gia went still as davina began speaking, the shift in the young witch’s tone immediately catching her attention. the seriousness in it made her straighten slightly where she stood. when davina admitted that she didn’t have a good bond with the witches, gia’s brows pulled together faintly. that alone already complicated the situation more than she had expected.
but she said nothing yet. when davina asked what they should do instead, gia opened her mouth to answer only for the witch to continue, revealing something she clearly hadn’t shared before. the explanation made gia’s expression slowly change. confusion first. then disbelief.
by the time davina finished describing the ritual, gia’s jaw had tightened slightly. for a moment, she simply looked at her. "they told you it would just be a cut on your hand," she repeated slowly, the disbelief clear in her voice. "that’s a massacre."
marcel was the one who saved her, who hid her. the pieces clicked together now in a way that made far more sense than before. gia’s posture softened slightly, some of the earlier tension shifting into something more understanding.
"so he didn’t just choose you," she said quietly. "he saved you." that kind of loyalty didn’t come from nowhere. not the kind davina showed. something gia could comprehed because marcel had changed her life, too, even though not in such a dramatic way as he did with davina. thankfully. "that explains a lot."
"but it also means something else. whoever took him knows exactly how much he means to you."
"if it’s witches, they might expect you to go looking for him with magic." a pause. "and if they’re watching for that… the moment you start a locator spell, you might as well be announcing where you are." if she understood the entire magic thing correctly – which is admittedly quite unlikely. "so we hold off on the magic for now."
another brief pause followed as she considered the alternatives.
"marcel built this city. he knows everyone. vampires, humans, people in places we don’t even think to look. which means someone saw something. so we start there."
