Delphine whipped her head around to glare at her. “Why didn’t you say anything? Or try to stop him?”
“I said something to Finn. Besides, my brother doesn’t care what I have to say. Or trust me.”
“We all know that’s a lie.” Delphine scoffed. “You’re the first person he went to for help when Bridget took that potion… And he saved you at the gate instead of sending me through to find her. He may be angry with you, but you’re still his sister.”
Cassia’s eyes widened as she stared at the back of Delphine’s head. First, she’d never seen Delphine raise her voice at anyone, let alone her. And not once had she thought about Cade’s actions the night Bridget almost died. The first time. Or maybe the second. She’d lost track how many times that girl had been close to death. Had he really trusted her to help him? Or had she just been the closest?
“Can he even use blood magic?” Delphine asked Castor. “He’s not a Warlock.”
“If he’s using his own blood, he doesn’t have to be,” Castor muttered darkly. “And there’s so much we don’t know about that type of magic. Most information about the Sanguis was destroyed years ago.”
When they entered the courtyard, the buzz coming from the black spiked door almost brought Cassia to her knees. Whatever blood spell Cade was planning to try, he’d already started. She paused in front of the door, afraid she might pass out if she got any closer. Plus, it wouldn’t be long before her father sensed the onslaught of magic radiating from the courtyard. Castor pushed on her lower back, though, and moved her forward. Her hands shook all the way down the winding stairs.
Castor grabbed the back of her jacket when they made it to the bottom floor. She gasped at the sight of Cade on his knees in front of the gate. Blazing candles surrounded him. A knife and a thick, brown leather-bound book were splayed out in front of him. To his right, Finn paced. Delphine tried to step forward, but an invisible barrier knocked her backward.
“Where did you get that grimoire?” Castor asked, eyes glued to the old book in front of Cade. “I’ve never seen one that old.”
Cade flicked it open and didn’t turn around as he said, “I broke into Echnav’s old apartment last night and found it hidden in the floorboard.”
Cassia tried to move toward him, but just like Delphine, a gust of wind pushed her back. She begged, “Cade, you can’t do this. This is blood magic. What if it kills you?”
“I don’t care,” he growled, hurriedly flipping the grimoire. “I have to try something.”
Castor knelt down and ran a finger through the dirt by the candles. Cassia wondered if he was trying to figure out some way through. Eventually, he wiped his dirty hand on his pants and said, “I can go back and search some more. Maybe I was too distracted by the company and there was something I missed. I’ll find her.”
“There’s no more time for that. In another few months, I’ll be married,” Cade spat, finally turning to gaze at them. “How can I go through with that without knowing she’s okay? How can I…”
A knot formed in Cassia’s throat as she studied the panic rising in her brother’s eyes. Even behind the blazing rage, it was visible. The spring solstice was less than two months away. It was one of her father’s favorite topics at dinner.
After a moment, Cassia voiced the one thing she knew no one else would. “What if she really is just—”
“She’s not dead!” Cade roared. Another gust of wind almost brought them all to the ground. Cassia braced herself on Castor’s shoulder. Snarling, Cade continued, “Archer must have done something. What if he brought them back to Elyria, toQuinn? And I’ve just been…”
“You would know,” Delphine said softly. “She doesn’t have the rune anymore. You would feel Bridget or Nylah if they were here.”
Cade ignored her and returned his focus to the grimoire.
Castor pulled some herbs out of his pocket and began to sprinkle them on the ground behind Cade. He said, “If you do this, there will be major consequences. Ones I might not be able to find a loophole around for you.”
Cassia turned to glare at Finn, who stood stoically in the corner. “I asked you to stop him.”
“Believe me, I tried,” Finn replied lowly.
“It sure doesn’t seem like it.”
“Nothing was going to stop him. I decided to help so that at least I could be here to save him if something goes wrong.”
“Then you didn’t try hard enough,” Cassia hissed, flinging herself toward the gate. She didn’t care if she set the room on fire by knocking over the candles or had to strangle Cade to get him to stop, but there was no way she was going to watch him suffer the consequences of a blood spell. The second she hit the barrier around Cade, a force threatened to fling her backward. Cassia dug her feet into the dirt, though, and remainedstanding. Lifting her hand, she tried to reach past the candles. When her fingers crossed, her entire hand burned. Instead of pulling away, Cassia pressed harder. She screamed as invisible fire licked its way up her arm. Just as she was sure she was either close to breaking the barrier or collapsing, arms wrapped around her and pulled her backward.
“Let go of me,” Cassia growled, struggling to get out of Castor’s grip. Even though her arm pulsed in relief, she’d beenclose. She’d felt Cade relenting.
Castor whispered in her ear, “I’ll pull him out if anything goes wrong. Once he’s focused on the spell, the barrier should break. I promise.”
But what consequences would he face before that happened? Cassia pushed against Castor again, but his grip tightened. Her vision blurred. So much so, she barely saw Cade grab the knife. Barely heard him mutter the spell under his breath from the ringing in her ears that warned her something bad was about to happen. She felt in the air. A shift. Something, orsomeone, besides the human realm was hovering on the other side of the gate.
“Please stop,” Cassia bellowed in one last desperate attempt to stop him. “If she’s alive, Bridget won’t be able to survive a spell like this. You’re risking her life.”
“Then it’s a good thing it’s not her mind I’m looking for,” Cade said, before he lifted the knife to the palm of his hand and sliced.
