Page 87 of Premonition of Peace

“My magic is chaos. It doesn’t work like a normal witch. It rises in defense of me, and it takes control of whatever magic it’s facing. All that was alive of The Morrigan was her soul. The soul is magic. I took her magic, which took her soul.”

“You’re sure . . .” Piper hesitated as she trailed off.

“Positive,” I confirmed. “Ronan and Lucifer can confirm. Her magic and mine aren’t the same color. The foundation of magic can’t be manipulated. If she wasn’t dead, mine wouldn’t be gold.” I summoned a wisp that played between my fingers for a suspended moment. Liquid gold that moved like molten metal but never burned and never settled. It was a wild thing, chaos magic.

“It wouldn’t smell the same either,” August added, inhaling deeply. “Morgan Le Fay left behind traces of her magic, and every time, it smelled like decay. And you smell like . . . sunshine. Life.”

My cheeks warmed. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the overwhelming weight of impending doom had lifted, leaving a fragile but precious peace in its wake—a peace I knew existed but a peace I couldn’t wholly feel. I could see the exhaustion etched into everyone’s features. We’d all been facing off one evil after the other for months. I could only hope that this was the beginning of rest.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Nat.” Sienna’s voice broke through the quiet. “I really am. But I can’t do this right now. I need to be alone with Sasha . . .her body . . . I—” She broke off in a quiet sob. “I just need to be alone.”

I pressed my lips together, fighting back tears. “I’m sorry, Sienna. If I could change it, I would.”

She sniffled and started for the guest room where I’d assumed they’d placed Sasha’s body. An ache started in my chest and spread to my head as I considered the thought of Sienna going through life without her sister. Not just separated by distance, but by the veil.

“Actually, you can,” Kat began, stopping Sienna in her tracks. “I want you to consider a resurrection.”

Her words hung in the air for a long beat before Marcel spoke slowly, his brows furrowed in concern. “We’d need to kill someone for a resurrection.”

“No,” I said incredulously, responding to my sister. “I’m not choosing some poor innocent to die. None of us are.”

“I know,” Kat said solemnly. Her gaze remained steady, unwavering. Horror settled in my stomach, spreading like a sickness through my body. Marcel’s face contorted into shock as he seemed to realize what she was saying.

“You’re not saying . . .?” Marcel asked in awe.

“I’m volunteering.”

“Kat,” I began, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to remain composed, “we wouldn’t be able to bring you back. We’d be exchanging one soul for another. You’d be dead.”

Katherine met my gaze with a serene smile.

“I’m aware,” she said softly.

No one spoke. Kat moved toward Marcel, grasping his hand in hers. “How could you—” Marcel whispered harshly. Betrayal shone in his dark brown eyes as he stared at her.

“Shh,” she quieted him, throwing one arm around his shoulders to pull him in for a tight hug. “This is what I’ve always wanted. You know that better than anyone.” She reached up with a small smile and affectionately cupped his face. “The veil is where Prudence is. For years we tried to find a way to bring her back. There isn’t one. A soul sacrificed for resurrection can’t come back. But . . . I can follow her.” Kat swallowed hard.

“Do you understand what you’re asking for?” I said with disbelief. “You want us to kill you?—”

“I want to be with Prudence.” She shrugged. “Life or death. I just want her. If we can’t have life together, then death it is.”

“I know we did the rituals so you could visit her, but I didn’t think you’d go this far. . .” Marcel choked out, hands hanginglimp at his side as he refused to hug her back. She let go and stepped back.

“The only thing that stopped me was being connected to Nat.” She looked at me now.

“You what?” So much was happening all at once, and the shock rode through me in waves. My sister was saying that she’d thought about me—still protected me—all these years. I had no idea. Emotion clogged my throat, and I tried desperately to swallow around it, but it wouldn’t go away.

“I know we weren’t as close as we once were, but I couldn’t leave you to deal with a severed psychic bond. Not when you struggled so much with your sanity as it was. . .” Several pairs of eyes focus on me, but no one questioned it. “You have mates now. An aurae bond, a familiar, and Marcel. They’ll keep you balanced.” She gestured toward my men. “I know you’ll be fine.”

“Kat . . .” My voice was strained as I trailed off.

“Iwantthis—havewanted this, and now my death can actually mean something. Don’t you want Sasha back? You’ve been scouring the city for a way to bring her back. With Morgan gone, you finally can. Let me have this.” She glanced between me and Marcel. “Please.”

The room was filled with a tense silence as Katherine’s words sunk in. My heart ached with profound sadness. I couldn’t bring myself to agree with her. I knew deep down that I had no right to refuse her wish, even if the thought of going through with it was more painful than I’d have expected. Carissa’s death didn’t faze me much, but Kat’s… no one understood what it was like to lose a twin.

Except, perhaps, Sienna.

And Kat was offering a way to bring her back.

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