Page 141 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

As we raced toward the onslaught of attackers, lightning danced on the blade. We neared the double-doored exit, and more men and women in black poured through it. I would’ve laughed at the ridiculousness of their outfits if one of them hadn’t almost killed me downstairs.

Their nuanced magic buzzed in the air, but not with the force of dozens of witches. As I swung my sword at the nearest one, I realized they reminded me of Elle’s parents.

They certainly fought like Elle’s dad had.

I dodged the first one’s attack with a sweep of my sword and a lunge, but there were two more to replace them. At my side, Cady launched stones and tripped the nearest attackers. She sent one splashing into a pool of water, and I shivered at the thought of falling into the flames.

Ryder raced down a separate aisle and took out assailants with merciless swipes of his claws. One of the creatures got a hold of Cady’s arm, and she spun with a cry. I reached for her, but a beady-eyed man intercepted me. Too quickly, our attackers separated us in a sea of black. I lunged and parried and struck, but they were impervious to my blade.

“What the hell are you?” I growled as I fought to get back to my sister. I lost sight of Ryder in the chaos.

“We are the Garrison,” one of them growled.

“Which means you’re about to die,” another said.

Though I would have nightmares about it for years to come, I couldn’t let these assholes hurt my sister, so I did what I knewwouldharm them.

I jabbed my fingers into the nearest one’s eyes and let the magic singing in my blood burn. Before he could scream, the man died. Another assailant struck my arm with a wickedly sharp blade, but I barely sensed the pain over the roar of magic in my ears.

I took out three of the so-called Garrison before one of them plunged a blade into my gut. Pain erupted from the wound, and I stumbled forward, nearing a pool of flames so hot, they burned my face with their nearness. Someone grabbed me from behind, and all I could think was that I wasn’t going to keep up my end of the bargain with Freya—I wouldn’t see her again.

I wouldn’t be able to protect my sister either.

Cuffs snapped over my wrists, and something dark slipped over my head.

Chapter Forty

Freya

My world was a mess of flames and strikes and instincts. In the dim, dark hall, the Handmaidens circled me. They wore the royal blue robes of High Witch Cordelia’s court and matching cold expressions. They launched spells and wielded the elements with the lethality they were famous for.

Aren’t you tired?a voice crooned in my mind.You can have your familiar and gohome.

You can stop fighting now and save your coven’s honor,another one offered.Yourmother’shonor. Just give in. Concede.

“Get out of my head,”I growled and sent flames in both directions.

The one on my left—a witch with gray-streaked hair and a scarred face—shielded herself with a mass of swirling air, while the other protected herself with a wall of pure ice. The ice wielder’s cunning, gray eyes bored into mine, and her power’s chill tried to snuff out the heat of my flames. With a bellow, I flung more fire at them.

As the witches’ shields came down, their strikes were quick to follow. In one flip, I dodged a volley of razor-sharp icicles and a torpedo of deadly wind.

The High Witch will spare your warlock if you comply,one of the Handmaidens taunted.She’s eager to work with Sybil Redfern’s heir.

Instead of letting the mention of my mother rattle me, like they so desperately wanted it to, I used her memory as empowerment. Magic thundered in my blood and billowed around me in an impenetrable mass of wind and water.

“IamSybil Redfern’s heir,” I proclaimed. My voice boomed with power. “And like her, I won’t be working with the High Witch.”

I unleashed the tidal wave of magic.

The Handmaidens tried to defend themselves, but their shields were nothing against my fury. Following the path I hoped would lead me to my familiar, I ran the direction the Handmaidens had come and searched for a passageway my friends and I had missed. Based on the map Cady had provided, there was another hallway that branched off from this one.

On my way, I noticed a shadowed split in the hall. It was such a small crack in the stone, I hadn’t noticed it before, but I was just narrow enough to slip through it. In the tight passageway, light was nonexistent. Wanting to spare my magical reserves, I placed my hand on the wall and used it to guide me as the hall winded up, up, up.

My lungs and thighs burned, but I didn’t stop. Above me, Arion’s magic was a beacon. A thunderous roar shook the stone and urged me faster.

I smacked against a hard surface and fell to the ground. Pain laced my forehead and my backside, but I quickly scrambled to my feet. I blinked frantically in the dark andsummoned a small ball of flame. As my eyes adjusted, I studied the back of a large wooden frame.

A secret doorway?

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