Orion turns from where he’s chatting with Reid, Eliza, and Declan, and jogs up the hill to join us. “They say good luck.”
I nod and give them a wave of thanks. “Hopefully, we won’t need it.”
“You won’t.” Asher side-hugs me as we walk to the center of the casting circle. “You guys have got this.”
I hope so.
“Take your places, everyone.” Sebastian gestures for us to make a circle, and when we’re in place, we all join hands.
Me, Wylder, Orion, Mica, Clara, Izzy, and Sebastian.
“Is everyone ready?” Sebastian asks. “First, we cast the unbinding spell to free any and all spirits being used to siphon people, then we break the bond of the sigil and cut Tharuzel off from the pool of negative emotions he’s draining. Good?”
Everyone around the circle nods.
“All right, then let’s get it done.”
I draw a deep breath and twist my neck to release the tension taking root. The little pops of vertebrae repositioning feel good, but don’t really help with the anxiety?—
“Wait! Wait for me!”
We all turn to find Rowan breaking through the trees at the bottom of the hill, her arms waving in the air as wildly as her ebony hair and burgundy streaks. “I’m coming. Wait for me!”
I’m moving before I think, closing the distance to the edge of the clearing. When she crests the hill to join us at the standing stones, I pull her into a hug.
She laughs, squeezing me as Asher wraps his arms around both of us. “Aw, guys, did you miss me?”
“Obviously.” I pull away, searching her face. “Are you really back? Can you stay?”
She shrugs, but her eyes sparkle with defiance. “My parents know people who attended the meeting of the Arcane Order. They said you gave a full testimony in the Axiom Throne and everything Laurel has been spouting off is bullshit. Which is what I’d been telling them all along.”
“Wow, okay, yeah. I’m glad people are figuring that out.”
“They are, and I used it to my advantage, telling them I was part of something amazing here and they were crushing me by not letting me be a part of what you’re doing here.”
“Crushing you?” Asher snorts. “I like the melodrama-to-guilt ratio on that.”
Rowan grins at him. “I thought you might. Anyway, the lockdown has been lifted and I’m back, baby!”
Asher whoops, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, you are.”
I hug her again, sure that this has to be a good omen.
“All right, let’s get you up to speed and get this ritual underway. We’ve got spirits to free and demons to banish. And now we have our cursecraft sister here to help.”
Rowan pumps her fist in the air. “Yeah, baby. Let’s do this.”
Once Rowan is clear on the plan, has been given the two spells, and understands how we’re connecting with the ley lines to usethe standing stones to amplify our intentions, we join hands again and are ready to get our groove on.
“Poppy, if you will.”
With Sebastian’s prompt, I connect with the magic of the stones and call forth the energy we’ll need.
The ancestral magic responds in a powerful rush.
The earth beneath our feet trembles, ancient magic surging upward through stone and soil. I widen my stance and ground myself as power floods my system.
The stones hum, their runes igniting with pale blue light that pulses in rhythm with my heartbeat.
