“Wouldn’t Vivi’s blood be the most important for the spell considering she’s the only Nightingale here?” Aurora asks.
Solomon ignores Aurora and returns to Isadora. The High Witch drops a few herbs into the bowl and resumes reciting the spell. The wind picks up in speed, and my long hair dances around my face, blocking the view. I should have braided it.
A crescent moon appears on Isadora’s forehead, glowing white, just like her eyes. Besides the wind, I sense another change in the atmosphere. For the first time since my banishment, I feel Nightingale magic humming against my skin. It reminds me of what I lost, and the yearning hits me at fullblast. I’ve never felt more like an empty shell than I do now. My eyes prickle with tears, and I bite the inside of my cheek. I can’t succumb to my emotions, not when so much is at stake.
Lucca’s arm snakes around my waist as he pulls me closer to him. He can sense the change in me. I want to take solace in his embrace, but Solomon turns to me and says, “Now it’s your turn, child.”
LUCCA
I flex my arm around Vivi, not willing to let her go when Solomon calls for her. This damn spell is doing something to her, and if it weren’t for Miranda’s and Rikkon’s lives being at stake, I’d put a stop to it.
Vivi looks at me, giving me a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, my love.”
Reluctantly, I let her go, but my heart is pounding at a hundred miles per hour. If anything happens to her, if I lose her… No, I can’t let those thoughts take root. I’ll go crazy, and I must stay sharp.
Solomon offers Vivi the bowl. “You must drink it.”
“What?” she shrieks.
“You can’t be serious. You want Vivi to drink blood?” Karl pipes up.
Solomon gives him a droll stare. “No, I was just kidding. Of course she has to drink it. I wouldn’t have asked her to do it otherwise.”
Grimacing, Vivi stares at the bowl. It brings back a memory I’d rather forget. Not too long ago, I forced her to feed from a human, knowing she was only pretending to be a vampire. I can’tbelieve how cruel I was to her, or how, despite it all, she fell in love with me. I’m the luckiest male in the world that she gave me the chance to worship her for all eternity.
Vivi takes a deep breath before lifting the bowl to her lips and drinking its contents. Her brows crinkle together right before she starts to shake. What the hell!
“What is that potion doing to her?” I take a step forward, but Aurora, who’s standing next to me, holds my arm.
“You can’t stop the spell now!”
I yank my arm back. “The hell I can’t!”
“If you do, it’ll all be for nothing.” Her eyes grow larger, filling with tears. “I can’t lose my sister.”
“Lucca, Vivi will be all right,” Ronan chimes in.
“You don’t know that.”
A maelstrom gathers around Vivi as the magic increases tenfold. The strong winds whip her hair around her face. But what makes my heart leap to my throat is how her eyes are now glowing white. She drops the bowl to the ground and, as if in a trance, approaches the Taluah Mirror. Dread drips down my spine, and my stomach is wound tight. Something horrible will happen if she touches the dark surface of that forsaken mirror.
I run to her, faster than anyone can stop me. In the background, Aurora screams, “No!”
But before I can touch Vivi, I hit an invisible barrier, which sends me to the ground. An electric current wraps around my body, making all my muscles spasm violently. I bite my tongue and taste blood. There’s a commotion around me, but all the noises are muffled now—all I can sense is pain.
Someone touches my forehead with cool fingers, and slowly, the pain ebbs away. I don’t have time to figure out who helped me before rough hands get me upright, then shove me into a dark void where the Taluah Mirror once stood. I can’t feel Vivi’s presence anymore.
“Vivi!” I scream into the darkness. My voice seems to echo endlessly as I lose the sensation of my body. It’s almost like I’m disintegrating. Am I dying?
No sooner does the thought cross my mind than I collide with something hard that jars my bones. The motion sends me rolling down a hill, and I don’t stop until the ground flattens out. My ears are buzzing, and my breaths are coming out in bursts. Something warm touches my skin, and when I open my eyes, I realize the warmth is coming from the sun shining down on me.
My lungs freeze, and I can’t get air into them. I wait for the excruciating burning pain to come, but nothing happens. I should have turned to ashes, but somehow, the sun in Ellnesari does me no harm.
“Lucca!” Vivi calls from somewhere nearby.
Wincing, I try to get back on my feet, but all I can manage is to sit up. My muscles are still sore from being electrocuted. But my discomfort gets pushed to the background when I see Vivi running in my direction. The tightness around my heart eases off.
“Vivi—” I manage to get out before she crashes into me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
