Robin and the Red Crow

Chapter Thirty-Two - Witch's Grasp

Holly froze, a sick look crossing her face.

"How do you know that?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she leaned back in her chair, her arms crossing protectively against her chest.

"Haven't you read the Sorcerer's Newsletter?" Otto tilted his head, his confusion seeming innocent yet boastful.

Holly grumbled under her breath, shooting a glance at Robin.

"I'll take that as a no?" Otto smiled, a gleaming, practiced expression. "It was announced a few months ago—the Crimson Crow was released."

Holly let out a long breath, her eyes sharp as she studied Otto.

"...on the condition she uses her powers only for the benefit of the U.S. government," Otto added with a smirk, "or face the penalty of death."

Holly's glare deepened.

"Oh?" was all she managed, forcing a polite smile onto her face.

"Yes, and as soon as I read that, I knew I had to include you in my study," Otto said, leaning back in his chair and placing a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Maybe with my help, people might fear you less and understand that sorcerers mean the general public no harm."

Robin shifted uncomfortably under Otto's touch. He could sense something brewing between his brother and Holly—a hidden conflict that he couldn't fully grasp, but he didn't like it. Otto's words sounded pleasant enough, but something in his tone felt... wrong. The way Otto spoke to Holly felt condescending, almost threatening.

"...You did cast quite a bad light on us after that stunt you pulled in Utah-," Otto continued.

"Hah!" Holly laughed, rising from the table and heading to a cabinet. "I don't care if people fear me, hate me, or think I'm evil. I just care that they leave me alone." She said as she bit into a pear and leaned against the counter with a scowl.

"Yes, well, when people fear something, they either try to get rid of it or prove that they are what should be feared instead. So I am afraid you don't have that choice."

"So, you want to study my magic to prove I'm not a threat?" she asked, amused but unconvinced. "For my safety?"

"I think you will find it beneficial for us both, Miss Holly," Otto said casually, shrugging off her apprehension. "After all, you have all this wartime magic, and you are putting to waste making silly trinkets and sitting around in this small hole-in-the-wall town."

Robin had to fight to stay silent. Otto's dismissiveness of Holly's life, the life she'd chosen, felt personal—insulting even.

"Even with this penalty hanging over your head, you still have the power to be a hero—or a celebrity, even! It's a waste, hiding here when people would kill for the gifts you have."

Holly's eyes flickered between the two brothers, a sadness deepening in her expression.

Robin tried to meet her gaze, to send her a look to apologize for his brother's insensitive words. He knew what Holly had gone through to make her decide to distance herself from that world and why this life—despite any talents or potential she might have had in any other—was so important to her. It was the same reason he had fallen in love with life at Sunshine Acres himself.

"I'm perfectly contented with my little trinkets and my 'hole-in-the-wall' town," Holly said coolly, taking another bite of her pear. "And you're right, there are people who'd kill for knowledge of my magic. They're far more dangerous than I am, even without magic. Or any magic, for that matter."