I’ve never been so happy to hear someone curse in my life.
Ethan coughs again, spraying blood. Then his knees buckle, and he crumples to the grass. A collective gasp of rage emanates from the circle of Blood Witches, and they charge at Cooper. Iexpect them to grab him, to wrest the knife away from him and stab him, or to down him with some kind of spell. But they can’t get near him. Every time they approach, they’re driven back, just like Mina was when she tried to breach Ethan’s circle.
I swivel my head to look at Cooper—and stare. Every inch of his body emanates the eerie blue glow of the subterranean ley lines. He stands there, feet spread apart, Ethan’s blood dripping from the knife onto the ground, and stares the Blood Witches down.
What the hell is happening?
“Help…me…” Ethan chokes out, his eyes darting from Georgia to Rosa to Dean and Jill and back again. “Stop…them…”
His voice trails off into a gurgle as Mina pushes her way past the Blood Witches, their circle broken. “Yes!” she cries, triumphant. “You will die just like my Jonathan. In pain, frightened, and betrayed by those you trusted.Maledicta tua super te decuplo reddantur!”
Inside my head, Mrs. Hernandez echoes,Let your curses be returned on you tenfold, Ethan of the Blood Witches. We will rise, and you will be no more.
“Debiliteas et comburas,”Cooper shouts, the blue light that surrounds him glowing brighter with every word. And one by one, the Blood Witches fall—alive, but struggling to move. Ethan collapses face-down, hands pressed to his neck, trying to stanch the flow of blood.
“Ethan!” Georgia howls. She crawls toward him, one hand extended, trembling. Cooper ignores her, stepping over Ethan’s prone body, toward his brother. He raises the knife again, and for a terrifying moment I think he’s going to kill Donovan, after all. But instead he severs Donovan’s bonds and yanks the gag out of his mouth, freeing him.
Oh, thank God. But then?—
Donovan sucks in a deep, ragged breath. “What the hell is going on here?” he says, leaping to his feet, his arm still oozing blood. “Who are you people? Cooper, why the fuck are you…glowing? And are you just going to let Ethan bleed out in the goddamn grass?”
“He was going to kill you,” Cooper points out dryly, crossing to me. “As for what I’m doing, I’m saving your ass. Yours and Rune’s both. You should say thank you.” He cuts me free, slicing through the ropes with quick, efficient strokes. Red marks mar my wrists, and my hands tingle as the blood rushes back into them. My forearm stings, the gash jagged and ugly.
“Thank you? You just stabbed someone! Rune and I were just tied up and sliced open. You’re part of a creepy cult, aren’t you? All of you are?—”
“Cooper is on our side,” I interrupt, leveling Officer Asshat with a glare as I get to my feet. “Aren’t you?” It’s the only explanation that makes sense.
He nods, turning to look at the crowd, which has begun to fidget and stir. Their expressions are still blank, but a hint of personality has found its way back into their eyes. “I’m a loyal member of the Coven. And you’re my goddamn brother,” he says, glancing back at Donovan. “Much as I’ve wanted to kill you sometimes, I wasn’t about to actuallydoit.”
Relief floods through me. This whole time, Cooper was playing the role of double agent. He may be an obnoxious bastard, but he’s not a traitor and a killer.
Skirting Ethan’s body, I cross to Donovan and throw my arms around him. The power of the ley lines shudders through me, and I can swear I feel it ripple into him, then back to me again, a perfect circuit. “Thank God you’re alive,” I say, holding him tight.
Donovan’s chest heaves, his eyes wide with shock. Together, we regard Ethan, face-down and twitching. Mina, arms liftedto the sky, as if to welcome the setting sun. Georgia, Jill, and the rest, fighting to crawl toward us, marked with our blood. Beneath our feet, the earth trembles.
“Everything you told me was true.” Donovan’s voice sounds distant, disbelieving. “There really are witches, then? And my father?—”
“We don’t have time for this,” Cooper snaps. “The power’s cresting. I can feel it.”
The sun sinks lower still. And he’s right: deep within me, the power of the ley lines sparks, then courses through my veins. My body heats from the inside out, like I’ve swallowed a small sun. I don’t know how to harness the power, or what to do with it. But it pulses through me nonetheless, lighting every nerve ending aflame.
Goosebumps spring up on Cooper’s bare arms. “Ethan’s death will free everyone he bespelled,” he says, the words coming with difficulty, like he’s fighting for each one. “But spilling his blood this way, combined with the raw energy of the ley lines, will also give his Witches great power, and they’ll want vengeance. Even in the hands of those with good intentions, raw ley line power is a dangerous weapon. In the hands of the Blood Witches…” He shakes his head. “We have to put an end to them.”
“What do you mean, ‘put an end to them’?” Donovan’s voice cracks. “You mean, kill them?”
Before Cooper can reply, Ethan’s body twitches one final time, then stills. In the time it takes me to swallow hard, his hold on the crowd breaks. They glance at each other in confusion, then catch sight of the carnage and begin to shriek.
The Sinsters don’t shriek. They stand in the aisle, shoulder to shoulder—Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Fontaine, Mrs. Hernandez, even Ella Campbell—their faces grimly determined. Over the crowd’s wails of horror, they begin to chant: “Cavea ad tenebrascontinendas.”A cage to contain the darkness.The words from my premonition. From Donovan’s tattoo.
The Blood Witches rise, their gaze fixed on me, Donovan, and Cooper, as sparks fly from the Sinsters’ fingers. They merge into chains of fire, snaking down the aisle to ensnare the Blood Witches. But the Witches are raising their hands, too, half of them facing the Sinsters and half facing us, their expressions pure fury.
“Debiliteas et comburas!”Cooper bellows again, but it has no effect this time. The Witches keep coming, teeth bared. And holy crap, I’m going to die here, murdered by Jill from accounting. I’m going to die and leave Valentine all alone and?—
Mina steps in front of us, her frail shoulders squared. “Enough Frost blood has been spilled,” she says, voice hoarse but firm. “No more will feed the earth today.”
Jill snarls at her, fists clenched. “Step away from them, Mina.”
Donovan’s grandmother shakes her head. “Not this time.” She turns, her gaze lingering on Donovan. Then her eyes meet mine. In them, I see so much: regret, yes, but also a fierce resolve. “Iris Duval, daughter of David and Lorelai, once I cursed you and set your destiny in motion,” she says, each word hitting me like a blow. “Now, in the name of the son I loved more than my own life, I revoke that curse and set your destiny on another path.”
