Her words trickle through me, easing the tension in my head. It’s not the first time I’ve been promised a place in the coven if I prove useful. She kept her word last time, letting me be a Guardian with Natalie for weeks before I blew it. Could tonight fix everything? We could put this mess behind us, and I can move forward as part of the coven, ready to continue keeping the world safe from dark magic.
“Thank you,” I say, unsure how to feel.
As she walks away, a jitter rolls through me, and I tighten my grip on the net.
God, it’s tempting. If I can forget about the voices in my head and whatever I learned about the ancient Guardians, I can accept her peace offering and move on—because in truth, this is all I’ve wanted. A place in the coven with Natalie.
But this isn’t just about my freedom anymore. This is about purpose, and morals, and what kind of person I want to be.
Is there any winning? Either I betray what my heart is telling me and we trap these chimeras, or I somehow sabotage this mission and spend five years in prison. There’s no middle ground.
Sky raises her hands for quiet. “Listen up!” she shouts, her voice strong. “I know this falls outside our expertise. But this is a critical opportunity to trap the bio magic that escaped in February, so we need to give it our all.”
I appreciate the way she said ‘escaped’ and not ‘set free by this dumbass over here.’
“You should have all had a chance to review the enchantment by now,” Sky continues. “If not, come see Hayley.”
“What enchantment?” I whisper to Natalie, unease crawling up my spine.
On Natalie’s other side, Fiona leans forward. “We won’t be able to catch them one-by-one, so we’re doing what we should have done long ago: destroying them altogether.”
My blood runs cold. “What?”
“We’re going to end bio magic’s existence so a disaster like this never happens again. We should have done it right from the start instead of setting up those damned cages.”
“You can’t!” I cry, and a few Shadows look back at me.
Natalie touches my arm, dropping her voice to barely a whisper. “It’s okay, Katie.”
“Bio magic causes nothing but pain,” Fiona says. Her gaze burns into me, full of that heaviness that’s been there since she intercepted me at the airport. “Think of your loved ones before you ask us to leave this power feral, Miss Alexander. Think of someone’s niece playing in the park, or their sister walking home alone at night.”
I pull my arm away from Natalie. “But destroying it isn’t the answer! These chimeras are a natural wonder. You can’t just eliminate them.”
At my rising voice, Sky stops talking, and every Shadow turns to look at us.
“A natural wonder? Don’t be absurd.” Fiona addresses everyone listening in. “Okay, let’s move. Remember, no magic goes free.”
My chest tightens. Do I tell her I had an actual conversation with a chimera, or would that make everything worse? WillanythingI say convince her not to destroy them, or am I basically standing in front of a high-speed train right now?
Unless…
“Millie and Sebastian are there,” I blurt. “If we storm in, they’ll get hurt or killed.”
The entire room goes still. I can’t look at anyone, least of all Natalie. Not only have I betrayed Millie’s secret, but I’ve also admitted to keeping this huge secret from Natalie.
But I had no choice. They need to know human lives are at stake before sending in the cavalry.
“What are they doing there?” Natalie asks, breaking the silence.
“Millie tried to consume bio magic, and she’s…unwell. They’re trying to fix it.”
There’s a furious glint in her eyes that tells me we’re in for an argument later. My stomach plummets—but I can’t think about that right now. I just need to stop this massacre from happening.
“If they get in the way, they’re the only ones to blame,” Fiona says.
With a jerk of her chin, the Shadows move toward the steam clock exit, a dark tide of cloaks.
I rush to grab my backpack and follow Natalie down the hall, my heart beating out of my chest. No, no, no. This is a huge mistake.
