I square my shoulders and sweep out of the room, following the hum of voices toward the foyer.
I descend the curved staircase, where the others are huddled together like conspirators. Hannah’s back is to me, tension in her posture. Riley has a protective hand on her arm.
The urge to rip them away from each other is so strong that my fingers twitch. Hannah isn’t hers anymore. Hannah has fed me, surrendered to me, opened herself for me, and what has Riley done? Broken her heart?
As I approach, glistening streaks become visible on Rebecca’s cheeks. Tears. My stomach gives a nauseating lurch.
“Having a pleasant chat?” I ask.
Hannah whirls around, and the look in her eyes—fear, disgust, betrayal—punches the air from my lungs.
I’ve seen that look on countless faces. It’s never mattered, and it shouldn’t matter now.
But it does. She knows what I did.
Of course she knows. Rebecca would never miss an opportunity to turn Hannah against me. To ensure that Hannah will never trust me enough to break this spell.
The twisted thing is, Rebecca isn’t wrong. Hannah should fear me. She should hate me.
But now that she sees the truth, I can’t bear to meet her eye.
“Hannah, follow me,” I say, my voice coming out flat and emotionless despite the storm raging inside me.
Riley steps protectively in front of her. “I amnotleaving you alone with her so you can drain her dry.”
I ignore the twist in my gut and sigh. Past them, through the open parlor doors, the grandfather clock shows past three. We’re running out of time.
“Riley,” Hannah says quietly. “She won’t kill me. We’re bound.”
“That doesn’t mean she won’t hurt you,” Riley snarls.
The nerve of her, acting protective after she shattered Hannah’s heart.
“I’m not here to hurt her,” I say through my teeth. “Now step aside and stop wasting our time.”
Riley clenches her fists, refusing to budge.
“I’ll be with them, dear,” Elizabeth says from above, and we all turn to see her walking down the stairs with a large, leather-bound grimoire propped against her hip. “Rebecca, Riley, give us space.”
Riley stands taller. “But—”
Rebecca touches her shoulder, and they exchange a wordless conversation full of hard stares and raised eyebrows. Riley looks desperate, her eyes growing watery.
Elizabeth walks through our midst, forcing us all back a step, and into the parlor. I shoot Rebecca and Riley one last glare before following.
Hisses break out behind me, and a moment later, Hannah hurries along, leaving the other two.
I sweep my hand to slam the doors, closing me in the parlor with Hannah and Elizabeth.
Frustration coils inside me. I don’t know what Elizabeth thought she was doing, trying to convince me I’m not a monster. The fact isn’t debatable. I know it, she knows it, and Hannah knows it, and as long as that’s true, Hannah is never going to surrender to me as fully as the spell requires. We need a plan that doesn’t involve asking anyone to trust me.
Time to find out what an ancient grimoire has to say about breaking curses.
20
Hannah
Istandbytheparlordoor, my arms wrapped around myself, unable to look at Julia. The binding spell pulls at my chest, demanding I move closer, but I stay back.
