There was a ringing silence. “Do you think she’s performing some Unseelie ritual to Droga?” Delmare asked.
“Possibly,” Kiara said. “If she has Unseelie blood.”
Emma bit her lip. “During the tournament, Milonna came to me, and blessed me. I think the reason I’m so strong is that she gives me some of her power. What if it works the same way with Gabby and Droga, except he expects something in return?”
“How do you know about this stuff?” Stefan crossed his arms, looking suspicious.
“Kiara and I have been deciphering this grimoire that I bought from her sister’s shop. It’s Unseelie,” Emma explained. She reached into her bag and pulled out a black book, holding it up. “We just read a page yesterday where Unseelie spells are most powerful when used under the light of a full moon. Maybe Gabby is only performing the ritual once a month.”
“Are you thinking of something specific?” I asked.
Kiara and Emma shared a glance. “There was a ceremony we translated in the grimoire...” Emma said. “But, it’s brutal. It requires animal sacrifice. In return, Droga promises to give you some of his abilities. It would explain how Gabby’s able to pull off such incredible illusions. We barely considered it, because we didn’t think even Gabby would go that far. But after what happened with Alexei, it shows she’s willing to do anything.”
There was a twisting in my gut. “Gabby’s not opposed to getting her hands dirty. She killed Krystyna during the tournament joust,” I reminded her.
“That was during the Contest. Death was expected. This is different,” Emma insisted. “Its cold-blooded murder to do what she did to Alexei. It’s not like Gabby to be generous unless she’s getting something in return.”
“Why doesn’t Eli do the ritual?” Stefan asked, disgust in his tone. “He’d love getting his hands on that kind of magic.”
Kiara shook her head. “Companions aren’t as magically talented as Marked are. The ceremony probably doesn’t work on him.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “This might be our ticket out of this mess.”
“You’re right. If we can get proof of her using dark magic, we can present it to the Circle. They’ll kick Gabby and Elijah off the throne!” Emma said quickly.
“The next full moon is on April seventh,” Kiara said. “The only question is, who’s going to follow her?”
“One thing’s for sure. We can’t go as a group,” Emma spoke up. “Gabby’s too clever. She’ll catch us at it. The more people we have, the easier it’ll be for her to spot us.”
“I’ll follow her. Alone,” I volunteered. “It’ll give us a better chance of not getting caught.”
Stefan gave me a look. He knew what that meant. The Phantom was coming out to play.
“Are you sure?” Kiara asked.
“Positive,” I said. “I’ll tail her, and report back to you guys on what I found. Then we’ll finally have an answer to this mystery.”
* * *
Time seemedto pass at a crawl. The night of the next full moon, I stood on the rooftop of Arcanea University, dressed as the Phantom. It was near midnight, and I was surveying the entrances, scouting to see which one Gabby would emerge from.
She’s leaving her dorm, I heard Emma say to me from afar. Her telepathy magic echoed to me from down below. She knew I was looking for Gabby, but she didn’t know it was the Phantom who was on the hunt.
I see her, I said. Gabby was walking down the main pathway, toward the exit that led to the forest. I scaled down from the tallest tower and went to follow her, leaping from balustrade to balcony as quickly as I could.
Just as I was about to jump off the roof and follow Gabby into the woods, I felt something grab my ankle and yank me backward. I fell forward onto my face. Tiles smashed underneath me as the roof cracked.
I turned on my back and saw none other than the White Rose above me. She’d lassoed an illusion spell around my ankle and knocked me down.
I gritted my teeth. “You’re not getting in the way this time.”
I’d forged a fun new toy to add to my arsenal— throwing knives. I tossed the knives one by one, aiming them at the White Rose. She rolled to the side, avoiding each all, and they clattered against the shingles.
“You’ll have to be quicker than that,” she said. The White Rose shot out a blast of telepathy that blew me backward, nearly knocking me off the roof. I staggered, and only kept my balance by grabbing onto a railing and swinging myself upward. The White Rose approached, her hands burning with magic.
So she was a wolven. Interesting. I pulled my body forward, and the White Rose circled around me slowly. “Hmph. Too bad you didn’t fall. I think I like you underneath me.”
Her words were spoken sultry and slow, and I felt a stirring in my pants. By the gods, I feltattractedto her. What kind of trickery was this? Emma was my mate, for the gods’ sake! How could I betray her like this, having feelings for a woman who was my arch-nemesis? It was sickening that the White Rose could get inside my head in such a vile way.
