“You are willing to give me his soul? Truly?”
Looking away, I quickly blink back tears, sadness and guilt hitting me. My relationship with Nestor is complicated. Recently, I’ve begun to resent him. He was given many chances to do what was right, but his own desires were more important to him in the end.
With a resolute nod, I say, “Yes. No one else—no morewomen—should have to pay forhissins.”
Calista cackles, throwing her head back in anticipation. “I like you much more than your ancestors.”
Ignoring her, I look at Esme and Rowyn. “I only need two candles, a ribbon, and something that belonged to Nestor. It needs to behis.”
I’m trying to sift through everything we’ve found around the inn when Calista takes off one of her rings and hands it to me. “He never gave it to me. He left it on his way out.”
Looking down at the gold wedding band, I scoff and look up at her. She doesn’t say anything, thrusting it in my direction and turning away.
Esme and Rowyn come back into the room with the materials. I quickly set it up, keeping my eyes on Calista the entire time.
“Do you need help?” Esme asks, kneeling beside me.
Shaking my head, I say, “No, this will only take a minute. I’ll need you for what comes next.”
Understanding whatnextmeans, she nods and scoots back a foot.
Typically, I would need something from the person who he is bound to, but since it’s the inn, this has to be good enough.
I sit on the floor, and with shaky hands, I tie the ribbon around one candle, slide the ring onto it, then tie it to the other. I forgot to ask for a match, and usually a candle would be easy for me to light. Wasting even an ounce of my magic could be disastrous right now.
Without a word, Rowyn slides next to me and leans forward. With a small puff of air, it catches fire and I close my eyes. I shouldn’t need a spell for this.
Imagining myself breaking the bond, shown through the ribbon and candles, will be enough. Taking deep breaths, I visualize Nestor’s bond being broken, ripped apart. He’s trying to grab on and stay here, but my magic is stronger than his spirit. Mentally reaching forward, I yank until I hear a loudsnap.
My eyes fly open, one of my hands in the air, mirroring my thoughts, and I realize that sound wasn’t my imagination. Nestor’s orb state is moving toward me quickly, but he’s trying to fight it and failing. He throws himself into anything he can that hasn’t been knocked over yet. Picture frames drop to the floor, the chandelier shakes above us, the sound of glass cracking comes from every direction. I can faintly hear the other witches gasp and move around me.
Tuning them out, I only focus on Nestor. I don’t only unbind him from the Dreaming Willow Inn, but banish him.
When his incorporeal body manifests in front of me, I tell him in a somber, waning voice, “You are no longer welcome here, Nestor Blackthorn.” His body begins to fade, and he looks around frantically but can’t run anymore. “I’m sorry,” I whisper and close my eyes.
The wind around me blows, but it begins to warm the room. After a few seconds, I open my eyes and find Calista grabbing hold of Nestor’s soul at the same time she releases Archer’s.
“You don’t have long now,” she says, bored again. “ In case your Chosen didn’t tell you, every answer comes with a price. I will see your coven many more times in this lifetime.”
Without a backward glance, she throws something into the fireplace and a portal opens, showing the inside of her home. She stops to pick up Nestor’s wedding band and steps through.
Looking back at Archer, his soul seems fainter than when it was first passing on. The weight of everything—my mistakes, misunderstanding, andfoolishness—come crashing down around me. I fall to my knees under the weight and crawl toward him.
Chapter 50
Rowyn
With a loud sob, Renata falls and pulls herself across the floor toward Archer’s body. I swear I hear her adrenaline crash at the same moment her knees smack the wood.
Looking around, she grabs something silver out of Archer’s leather jacket nearby. She’s not frantic like before. Now, she’s emotional but methodical. Before I can make sense of what’s happening, she rips his hand out of Sybil’s, making her shriek, and cuts Archer’s palm open.
“Renata, oh my G—” I call and lunge at her.
She twists her body away from me and cuts open her hand.
“What are you doing?” I reach for the knife, but she holds it away.
“I can’t, Rowyn,” she cries and holds her bloody hand to her chest. “I can’t—I can’t lose him. I just…” Her voice cracks and she tries to speak but nothing comes out.
