by Cole, Tillie
She had given him charity. Now he wanted to give her some charity too.
A drum began to play. Birds burst into the night sky at the abrupt sound. Noa closed her eyes. Naomi was playing the drum, beginning the ceremony.
“Why are they doing this? We have different beliefs,” Noa said, referring to her sisters. The smell of sage permeated the air as Beth lit the herbal sticks and handed them to each of the sisters to purify the air.
“They love you,” Diel said, reason enough for why they would do this for Noa. They were her Coven. Her sisters. Her life. “Just like I love you,” he added, and he meant every fucking word. He could feel the scar around his neck pulse with the truth of that statement, his monstrous side nodding in agreement.
Noa looked up at Diel. “I … I can’t believe you’ve done this.” She swallowed.
The beat of the drum grew faster, and Noa looked at the circle her sisters had created. At the candles lighting up the area. At the fire in its center, smoke rising into the air. Diel saw it then, saw that yearning on Noa’s face, felt it pulse from her soul.
He squeezed her hand. “Go.”
Noa hesitated for only a second, but then slipped her shirt from her body as she walked and pulled the white dress on, the hem trailing along the floor. She kicked off her pants and shoes, eyes closed and head tipped to the sky and the full moon that looked down at her as she pressed her bare feet into the earth.
Diel saw it ground her. He saw the elements wrap around her and welcome her home. But it was the wide smile on Noa’s face that shattered his heart. The laugh that spilled from her parted lips as she looked at her sisters, as she took her place at the head of the circle just like her grandmother would once have done.
Noa stretched her arms high, her sisters following suit, and called out, “We call on the elements—earth, fire, wind, water and the aether …” Diel was hypnotized as he watched her sway in the firelight, watched the flames’ shadows dance over her face as she recited the words that had been tattooed on her very soul since childhood.
“No one should ever be punished for their beliefs,” a voice said from behind him. Gabriel stopped next to Diel, watching the Coven start their dance around the fire. Naomi played the drum, the sisters chanting along with Noa, singing … free. Noa’s arms swayed as she spun, and her eyes were bright and filled with joy as the familiar words spilled from her mouth. “Not when this level of freedom, of serenity, is the result.” Diel let Gabriel’s words filter over him. Diel agreed.
“Redheads, right?” Bara said, coming to Diel’s other side. “Hottest people on the fucking planet.” Bara was watching Naomi like a tiger watches its prey.
Sela came next, silent, like he had been since finding out Destiny was out there somewhere, waiting for him. Uriel and Raphael, Maria and Michael followed. Michael was gripping the two vials he now wore around his neck. One was blood from the first boy he’d exsanguinated in Holy Innocents as a kid. The second was Beth’s from the night in the Brethren barn. Michael clutched it in his hand as he watched the small brunette dance and smile. His fangs pressed into his bottom lip, and there was a flush to his white cheeks.
“They look so beautiful,” Maria said from beside Raphael. Then she stepped toward the Coven, drawn to them like a moth to a flame, and released Raphael’s hand. Dinah spun around and held out her hand, an invitation to join them. Maria did exactly that and followed Dinah in moving about the fire. Naomi handed Maria a candle to hold toward the moon.
“Fuck me,” Raphael groaned, watching his woman dance, her long hair touching the back of her knees as it swayed back and forth. His nostrils flared. He was transfixed.
But Diel only had eyes for Noa. For the woman who had crashed into his life like a damn wrecking ball and freed him from his shackles. Watching her now, seeing her embrace who she truly was, he knew she would never be leaving his side. They were forever. And together, they would destroy the Brethren and make their fucked-up part of the dark Massachusetts underworld right.
Noa turned and saw Diel watching her. She smiled wide, white teeth bright, finally unburdened from any fear or shame that had held her down. And with every dance around the fire, she took ownership of her heritage, honored the long line of persecuted witches who’d gone before her, and paid homage to the grandmother she’d adored and lost.
In that moment, Noa’s finally free soul completely owned Diel’s. And he never wanted to get it back.
Noa, his savior.
His fellow killer.
His beloved pink-haired witch.
The End
Playlist
Raging On A Sunday — Bohnes
Original Me (Feat. Dan Reynolds) — YUNGBLUD
Monster In Me — Little Mix
God Save Me, But Don’t Drown Drown Me Out — YUNGBLUD
Heading Home — Alan Walker, Ruben
Monster — Imagine Dragons
Monsters — Ruelle
Not About Angels — Birdy
You Should See Me in a Crown — Billie Eilish
PSYCHO — Aviva
Darkside — grandson
Twisted — MISSIO
Game Of Survival — Ruelle
Worst In Me — Unlike Pluto
Savage — Bahari
Oh My Dear Lord — The Unlikely Candidates
Sing To Me — MISSIO, Death Stranding: Timefall
Lost Control — Alan Walker, Sorana
Burn Down This Room — Ruben Freak (Feat. REI AMI) — Sub
Urban Saints — Echos
Prayer — Keaton Henson
Surrender — Natalie Taylor
Paralyzed — NF
I Think I’m Okay (with YUNGBLUD & Travis Barker) — Machine Gun Kelly
11 Minutes (With Halsey feat. Travis Barker) — YUNGBLUD
Stay Away (feat. Machine Gun Kelly & Goody Grace) — MOD SUN
Killing Butterflies — Lewis Blissett
Voice In My Head — Skinny Days, CLMD
Who Am I (feat. Elle King) — NEEDTOBREATHE
I Scare Myself — Beth Crowley
Nightmare — Halsey
Which Witch- Demo/ Bonus Track — Florence & The Machine
Cry Little Sister — Marilyn Manson
Head Above Water — Avril Lavigne
Man Or Monster (feat. Zayde Wolf) — Sam Tinnesz
Control — Zoe Wees
Full Moon Chant — Heather Houston
Everything I Wanted —Billie Eilish
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband, Stephen, for being my biggest supporter.
Roman, my little smooch. You are the absolute light of my life. I’m so blessed to be your mammy. I never thought it was possible to love somebody so much. You’re the best thing I have ever done in my life. Everything is for you.
Mam and Dad, thank you for the continued support. Dad, thank you for always being a champion of my writing and helping me whenever I need you.
Samantha, Marc, Taylor, Isaac, Archie, and Elias, love you all.
Liz, thank you for being my super-agent and friend.
Neda and Ardent Prose, I am so happy that I jumped on board with you guys. You’ve made my life infinitely more organised. You kick PR ass!
To my TILLSTERS, I couldn’t ask for better book friends. Thank you for all for everything you do for me. Here’s to another step forward in our Dark Romance Revolution! I love how your little dark hearts are drawn to mine— like is drawn to like. My fellow dark-hearted little nightmares.
Thank you to all the AMAZING bloggers and Instagrammers that support my career, and the ones who help share my work, make the most unbelievable edits and videos and shout about it from the rooftops. You’re appreciated more than you’ll ever know.
And lastly, thank you to the readers. Without you none of this would be possible. Dark Romance is my passion, the genre that calls to me most. It’s not a ‘go-to’ genre for many people, but you guys get me, and for that I’ll forever be grateful. Some people don’t unders
tand us, and our undying love for characters with dark hearts and questionable morals… But we have each other, and that’s all we’ll ever need! Thank you for taking a walk on the dark side with me. It’s a fun place to be once you take the leap.
Author Biography
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
After several years living in Italy, Canada and the USA, Tillie has now settled back in her hometown in England, with her husband and son.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than spending time with her little family, curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, and convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that last square of chocolate.
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