Page 96 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Walker

Through the fog of sleep, someone tapped me on the shoulder. Desperate to cling to unconsciousness, I rolled away from the annoying sensation. Tiny fingers flicked my forehead, and I jolted.

“Finally,” Cady complained, “you were sleeping like the dead.”

Ash floated in the air, and I coughed. I laid in the burned remains of the jungle with Cady crouched above me. Moonlight lit her ash-covered face. Honey and dirt and blood clung to her clothes and skin, but her green eyes were bright. I reached out and smeared some of the filth off her arm. Only the barest shadows of scars marred her skin.

“What’s up with the sticky stuff all over me?” she asked. “Did I slip and fall into a puddle of tree sap—”

I silenced her with a hug. For a heartbeat, she stiffened but quickly hugged me back.

You’re okay,I thought in relief.You’re okay.

I didn’t realize I spoke aloud until she leaned back to clasp a hand over my mouth.

“You’re right,” she said, “Iamokay. Stop freaking out. It’s freakingmeout.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “How are you not freaking out anyway? Don’t-don’t you remember what happened?”

“I remember the High Witch showed up,” she said and shivered. “Her magic isterrible.It repels the life in the soil. And her cronies—Handmaidens is what she calls them—they’re vicious.”

Cady scrunched her eyebrows and searched her memory. I almost wanted her to stop and let what happened fade away, but burying things never made them easier to get over in the long run.

“Elle and I tried to run,” she continued. “We thought you and Freya would be safe down there, and we could meet up later, but the Handmaidens were too strong. I couldn’t hold them back and then, andthen—”

As she recalled the moment she had almost died, Cady sobbed. I pulled her back into my arms and held her tightly. Beside us, Freya stirred. Still in cat form, Arion slept tucked against her side. Despite the anger I harbored for Freya, I was relieved that the familiar had survived. Ryder lurked in the jungle somewhere, in some version of alive.

Everyone was okay, except Elle. Our mission was complete.

As I met Freya’s hollow gaze, I felt the opposite of accomplishment. Shame turned my stomach.

Cady pulled back and took in our surroundings. Sweat clung to my back, and insects buzzed. For once, however, Cady wasn’t studying nature.

“She’s gone,” Cady exclaimed. “The High Witch took her, and Ryder—”

“He’s okay,” I promised, though it wasn’t quite the truth. “He’s in the jungle, but Elle…Cordelia took Elle.”

“I don’t understand,” Cady insisted. “How did the High Witch know we found her? Do you think the wolves turned us in, and she tracked us?”

Heavy silence stretched between us. Freya stared at the jungle floor, and I stared at Freya.

“What is it?” Cady snapped. “Why are you two ignoring me?”

When Freya remained silent, I scoffed. “Why don’t you ask Freya.”

Cady’s voice grew higher. “What are you talking about?”

“I thought Elle was lying,” Freya said quietly. “I thought it was all a ruse, and she deserved it, and-and it was the only way to save us, to save the coven—”

“Stop it,” Cady barked and recoiled. “You wouldn’t do this. You wouldn’tdo this.You’d never sell out an innocent person or put us in danger—”

“You weren’t supposed to be in danger!” Freya snapped. “The High Witch wasn’t supposed to arrive until sundown, and I was supposed to be there, and none of this would’ve happened.”

Cady shook her head. As she glowered at Freya—her greatest role model—her lower lip wobbled.

“You’re not who I thought you were,” Cadence whispered and stood on shaky legs. “I’m going to find Ryder.”

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