“Get out of my way.”
“No.”
They stood there, glaring at each other, and for a brief, horrible moment, the rage in Silas told him to throw her aside. To take out every obstacle in his path and find a way to achieve his goal. It was so strong that he had to clench his fists to stop himself, had to grind his teeth to get out a single word.
“Please.”
Anika cursed under her breath. “Fine,” she said, stepping out of the way of the door and grabbing her purse. “But I’m coming with you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Katherine sat in her chair again, no ordinaries or steely-jawed Noctis rep here to take her spot today.
It was just her and Sylvia, like it always had been.
Of course, unlike their usual casual meetings in Sylvia’s office, Katherine was currently tied to her chair by ropes of magic. They wrapped tightly around her wrists, preventing her from reaching for anything she could use to make a cut. Not that she would have much luck, even if she did manage to get blood—she’d been in the cell for two days. Her power, Byron had reminded her gleefully, had been crushed by the wards into a trickle of what it once was. A few good casts could knock her out for a week.
Still, though, Sylvia was nothing if not cautious, and she’d bound Katherine immediately. She’d dismissed Byron after Katherine was secured. The huff of anger as he stormed out was probably going to be the only bright spot in Katherine’s day.
Sylvia had been sitting there in silence for minutes since the door closed, staring at her bound protégé with a blank face. Katherine shifted in her seat, the magic rubbing her wrists raw. She didn’t want it touching her. She knew there was no way she could actuallyfeelLily in it, but she still swore her smile, her dreams, her pain were crawling up Katherine’s arms. She was quite literally being held down by her own mistakes.
Sylvia leaned back, her body languid. “How are you feeling?”
Katherine let out a wry chuckle. “How areyoufeeling? Lily’s magic treating you well?”
Sylvia flinched. “I did this to help people.”
Katherine snorted. “You murdered a teenage girl to help people?”
“Noctis was going to take over Aestas. And once the Khatris were in charge, there wasn’t going to be any more helping unsettled witches. They were all going to be left to fend for themselves.”
Katherine surged forward in her seat, the ropes keeping her from being able to lunge for Sylvia’s throat like she so deeply desired. “Lily would have been better off fending for herself,” she snarled.
“She wouldn’t have been. She would have died, or gone to jail, or a mental institution, like so many other unsettled witches have. She would have been alone.”
Katherine clenched her jaw at Sylvia’s matter-of-fact words. It was true. There were no good options. Not for an unsettled witch.
“She didn’t want to be a witch,” Sylvia continued. “She said so again and again.”
“She was a kid, Sylvia. She was overwhelmed and confused. She would have gotten over it.”
Sylvia leaned in. “Shebegged meto take her magic away.”
“She didn’t beg you to kill her.”
Sylvia literally shrugged. “Mistakes happen.” Katherine’s entire body coiled. “But now, her power can be used to help so many other people like her. She’ll be able to save people.”
“You’re deluded.”
“Maybe.” Joints cracked as Katherine fought against the ropes. Sylvia’s face was stoic as she watched her struggle. “Maybe I made the wrong choice. But I made it, and I am going to make it worth what I gave up.”
Whatshegave up. Not what Lily gave up.
“Lily’s death gave me enough power to keep Noctis off our backs forever,” Sylvia continued. “Hell, with this power, I could unseat Noctis entirely. We could become the most powerful coven in the country.”
“And what you did to Silas—making him kill his father.” Katherine was so mad she could hardly get the words out. “That was part of your plan?”
Sylvia’s mouth twisted up in a small smile. “All I wanted was for him to snap in public and destabilize Noctis. His emotions determined where and when that happened.”
