Page 204 of The Warlock's Trial

I turned back to Chloe and gave her a desperate look. I hoped she understood what I was trying to say. “Please, Chloe. You have to let me save Marcus.”

I shot her a look that said, Get ready to fight. Whether she picked up on it or not, I wasn’t sure. Chloe was very good at masking her emotions when she needed to.

I turned back toward the priestesses and reached for Marcus.

Margaret pulled him away. “You do the spell first.”

Steeling my nerves, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “All right. We’ll play by your rules, but I need to touch him.”

Margaret held tight to Marcus, but she let me put my hand on his head. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at me.

“It’s okay, baby boy,” I whispered. “Mama’s here for you.”

I wrapped my magic around him like a comforting hug. I could feel all different types of magic within him at once—so powerful that I stumbled back, even though I was only observing. I hadn’t actually touched his magic yet.

“That’s it,” Lilian encouraged. “You can feel how powerful he is, can’t you? Do the spell!”

I straightened and tried again. The magic within Marcus was both chaotic and ordered. It was different from anything I’d seen before, and difficult to make sense of. I dug deep, until I found the spells the priestesses had put on him.

One tasted of citrus, and I knew that was the potion they’d poisoned him with. The only way to eliminate it was to create the Master Wand like they asked. Then I felt the darkness of the curse they’d cast. If we hurt the priestesses before I enchanted the Master Wand, Marcus would die, too. Two different spells… both deadly.

I had to time this just right.

Then there was Marcus’s demigod magic. It moved through his body like the motion of an infinity sign, twisting and pulsing through him in ways I’d felt with other witch magic, but different too—more powerful. If this was only a trace of demigod magic, I couldn’t imagine what he’d be capable of when he came into his full power.

“Place the wand on top of him,” I instructed.

Lilian laid the Master Wand over Marcus’s chest, but she didn’t dare let go of it. I placed my palm over top of the blade, so that I was touching both Marcus and the Master Wand at once.

I stroked his head with my other hand. “Marcus, sweetheart. I need you to share your power with me. Do you feel that warmth moving through your chest? That’s your magic, and Mama needs a bit of it to keep you safe. It’s okay, because I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.”

I knew Marcus couldn’t understand my words, but we shared a connection that went far deeper than spoken language. I felt a small amount of his magic budge, but it wasn’t enough.

Tears welled in my eyes. I hated that the priestesses were making me do this. I despised them for using my son—for making me use my son. I abhorred every moment that they were still breathing. I wanted to tear every ounce of magic from their bodies and use it against them, until they weren’t just dead, but wiped from existence completely.

I leaned down and kissed the top of Marcus’s head. A tear fell from my eye and soaked into his blanket. “Mama’s here for you, baby. Do this for Mama, give me your magic, and then we can go home.”

Something broke inside of Marcus then, as if a dam had ruptured. His magic swept through me so fast that I felt like I was floating several inches off the ground. My spine straightened, and I felt so lightweight that only my toes touched the ground. I gasped, and a bright golden glow passed between our bodies. His magic permeated every cell of my being, and for a brief moment, I felt it for what it was.

There was so much light, the power of creation… but for every particle of light that filled me up, there was a dark side—the power to destroy whole nations. The lightweight feeling transformed into a dense heaviness. My heels fell back to the floor, and I shrank under what felt like a two-hundred-pound weight on my shoulders.

If this was what demigod magic was, it was absolutely crushing. I couldn’t take his power for more than a moment. I quickly funneled it into the Master Wand, and the wood glowed with that golden energy. The weight pushing me down upon me eased, and I felt the potion’s magic within Marcus break. I’d completed the spell, and he was no longer bound by the priestesses’ threat of control.

Before the priestesses could notice, I grabbed hold of the darkness swirling in Marcus’s gut. They said I couldn’t cast magic before I forged the Master Wand. They said nothing of breaking this spell after the enchantment was complete.

The curse snapped, then sank into me as I absorbed its power. My friends acted in sync and flicked their Wands at the same time…

But the Wands did not obey their commands.

Lilian threw her head back and let out a chilling laugh. She yanked the Master Wand from under my palm and shoved me backward. “Your Oaken Wands are of no use anymore! The Master Wand is stronger, and I have already cursed the Wands you’re holding to fail. They are powerless!”

I stumbled backward in horror, realizing what I’d done. This was never going to end.

“And don’t think that’s the only curse I’ve already cast,” Lilian seethed. “I have cursed your son to never be able to create another Master Wand, should you go getting any ideas. Furthermore, no witch or warlock will ever be able to tell him what kind of weapon he is. You will never be able to tell him of his magic, his powers, or that he is a demigod. Your son is going to hurt people one day because he won’t know what he is or what he’s capable of, and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it!”

“Give Marcus back!” Lucas raged.

Margaret cackled. “We only promised he was going to live, not that you could have him. We’re taking the boy and raising him on our own. He won’t know what he is, but he’ll certainly know how to use his power for whatever we desire him to do.”

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