Veda locks eyes with Khadijah again and points to the solarium. It’s a terrible idea, but they’re out of options and there’s no time.
“I know you’re here, Veda,” Ariadne coos, exposing more of that rot. “Don’t be shy, I only want totalk.”
The last word crashes through the house with a spell. The walls quake from the force. Veda clutches Antaris to her chest. Adrenaline racing, she cradles his head tightly as the floor trembles so violently, she feels the tremors deep in her bones.
Khadijah holds up three fingers.
Lights flicker as approaching footsteps echo on the floor.
She drops one.
Veda blinks through the pain, vision swimming.
Two more fingers drop.
Khadijah rises from her hiding spot, cold eyes glowing silver. She snaps her fingers, and there’s a crash.
“Nice of you to throw me into a wall,” Ariadne greets coolly.
“It’s the least I could do.”
A click of a tongue. Ariadne’s spell barely misses Khadijah, whose defense holds strong. With no time to look, Veda grabs Antaris’s hand and runs, catching glimpses of the two women locked in battle. A spell whizzes past Veda’s head as they dart through the broken window, leaping out onto shattered glass.
Into the forest, they run until the cottage fades from view. The sounds of war are swallowed by trees. A wave of exhaustion crashes over Veda, forcing her to stumble, then push through. Antaris looks stricken with worry. She wipes sweat from her brow, turns her head, and coughs. Her body tenses when she sees specks of blood in her palm, but she quickly wipes it on her jeans and keeps going.
“It’s fine,” she reassures Antaris. It’s the first lie she’s told him.
She pushes on, deeper into the forest, searching for sanctuary. She knows every hiding place, the closest being hollowed-out trees, all dead from rot. Veda finds one and tells Antaris to crawl into it. He’s safely tucked away before another explosion cracks the air, its echo finding them in the trees. It came from her house. Antaris leans out, distracted and breathing harshly. Cupping his cheeks, Veda makes him look at her.
“Antaris.” Somehow she keeps her voice calm, even. “I need you to hide here. Don’t move. Don’t come out. Not even if someone calls your name.”
He shakes his head, and the sob that escapes him is too big for his small body.
“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay.” Veda takes his hands. “I need to keep you safe.”
Tears keep falling.
“Mom.”
The word knocks the breath out of her.
She pulls him into a hug. “You’re the soul of the scorpion, remember?”
Antaris nods, face pressed to her neck. Veda pulls back, meeting his tear-filled eyes as he keeps sobbing.
“Where are your dad’s notes?”
He pulls a few out of his pocket. She tucks one into hers with the vials of the Liquid Curse while putting the other two into his hands. “Close your eyes and be very quiet. Think about your dad, and he will find you.”
Antaris nods numbly.
Veda presses her lips to his forehead in a moment of comfort for them both and closes her eyes. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever see him again. There’s no easy way to say goodbye, and she doesn’t want to, but she forces herself to pull back.
Antaris obediently sinks into the tree trunk, and only then does she run.
Veda heads away from him, toward the school. Adrenaline stops being enough to shield her from the ache in her ribs, the blood in her cough, the dizziness and nausea that come in increasing waves. Her run devolves into a staggered walk.
What once was loud is now eerily quiet.
