Page 44 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

I needed to act.

Now.

I searched the murky waters for Freya but caught no sight of her flaming hair or her air magic. Good. Ryder held her back, and Cadence had been nowhere in sight.

Inhaling another lungful of air, I focused on the magic that burned even in these frigid waters. It swelled in the pit of my stomach and spread through my veins. I thought of how it came alive when I kissed Freya and how it developed a life of its own when she or Cady were placed in harm’s way.

They’re still here,I told my magic.We’re not done.

As the serpent thrashed, I didn’t worry about my snapping body or the whirlwind of water rushing at my eyes. I let them fall closed and focused on doing the one thing I had been determinednotto do since waking up with magic in my blood.

Utterly and completely, I let go.

The heat of my magic rushed through my body and beyond it. Lightning—vividly blue and bright—arched across the godforsaken pond and struck the serpent. Its jaw went slack, and I pulled my leg free from its grip. As I swam to the top, however, something stirred behind me. I glanced back.

The serpent shook its huge head, and its vision cleared. Its slit pupils homed in on me. My magic roared in response, and more lightning struck across the water, but it only stunned the creature once more. I needed to get a direct hit, and, judging by the exhaustion threatening to darken my vision, I needed to do it fast.

The Sol Sword.

As the serpent swam at me, I freed the sword from its scabbard and leaned into the pang in my chest when it didn’t come to life with flames. Ithurtto be abandoned by my family’s magic—my father’s magic.

My magic hurt with me.

As the serpent charged, electricity danced on the Sol Sword’s blade. Its glow was near blinding. When only a foot separated us, the serpent tried to change course, but it was too late. With all the strength I had left, I drove the lightning-covered blade into its thick-skinned side.

Light flashed behind the serpent’s eyes before they went dark and lifeless. As it drifted to the bottom of the pond, I braced both legs against its side and pulled my sword free.

My lungs burned with the need to breathe, but only a ghostly echo of magic remained in my veins. It was too flimsy to do anything with. I was out of gas, and I would have to reach the top of the pond the human way.

Only twenty feet separated me from the rest of my life.

I swam.

And swam.

And swam.

My wounds stung, and my lungs screamed. As I got closer to the moonlight, hands jutted into the water. Freya and Cadence pulled me to the shore. Their voices were eclipsed by the gasping breaths I couldn’t stop taking. I caught the wordsbloodyandmangled,but they weren’t a surprise. Ryder stood guard over all of us. He stared at me with…well, not respect, but without the usual level of disdain he reserved for me.

“Thanks,” I rasped.For protecting them.

Ryder nodded.

“Freya,” I whispered. She tore her gaze from the wounds on my leg. “Did you get it? The moss?”

She ran a hand through my wet hair and smiled weakly. “Of course.”

“You’ll be okay,” Cady said, though tears streamed down her cheeks. I wanted to wipe them away, but I couldn’t find the strength. “Magic will heal you.”

“Right,” I said. My magic trudged through my body, trying to patch up skin and stop the bleeding, but I was conscious enough to recognize that it moved too slowly to save me. It wasn’t even strong enough to keep me warm. I shivered, and as my adrenaline died down, the searing pain of my lacerations hit me full force.

In his saber-toothed tiger form, Arion crashed through the woods with a mouthful of herbs. Freya and Cady took them, but I lost the will to focus on their work. My gaze settled on the moon, partially hidden by clouds far above. As my vision grew blurry, I chuckled. My wounds protested, but I was too delirious to care.

“What’s a trip without me almost bleeding out, huh?”

Before I heard the response to my joke, everything went black.

Chapter Thirteen

---