Katie landed a punch with the gauntlet, disorienting Oaklyn for long enough to shimmy up and pin her shoulders. While Katieheld her down, I knelt on her arm and tried to pry her fingers from the vial.
Oaklyn grunted in pain.
I looked over, and my heart squeezed. Her blue eyes were glossy, her face flushed as she fought back tears. Her lips were covered in blood, a trickle running from the corner of her mouth.
But I couldn’t stop. Of all the doubts crashing through me, I clung to one certainty: I could not let Oaklyn drink the potion and become a witch. She’d shown me who she was—a criminal, a murderer, a liar. She’d used me since the day I showed her that chimera map. She probably never even loved me.
Gritting my teeth, I dug my nails into her skin, trying again to pry open her fist.
Her grip loosened.
The vial tumbled free, rolling across the uneven rock.
I threw myself after it, fingers scrabbling for the smooth glass.
Behind me, there was a thump and a splutter. I looked over my shoulder to see Oaklyn roll over and ram her fist into Katie’s side. Katie’s yell cut off as she coughed violently.
Crouched over Katie like a predator, Oaklyn turned her gaze onto me, her eyes fiery with rage.
The tiny vial was warm in my palm.
She left Katie coughing on the ground and started toward me, blood trickling from her mouth.
Should I have dumped the potion over the rocks? Thrown it into the ocean? Where could I put it that wouldn’t let Sophia gather it back up with magic?
I did the only thing I could—the only thing that would truly stop Oaklyn or Sophiafrom getting it.
And deep down…it was what I desperately wanted to do anyway. It was what I’d wanted since I first talked to Oaklyn in that cafe.
I popped the cork and raised the vial to my lips.
The potion slid down my throat like liquid fire.
Chapter 26
Irreversible Decisions
ThevialtipsagainstHazel’s lips, and my heart grinds to a stop as the purple liquid disappears down her throat.
For a suspended moment, the world goes silent. Time freezes. Everyone pauses, the forest itself seeming to hold its breath.
Then—
“No!” I yell, my voice drowned beneath Sophia and Oaklyn’s furious shrieks.
Hazel doubles over, coughing violently. The empty vial slips from her fingers and shatters on the rocks, glass fragments catching the light like diamonds.
“What did you do?” Oaklyn cries. She runs to Hazel and drops to her knees.
I get to my feet, gasping, pain stabbing my side where Oaklyn punched me. Each breath sends a jolt through my ribs, but I force myself upright.
Hazel is convulsing on all fours. The air around her shimmers like heat waves rising from pavement. Her fingers dig into the earth, and the stonebeneath her cracks, fissures spreading out like a spiderweb. The sound of splitting rock echoes across the cove.
“Hazel!” I shout, limping forward.
No, no…I tried so hard to keep her safe from this world. Now she’s submerged in it. Drowning.
The stone fractures further under her palms. What if her body can’t handle the magic, like what happened to Millie? I can’t lose her.
