Chapter 25
Bloodletting
Thechimerasrespondtomy battle cry, hurtling at the surrounding Shadows. The stag’s antlers send a witch flying. Lucy takes off, her wings creating a gust that knocks two more off their feet.
The witches’ enchantment fails as their concentration breaks. The vortex breaks apart around us, and shards of darkness fall like rain.
Magic tingles across my skin with more clarity than ever. It’s not just a prickle anymore—it flows into me like a river finding its course, robust and alive. I can feel everyone and everything around me, like tangible auras. Trails of energy connect the chimeras to each other and to me.
My head fills with voices, humming like I’m in a giant bell.
“Aurora, I need help…”
“Over here!”
“With me, Zephyr.”
“Fetch the others.”
“Hurry! The witches have surrounded Fenrith…”
It’s too much. Too loud. I cover my ears, trying to muffle it, but the voices are inside me.
“Katie!” Natalie calls out, barely audible through the cacophony in my head.
Her pale face swims into my vision, steadying me. I force myself to breathe, to let the voices drift past me instead of consuming me. Slowly, I regain control, the world coming back into focus.
The vortex continues to break apart, gaps of daylight peeking through the darkness.
“Hold your positions!” Amir shouts, drowned out by snarls and screams as chimeras and Shadows clash on the shore.
Beside him, Fiona spins, scanning the mayhem. When her gaze locks onto me, she freezes, fury crossing her expression. This woman who once welcomed me into the coven, who led my induction ceremony, now looks at me like I’m the enemy. How did we end up here?
I drop my hands from my ears, glaring right back. We advance on each other, the fight raging like we’re in the eye of a hurricane.
“You really think you can control this power?” she says.
“I’m not trying to control it. I’m trying to understand it and protect it like past Guardians have done.”
“Those witches you’re talking about,” Fiona says, pointing at me as she stalks closer, “came from the same time period when people thought bloodletting by leeches was a good idea. When doctors drilled holes into skulls to release evil spirits. When snake oil was thought to be a cure. They believed magic could exist freely without consequences. They were wrong then, and you’re wrong now.”
I shake my head. “People used to understand the balance of nature a lot better than we do today. They built pyramids and created Stonehenge and navigated entire oceans by the stars and animals. Witches of the past understood something we’ve forgotten—that magic isn’t something to be controlled, but respected and guarded.” Emotion tightens my throat. “The coven was formed to protect magic, Fiona. You showed me what that means. Let’s find a better way.”
Something flickers in her eyes. Before she can respond, a flash of white pulls our attention away from each other. A white horse charges toward us, and I leap backward.
Fiona spins to meet it, raising a shield of earth that the creature smashes through like it’s made of paper. There’s athumpas it slams into her, and she falls hard, rolling across the rocks and narrowly avoiding its hooves.
Hayley comes to Fiona’s aid, forcing it back with a wave of debris.
“Katie!” Natalie’s voice comes closer. The familiar warmth of her hands on my arms, steadying me as I sway, is everything I need right now—but seeing her covered in blood with her face twisted in pain makes my eyes sting.
Sky is at her side, holding her up, breathing fast. “Sebastian went to get Millie. I’ll get Nat out of here.”
The worry on Sky’s face reminds me I’m not the only one who cares about Natalie.
Natalie grimaces, her face a sickly gray. “Not yet. The Madsens.”
I follow her gaze, scanning the battlefield. A glint of gold catches my eye. Wyatt is crouched over the enchanted net, snarling. The small chimera is still trapped inside, its form flickering as it thrashes against the golden threads.
