looked away. A quick flashback went through his mind when he had been detoxing in the Archives, cursing her and Malva to Hell for keeping him there. For not letting him get back to the book. He was like any other addict that needed a fix. Then, Kaelyn had turned her back on him when she came to bring a meal and he'd lunged. Sure, his magic had been nullified with the bracelet Malva had put on him then, but he was determined to kill Kaelyn with his bare hands. The curse that still weaved in his blood had almost made him kill his own cousin. If Malva hadn't come rushing in, he would've succeeded.

He continued trying to be as gentle as possible. "Malva knows there's nothing more that can be done." Carefully. He had to be so careful not to set her off. Set the curse off. "Malva will keep it safe for now. When and if she finds a way to keep working at it without severe consequences, she'll let us know. It's part of our legacy. Our bloodline. She's brilliant. She'll find a way. It's just too dangerous for us to do with that kind of influence on us." Wyatt lifted his gaze to read her face at his words. "The curse may never leave me. You don't want it to do the same to you."

Kaelyn knew there was no hiding or circling around it. The grimoire was the elephant in the room. That you could feel and sense the tension in the air. The redhead looked away not wanting to see the disappointment in her cousin's eyes once again. Still she was haunted by the past events of the last few weeks. It was something that she’d never forget. A reminder that she’ll have forever how she lost control. To let everything that she’s achieved over the last few years come crumbling down by a person of her past she put well behind her. Kaelyn knew she was foolish to let someone like him have power over her. Years back she swore to herself that she wouldn’t let a man control and push her about.  

It was nothing that she hadn’t heard or didn’t know. She knew what the book was compatible with like when Wyatt once found out. It was no secret she was quite clued up in magic and its different languages. As soon as she found out about her ancestral magic when she was younger, Kaelyn made sure to be keyed up in all of it. Always liking to have the upperhand then how to entwine her powers for her own personal devices. “I already paid the price” She spoke slowly, cutting the silence in the air. Both of them were still avoiding eye contact. The magic running through her veins was of a different power. Still she was unsure if it was book magic or if it was that she was now a dark diviner. All of the magic that runs through her veins now feels different. Of course it would. Why wouldn’t it? She played with fire now she was paying the price.  

Both her and Wyatt were alike in many ways. They were more like siblings than cousins. You wouldn’t think that they hadn’t known each other for all their lives until a few years back. It was like they’ve known each other for all their lives, that's how quickly and much they trusted each other. Wyatt had faced his own demons with the book, it was something he didn’t like to think or talk about. They swore to never bring it up or speak about it. Yet in the moment she had forgotten all about it all she could see back to that night was just all darkness and that she wasn’t in control of her body. “But I did kill somebody, that's the difference Wyatt. Now I gotta face the consequences” She didn’t want to bring Malva back into this, to help clean up her own mess. This was on her to deal with and face. Kaelyn knew that Malva had other things on her plate, the Aspect of Magic was a busy person; it was up to herself to deal with her own mess. 

The word bloodline was still so foreign to her.  Their surname was only just a name to her, what was given to her. She’s never felt any emotional attachment to their bloodline, where they came from. That's one thing different between her and Wyatt. He remembers their family but it was different. She was abandoned. Most of her life she spent unwanted. Unloved.  That's what they all thought and felt back in the orphanage. “I got it all under control, don't worry” She reassured giving him one of her famous straight faces. 

Fuck. She wasn't going to give up on the book. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he clamped down on the retort that almost slipped out. It was that or start screaming at Kaelyn in desperation. They had to get the grimoire back to the Archives and under lock and key protection from them both. Somewhere deep in that fortress with an endless number of spells they'd never be able to get through that Malva could put on it, guarded in some obscure arcane box that they'd have no hope of getting in. 

He swallowed, gripping his cup tighter before taking another sip of coffee that he didn't even taste. Plan B. He hated plan B, but it was something he and Malva had decided on that was a last resort. They had to get her away from the book and since she wasn't giving the usual signs that he recognized now because of his own experience of withdrawal from being away from the grimoire, Wyatt knew she had to have it somewhere close. Likely in a pocket of time and space like he used to keep it. Some place he created, thanks to the book itself, to keep it safe but also close so he could summon it immediately to his side.

So, he ignored her reply and shifted instead. "Malva wanted to check in with us today. See how we're doing given everything." A lie. He didn't want to lie, but this was plan B. He just hoped it would go smoothly and not end with him and her coming to magical blows instead. Sure, he was older and certainly powerful, especially given all the unique artifacts and conduits he had lying around, but having to go up against her and the grimoire was not something he was keen on attempting. He had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Some would say he was a thief, after all, however the book was raw and unchecked destructive power. Wyatt didn't know how long he could hold against it, even if she had only been in possession of it for a few days.

He downed more of the cup in a poor attempt at drowning his nerves. "I figured we could grab some food and head over to the Archives to eat there with her. Talk some coven business." Wyatt's awareness began to tingle along his skin as if he could feel the tension about to snap. "Finish up the coffee and I'll port us over?"