by Sarah Piper
And then Haley went down.
I charged back into the melee, shooting an electric bolt at a hybrid who’d jumped into my path. When I got to my sister, she was on her knees, her head bent back at a severe angle, her eyes half-lidded. She seemed to be in a deep trance.
In one hand she gripped a bloody dagger, her other clenched in a fist, dripping with blood.
I knew at once she was doing a spell.
Calling up another surge of earth magic, I channeled everything I had into protecting her, drawing up an iridescent shield around her as Liam continued to swing his blade at any beast in our periphery.
Temporarily safe inside the shield, Haley used her blood to draw a pentacle on the floor, then pressed her palm against it. The symbol glowed at her touch.
All around us, the team continued to fight. And the beasts continued to emerge from the darkness.
And then, the chanting began.
It started soft—so soft I almost wasn’t sure it was Haley. But then her voice grew stronger, louder, more powerful, the tenor of it reverberating inside my chest.
The words felt sinister, dark, so unlike anything I’d ever heard come out of my sister’s mouth, I had to check again to make sure it was her.
Slowly she got to her feet, her eyes closed, her head bowed, her words rising above the sounds of our battle, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
“Blood of hell, blood of night
I call on the darkness to show us the light
May evil and malice and violence intended
Return to its hosts uprooted, upended
Dark Goddess I bend, Dark Goddess I bow
Hear my petition, and thusly I vow
My service is yours, by blood and by blade
Until my last breath shall deem it unmade.”
Nine times she spoke the spell, her words growing more impassioned with each repetition. My shield was dimming, revealing Haley in her full, terrifying glory. Blood shone on her lips, her eyes wild, her face stark white. A deep and chilling darkness seemed to emanate from within her, but still, I held onto that shield for as long as I could, pouring all of my magic into it, all of my power, all of my love.
I had no idea who she’d petitioned or what, precisely, she’d promised, but I didn’t dare disturb the spell.
Haley’s magic was working.
Slowly at first, and then all at once, the tide changed. There was a single heartbeat of silence, as if someone had hit the reset button.
The smoke began to clear.
All of us looked on with awe and wonder.
And one by one, the hybrids turned their attention away from our group and onto each other.
I’d never seen such brutality, such gruesome violence. Such single-minded determination. They tore into each other, shredding flesh and bone, destroying, devouring.
I was mesmerized.
Strong hands suddenly gripped my arm—Asher’s? Emilio’s? I had no way of knowing. Snapping out of my near-trance, I grabbed my sister’s hand, and all of us charged for the door.
Just like the monsters in the office, the hybrids in the corridors seemed bent on self-destruction, their bone-chilling screams of agony providing the gory soundtrack to our escape. After a quick head count, we rushed down the main corridor, back through the prison chamber, up the winding staircase to the mausoleum.
I didn’t dare let go of Haley. Didn’t dare open my eyes. Not until the pounding of my heart subsided, and I finally felt the sweet relief of snowflakes melting on my cheeks.
Forty-Five
LIAM
Sitting on a bench on the outer perimeter of the cemetery, I cupped my palm, mesmerized by the snowflakes melting against my skin.
Snow felt different now. The warmth of Gray’s presence beside me felt different. My heartbeat felt different.
Everything felt different.
“I’d all but forgotten what it meant to be human,” I said softly. “I used to think humanity was destined to fail, and that my responsibility in escorting your souls out of these vessels and into the Shadowrealm was a kindness as much as a duty. What, after all, was the point of all this so-called living?” I shook my head, my very human breath condensing before me. “What a fool I’d been.”
Gray leaned her head on my shoulder, and I turned to press a kiss to her crown.
“And now?” she asked. “Do you still wonder what the point is?”
I left the question hanging on the cool air between us, where it lingered a moment longer before drifting away in the breeze.
The tribunal had ended. I’d been permanently banished here, all remaining powers stripped. I’d no longer be able to shift into my avian forms, no longer see a thousand upon a thousand upon a thousand possible outcomes. I was vulnerable now, just as any other man. Powerless but for that which I drew from within.
I’d been condemned to the fate of humanity, possibly condemning humanity in the process.
For with my banishment and the permanent dissolution of my duties, there would be no Death. No transformation, as I’d warned them before. Winter had already begun its deadly dance, but soon it would spread. Soon the restless souls would gather. Soon the hauntings would begin.
The Old One had offered only one alternative, only one service for which they’d grant a full reversal of this curse: I must sacrifice another Shadowborn witch, forcing upon her the mantle I’d once so proudly carried.
The refusal was on my lips before they’d even finished the proclamation.
Their only concession, their only grace, was in allowing me to serve out my remaining days as a mortal man in the company of the woman I loved, for as long as she would have me.
I’d explained all of this to her as we sat on our bench, watching the others make arrangements for the return to basecamp. They’d managed to salvage some of the intelligence they’d found inside, and were organizing that now, along with treating injuries.
Jael’s body had not been recovered. When the wolves returned to the corridor to investigate, they found only ashes.
“I would do anything to fix this, Gray,” I said now. “Anything.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. And then, just when I thought my human heart would arrest, she tilted her head to meet my gaze, and a soft smile touched her lips. “You and I are a lot alike, you know.”
“Rule-breakers and seekers of trouble. Defiers of cosmic law.” I laughed, but Gray’s eyes had turned serious.
“People who’d do anything to protect the ones we love,” she said. “People who’ve learned, deep down, the most important lesson.” She slipped her hand into mine, melting the last of the snow between our palms. “No matter what the risk, love will always be worth it.”
She leaned forward, brushing her lips across my mouth in a kiss I felt all the way to my toes. There were no magical sparks this time. Only the ones I felt inside.
I returned her kiss, slowly deepening it, tasting her with a new appreciation for all of life’s richness. For all of its blessings.
I kissed her as I’d loved her—without hesitation, without regret, without fear.
When we finally broke apart, I cupped her face, gazing in to the depths of her twilight blue eyes.
“I’m in love with you, little witch. So much it makes my heart feel like it’s going to go supernova every time you’re near me. Is that… Is that normal?”
Gray laughed, her eyes lighting up despite the heaviness of tonight’s battles. She pressed a hand to my chest, and I covered it with my own, feeling the frantic pounding of my heart through both.
“It’s normal,” she said. “I’d say you get used to it, but you don’t. And that’s a good thing.”
“I shall take your word for it.”
Silence drifted between us once again, and in the calm, I spoke the words in my heart.
“I cannot say I’ve come to this banishment unwillingly,” I said. “For I’ve longed to return to my human form, to live out the remainder of my days a
s a mortal. But I would not have wished this upon you. Upon any of you. My one regret, Gray, is that when I am gone from this realm, you and those who carry on your legacy will still be dealing with this fallout. Yes, I will die, and without another to carry on the sacred duties, my soul will be as cursed as all the rest. But in so many ways, I am getting the easy way out.”
“No, Liam. You’re not.” She shook her head, staring at me as if I’d just spoken the most ridiculous words known to man. “You gave up your life for me. For Emilio. For us to have another chance at life and love. You gave up your eternal soul. And you did it all over again when they gave you a chance at redemption, and you turned them down.”
“I will not sacrifice another.”
“I know. And in that refusal, you gave up absolutely everything.”
I took her face in my hands, pressing another kiss to her lips. “And I will do so again,” I whispered. “For as long as I have something left to give, for as long as I am here to give it.”
“Okay,” she said firmly, rising from the bench and brushing the snow from her legs. “Here’s the deal, Colebrook. I love you, too. Don’t ask me how it happened, because there are too many little moments, too many conversations, too much anger, too much laughter, too many sparks. But it did happen. You’re as much a part of this family as the rest of us. And that means you’re bound to us, and we’re bound to you, and mortal or not, you’re not going anywhere without us. We won’t give you up without a fight. We won’t give any of this up without a fight.”
She turned to head back down the path.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To make damn sure we win this fight, and the next one, and every single one we’re facing after that. Because guess what? This little witch still has something left to give, too.”
Forty-Six
GRAY
I trudged through the snow, back the way Liam and I had come, back to the mausoleum. The injuries had all been treated, and now the group huddled together, checking over the liberated prisoners one last time. Haley had her arm around Adele, their heads bent together, both of them sitting on the mausoleum steps. Adele’s eyes were closed, but some of the color had returned to her cheeks.
Haley’s eyes were haunted. She hadn’t wanted to talk about the blood spell she’d done, about what dark energies she’d called upon, about what it would mean for her later.
About what it would mean for any of us.
But I knew she’d sacrificed something important.
Just like Liam had done. Just like Jael had done. Just like the prisoners had done. Just like everyone from our group had done—all the brave witches and allies and my strong, beautiful rebels standing before me. Every single one of them had put their lives on the line, making their own personal and private sacrifices, all because I’d asked them to follow me into the darkness, and they’d come without question.
I hadn’t guaranteed them a victory. Hadn’t even guaranteed their survival. Yet they’d put their trust and faith in me, and they’d come anyway.
Now, it was my turn to step out over that endless void, to leap with no guarantee of a net below. To be bold and brave. To trust that I was making the right decision—not just for me, but for all the witches I’d led here. The ones I’d still had yet to meet. To unite. For the men who would give their lives for me. The men who’d already given me their hearts.
We’d lost a friend tonight. A man who died protecting us, honoring the memory of the woman he loved—my best friend.
We’d fought a ravenous army of vampire-shifter hybrids, terrifying and brutal, yet no more than a fraction of the size and skill of the armies that likely awaited us in the Bay. That may also be waiting in the shadows of other cities, in other countries, their masters counting down to armageddon.
We’d discovered that my mother was the mastermind behind a worldwide supernatural conspiracy that left the fate of humankind hanging in the balance, and my sister—a sister whose existence I’d only just discovered—was doing her bidding.
We’d liberated another sister, who—along with other witches and supernaturals—was fighting her way back from the edge of death, and would heal from her physical wounds only to unleash the horror of all the emotional torments she’d endured at the hands and direction of our mother.
And Haley… I had no idea what was in store for her, but from the haunted look in her eyes, I knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant or easy.
Despite all we’d lost, all we’d endured, there were still so many battles to face. Still so many nasty surprises on the horizon.
I closed my eyes, recalling the moment of utter powerlessness I’d felt in the hands of that hybrid. I’d felt his thoughts, seen the glint of blood on his fangs. His breath had misted on my cheeks, and in that moment, I’d known it was the breath of death.
If not for Liam, I wouldn’t be standing here.
I didn’t know what awaited us around the next corner. But I did know this: I would not be made to feel that way again.
It was in our blood, I realized. The key to everything. Darius’s blood had healed me in the Shadowrealm, and my blood had begun to restore his memories. With help from my magic, Asher’s blood had built up an immunity to Jonathan’s devil’s trap nanotech. Haley’s blood had saved us tonight, causing our enemies to turn on each other. Silversbane blood had brought us together, had led us to our other sisters, had carried the legacy of our magic from one generation to the next.
Silversbane blood had allowed my mother—a witch—to survive the change and become a vampire.
And it would do the same for me.
Forty-Seven
GRAY
“Out of the question.” Darius folded his arms over his chest, his mouth pressed into a grim line.
Lined up inside the mausoleum, Asher, Ronan, and Emilio stood at his side, the fire in their eyes smoldering, the stiffness in their muscles telling me exactly where they stood on the matter.
Only Liam stood at my back. Only Liam understood.
“I’m asking you to give me the strength to protect myself,” I said. “The power. The freedom of choice.”
“You’re asking me to condemn you to a life of blood and death,” he snarled. “You will lose your soul, Gray. I cannot—I will not facilitate that.”
“I won’t lose my soul.” I placed my hand over his heart, offering a tender smile. “My soul is here. With you. All of you. As long as we’re together in this world, it—”
“No, Gray.” He grabbed my wrist, his grip almost painful. Anger coursed through his blood, making his skin hot. “That’s not enough. As far as I’m concerned, this world doesn’t even exist without you. You are the beating heart of it, love. Our beating heart. If we lose you, none of it is worth it. There’s no more fight. No more reason.”
“My soul is promised to Sebastian!” I shouted.
How many more times would we have to go over this? Why couldn’t they understand?
“There are two outcomes here, guys. Only two. Either we lose this war, and I die fighting, because I’m not immortal like Darius and Ronan and Ash. Or by some miracle, we win, and after all the dust settles, Sebastian shows up to collect on my contract. I’ll never see any of you again. Don’t you get that?”
“You don’t need immortality,” Darius said. “You’ve got magic, and—”
“My magic isn’t enough. You saw what happened in there tonight. If it wasn’t for Liam, I’d already be gone. I need strength. Speed. Predatory instincts. There’s a full-on war coming to our doorstep, Darius—”
“One you don’t have to fight alone.” He gestured beyond the flagstone path to the spot where the rest of the group had gathered, waiting for us to take them back to camp. “All those witches out there—”
“They’re depending on me to lead them! To rise up and claim my legacy.”
“And you will. You’ll rise up like the witch you are. That power is already inside you, Gray.”
“It sounds nice, doesn’
t it?” I asked. “Like something you could print on a T-shirt or make into an internet meme, right? But the reality is… We don’t stand a chance. Not a real one, not for the long haul. How many more nights like this can we take? Jael is dead. Everyone else is beat up and exhausted. And we haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s coming. We’re lucky we survived the night. How do you think Blackmoon Bay is going to roll out? And that’s assuming we can even get there in time.”
I clutched my head in my hands, drawing a deep breath, trying to dial down the anger. I didn’t want to fight them on this. I just wanted to make them understand. To feel the rightness of this. To grant me my choice.
“I know what I’m asking you to do,” I said. “I know the risks. But for the first time since I was a little kid, I have real faith in my magic. In my intuition. And most importantly, in my blood. My mother survived the change because she’s Silversbane, just like me.”
“You don’t know that’s what allowed her to survive,” Darius said. “There could be any number of reasons—”
“There could be, but there aren’t.” I pressed my hands to my chest, the magic rising to the surface, pulsing against my palms. “I can feel the rightness in this. This is my path. Please, Darius. I want this, but I won’t do it without your support.” I turned to look at each of them, imploring them. “That goes for all of you. I’m asking you to back me up on this. I’m asking you to trust that I know what’s right for myself, for my body. I’m asking you to trust me.”
“You will lose your soul,” Darius said again, but his resolve was finally weakening, and I smiled, shining a light through the tiny crack he’d left behind.
“Actually, my soul might have another option.” I looked at Liam as a new idea dawned and rose inside me like the sun, fresh hope filling my chest, bolstering my plan.
Liam understood my intention immediately, but his eyes dimmed, and he shook his head. “I would do anything for you, Gray. But I’m fully human now. I no longer possess the power to create moonglass or to guide your soul into its orb.”