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“I realized I would need the three of you here for everything to work properly,” Obedience continued, her attention drifting over to Iris. “When I saw you and Gabriel approaching yesterday, I sensed it was the moment to reveal myself, to remind Gabriel of the kind of threat I pose. I hope you enjoyed seeing your father again, Iris. I know how you’ve missed him.” Abruptly, she turned to Clement. “How is that memory spell coming along, my old friend? Are you nearly finished?”

Clement’s mouth opened, but for once, he seemed to have nothing to say. Realization hit Blair squarely in the chest then, causing his heart to sink into the dirt beneath his feet. Obedience had forced Lucy’s ring into his hand on purpose, re-marinating it in his energy. If Clement were to perform the forgetting spell now, Blair would be impacted, too.

“You always have been unwisely overconfident,” said Obedience, still addressing Clement. “If only you’d thought to place a simple freezing enchantment on the ring, I wouldn’t have been able to move it. And this after you failed to notice my presence in Vitford for weeks.” She clucked her tongue. “For someone who prides himself on his cleverness, you really are alarmingly careless.”

Clement stood silent and stoic but for a small twitch in his cheek, an involuntary sign of duress that reminded Blair of his father.

“In any case, I knew you all were too morally superior to try and kill me. And I assumed you wouldn’t want to involve the council. Too messy, isn’t it, considering the company you keep.” Her eyes darted to Blair. “And since I pose a threat to all three of you—or, all four of you,” she amended, nodding to Clement, “I figured a memory spell would be your go-to approach. Unluckily for you, this space is bewitched to block spells cast by anyone but myself. I wouldn’t recommend wasting your precious energy trying.” She turned back to Blair. “So, will you help me?”

Blair’s heart leapt into his throat. He ran his thumb over the ring in his palm.

Obedience’s eyes tracked his movements. “That’s it. Easy as pie.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Haven’t I just given a very thorough explanation?”

Blair blanched, staring at her. It seemed as though everything was moving in slow motion. He had no idea if it would be better to give in to her desires or to resist. Which option would protect Iris and Gabriel? Which was more likely to get them out of this alive?

He sensed movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over to see Gabriel muttering something to Clement. Clement remained motionless, his face hard, impassive.

Obedience hovered by Blair’s ear, her rosemary perfume stinging his nose and throat. “Don’t you want to see your sister again?” Her cold hand curled around his, trapping the ring against his palm. “Can’t you feel her calling out to you? You don’t belong with them.” Her gaze flicked over to Iris and Gabriel. “You’re too broken, too timid, too weak. It won’t take long before they’ll grow tired of you. You need someone who understands you, who knows your struggles.”

“Would your sister understand you?” Blair raised his chin, a flare of admonition igniting the blood in his veins. “Would she approve of all the terror you’ve caused? For centuries, you’re telling us that all you’ve wanted is to bring your sister back from the grave, that all of this”—he threw his arms wide— “was for her? You wanted to make her immortal, too, so she couldn’t be taken from you again, didn’t you? And to protect her, to protect yourself, you tried to turn Lucy and me into weapons. You think that your sister would want this, that she would forgive your murder, the lengths you’ve gone to try to keep her by your side?”

Two heartbeats pounded sickeningly through his ears, spurred on by the infinitesimal way the witch’s expression faltered, a hairline fracture in her smooth facade.

“She would be nothing more than another caged songbird in your grasp, controlled by you, confined by you,” said Blair, his chest aching as he fought to keep his voice even. “I might be able to coax Lucy out of my ring, but you will never convince your sister to come back to you if she knows the evil you’ve done in her name.”

All at once, the lanterns flickered out, plunging them into darkness.

Then an eerie, blinding light pierced the room. As if the church itself had come alive to seek its revenge, there was a sudden tumultuous roar. The ground heaved as the rock foundation began to crumble around them. Where the stone walls had been moments before, enormous pine trees erupted from the packed dirt and shot up to an artificial night sky.

Blair saw the terror reflected in Iris’ eyes as a ferocious wind whipped through the basement, as the trees began to sway. Severed branches thrashed above their heads, pine needles swirling through the damp air. Snow billowed around them. Ice coiled at their feet, freezing them in place.

Stars cut through the dark sky like dozens of eyes, painfully bright as they illuminated the severing trees, bark peeling from their trunks like skin shorn from human limbs. The trees bent inward, roots tearing.

Lightning flashed and snow burrowed into their legs as the roots gave way with a terrible cacophony of rips.

Blair dropped to the ground, shielding Iris beneath him, and Gabriel draped himself across his back. Together, they waited for the impact, waited for the end. Blair wished his voice could have risen over the tumult. He wanted to remind Iris how much he loved her, to beg for her forgiveness. She never deserved any of this. He wondered fleetingly if he would be allowed into the afterlife, if he would see her again, or if he wasn’t deserving enough. At least he knew she would make it, good and kind and full of love as she was.

But the impact never came.

Once again, they were in darkness. Once again, they were in silence.

The pressure released from Blair’s back as Gabriel stood, and he followed suit. Iris shuddered as he helped her to her feet, his eyes struggling to adjust to the gloom, to see what fresh horrors awaited them. He thought he could hear the distant growl of wolves, but he could see nothing.

When the lanterns eventually came back to life, the stone foundation had reappeared. The trees were gone, but the floor was strewn with branches and pine needles as though a microburst really had ripped through the cellar. The glass shards remained in place, reflecting their terrified faces.

And Obedience still stood before them, though her expression had sagged like a puppet with its mouth ripped into an unrecognizable shape. Blair was certain he’d hit a nerve when he’d spoken about her sister, a lethal nerve that could have resulted in every one of their deaths.

The air crackled with the aftereffects of Obedience’s power.

And Blair realized that if they wanted to get out of this alive, he would have to comply.

He only hoped this wouldn’t hurt Lucy. He couldn’t bear to cause her any more pain. Assuming it was even possible to harm someone who was already dead.

“Alright,” he said, and all eyes turned on him like owls in the dark. “I’ll do it.”