Another feeding. Another person splayed under Julia, offering their essence while I sit back. My stomach lurches as I imagine what might happen if Julia can’t bring herself to stop feeding.
I mouth wordlessly for a moment before I manage to speak. “When you saythe same way, do you mean—”
“I’ll do it,” Riley says, and she’s already stepping forward.
“Riley, no,” I grab her wrist. “You don’t understand what you’re agreeing to.”
Her skin is fever-warm, and I swear I can feel her magic humming beneath it.
She sets her jaw, looking as strong and fierce as ever. This is the Riley who never backs down from a challenge, the Riley on the soccer field who takes the shot and isn’t afraid to get hurt. “If it means saving you from being bound to a sanguine witch forever, it’s worth it.”
I shake my head fiercely. I absolutely cannot let Riley become one of Julia’s victims.
“I’m willing to try it if she is,” Julia says casually, sliding her hands into the pockets of her trousers.
I look sharply at her.
There’s a hungry look in her eyes that I don’t like. Is she looking forward to feeding on another victim, or is this about the potential to feed on Rebecca’s descendant?
“Julia, if you hurt her—” I snarl.
“Hurting her won’t help,” Elizabeth says. “You need her alive if you want the ritual to work.”
There’s a heavy pause. My breaths quicken as my chest tightens with panic.
“Are—are you sure about this?” I ask Riley. “We can find someone else. It doesn’t have to be you.”
Riley’s gaze traces over my neck and shoulders, no doubt cataloging every mark Julia has left on me tonight. The red-gold fire in her eyes blazes brighter than ever. “We don’t have time to get someone else. Anyway, I can handle it. I broke your heart because of what I am, so let me do this one brave thing for you, Hannah.”
I walk a small circle, rubbing my face like I can smother myself and make this all go away.
What else are we supposed to do? Surrendering didn’t work, the torture of separation will probably kill us…and we have a willing volunteer right here, ready to try a redirection ritual.
Elizabeth rises from her chair. “Into the sanctum.”
Before I can protest, she flicks her hand, and the bookcase rumbles. Slowly, it slides aside, revealing an arched stone passageway. She steps through it and descends, disappearing from sight. Riley beckons for me to go ahead, shooting Julia a glare. I obey, placing a hand on the cold stone wall and stepping down into a dank chamber that smells like burning sage. She and Julia follow.
The ceiling is domed like a cave, gleaming with green veins. Symbols are etched into the walls at eye level around the perimeter, and the far end is full of wooden shelves covered in black candles, gemstones, leather-bound books, and jars of natural ingredients like bones and herbs. I rub my arms, my skin prickling in a static charge.
The bookcase rumbles across the exit, sealing us inside. The dim light from the flickering black candles and green veins casts us all into an eerie glow.
“Riley, fetch the candles,” Elizabeth says, laying the grimoire on a wooden table. “Julia, help me draw the pentagram.”
I watch with my pulse pounding as the witches prepare the space, drawing a pentagram on the stone floor with some kind of sand or ash, and setting candles at three points. Their flames dance brighter, casting writhing shadows on the walls.
At Elizabeth’s direction, I stand at one candle, Riley at another, and Julia at the third, all of us at arm’s length. My palms are sweating.
So I’m going to have to watch the woman who broke my heart offer herself to the witch who’s introduced me to the most intimate moments of my life. And somehow, I have to be okay with it, even though I know what that witch is capable of.
“Each of you must do exactly as I instruct.” Elizabeth consults the grimoire. “Hannah, you need to remain perfectly still to anchor your existing bonds with Julia and Riley. Julia…you’ll need to feed from Riley while maintaining your link to Hannah. The triangle will amplify your power, but you must be careful not to take too much.”
Julia dips her chin, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Fuck,amplified power?
Riley meets my gaze across the triangle. “It’s going to be okay. I can handle this.”
Maybe,I think,but I’m not sure if I can.
