“Yes, Mother.” Wes speaks in a cold monotone.
Seconds later, I’m injected with more fluid and a metallic, electric taste surges into my mouth.
Lightning strikes deep in my chest, and I can’t help but gasp aloud as my heart beats frantically, like it’s trying to escape my ribcage.
Liquid fire gushes through my veins.
I suck in a long, deep breath as I suddenly feel as though I’m floating and then.
Bam.
Against my will, my eyes fly open.
“Welcome back, Theodora.”
Shit.
Janine Hart looks down at me, a gleam in her eye. “Let us begin. Wesley, dear. Fetch the file.”
—Don’t do it, Wes—
I can’t move my head to follow him, but I hear the snap of the folder.
“You will both cast alongside me.” she commands.
Without another moment, they begin to chant.
I feel the cold, slimy magic pressing against my Lumina barrier.
Do not let that shit in.
Wes’s mother is using an ancient language. It’s powerful. I feel the words trying to slice through my skin.
The spell tells me to forget the last two days.
NO.
The language urges me to keep all the Conclaves' secrets.
NO NO.
It tells me that I need to serve the Conclave, willingly.
NO NO NO!
I’m dizzy, I feel like I’m going to puke. Shit.
FIGHT!
My heart races and the palms of my hand itch. The Lumina guarding me begins to wane.
Tears pour down my face. I’m going to fail. I can’t do this.
The whole world is going to be corrupted because I can’t manage to fight off this one spell.
A hideous chemical smell enters my nose. What now?
The doctor is shaking some powder over my face. I clamp my mouth shut and deny myself oxygen until I can’t any more.
