Monique blinked. She looked … bewildered. That look struck too.
“You’ve been lied to.” Karson raised his voice. “I’d know if anyone spelled me. I’m far too powerful for anyone to mind-control me to forget anything.”
He said the words, but I could see the storm in his eyes, could see the color change in his face as if he almost believed?—
Rodney shrugged. “Perhaps, but there is one way to find out.”
I felt the blood rush from my face. He would place his hands on the sides of my head, and every secret, everything horror story I had ever endured would be pulled to the surface. I would have to relive every hellish moment as he purged it from my head, every secret his for the taking. Or I would die withholding it. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand the thought of him knowing. My knees wanted to buckle, my heart beating wildly.
“No,” I breathed. “Please, don’t let him.”
“Rodney, don’t you dare touch her,” Karson grated. He bolstered his shoulders, strong again. Ready to protect me, protect what was his.
I could feel Rodney’s power slithering against my armor like a serpent. My breathing became ragged, and he hadn’t even touched my head yet. I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t fight back.I was a victim again.
“Do not touch her,” Karson repeated, so enraged spittle flew from his mouth.
“You son of a bitch,” Ethan shouted. “I swear to the gods Rodney, if Karson doesn’t kill you after this, I will.”
Michael held up his palms as he edged forward. “Rodney, you need to think carefully. If you delve into her mind and she doesn’t die fighting you and you find nothing, you will not walk out with your life.”
Rodney ran a finger around the back on my neck. I shuddered under his arctic touch.
“Don’t,” I rasped.
“What reason would they have to spell me?” Karson took another step closer, desperation in his eyes. “Of what benefit am I to her?”
“The grimoire has the answers to that.” Rodney’s neck tilted as he studied Karson. “She’s important, is she not?”
Any witch born to protect the waters was important and in danger, if anyone found out what they were.
“Let her go.” Karson’s voice changed to a pleading. “There are other ways to learn the truth.”
“Yes, but nothing quite as accurate as what I can find out for you.”
Karson went to charge, but before he could, before I could even blink, Rodney had his hands on my head. If he dared try to stop him, Rodney could kill me. I felt ice-cold tendrils slip against my walls, slithering everywhere, seeking a way in. Pressure boomed against my brain. The serpents changed and became hot, until they felt like fire. My walls felt like they were going to explode. The pain buckled my legs and I crashed to my knees. My shield wobbled.
“Bad girls deserve to be punished,”the voice of a monster echoed in my head. His rough, calloused hand on my ass. His hot, rank breath on my ear. I made a half-sob, half-whine sound and urged my walls back up.
A roar deafened me. The snakes were everywhere. My head was on fire. The pressure screwed tighter and tighter as he pushed against the shield and I fought to keep him out. I clamped my jaw so tight my teeth clanked together, and I bit my tongue, blood seeping into my mouth. The white-hot pain was so awful I couldn’t even swallow it down. I wanted to scream, but I refused to give him the satisfaction.
“Let me in and all the pain goes away,” he crooned.
“Fuck you,” I rasped.
The pressure raged into a wall of fire. The agony was so bad, my body wanted to collapse, only Rodney’s hands holding me upright. I was vaguely aware of someone shouting, of Georgie screaming to let me go. Of her hands clawing at his arms, but Rodney was far too strong for her.
“Let him in!” Ethan yelled, panic in his voice. “Amy, let him in, let him in!”
Darkness stormed over the edges of my vision. I was going to be cooked alive.
“No!” Karson shouted. “Stop! I compelled her to Church Heights. I compelled her boyfriend to cheat on her. I forced her to me, not the other way around!”
Shock shattered the beat of my heart. The world screamed in my ears, the pressure easing in my head before my brain registered what was happening. He was lying. He’d say anything to save me. My gaze locked on his.
Karson’s face was wild with panic, blurred, stretched out. But in his eyes, the truth burned. I saw the fear, the panic, the desperation to save me, and …
Guilt.
