Page 18 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

“I suppose I should congratulate you,” she mused. “You did the impossible after all.”

I lifted my chin. “I did what I thought was right.”

“Of course.” Cordelia nodded. “Because I failed you—because I, the Leader ofallwitches, couldn’t be at your beck and call when you nor your mother could handle your own, single, coven?”

Like a phantom limb, my magic flared but remained beyond my control.

“My coven and my mother paid the price for your inability to keep your witches loyal to you,” I snapped.

“Incorrect,” Cordelia chided. “Your goddessmother’s and her cohorts’ hatred for me outweighed their devotion to you and your coven.”

Cordelia stepped closer, and her power stole my breath. Energy crackled in the air, and my curls lifted from my shoulders. I was completely frozen by Cordelia’s will and wicked, mighty magic.

“Besides,” Cordelia whispered. Power boomed in her breathy voice. “You’re not angry with me for being busy keeping the rest of our race safe. You’re angry with your goddessmother for leaving you in a heap of trouble so deep, you, young witchling, have lost all sense of direction. You’re so terribly lost, aren’t you?”

As my lungs ached with the need to breathe, and a tear burned a path down my icy cheek, the truth of Cordelia’s words rattled me. I wondered if this was how I would die—afraid and sad and utterly pathetic.

“Let her go,” Walker begged. “Pleaselet her go.”

When dark spots danced in my vision, Cordelia finally relented. As she smiled serenely, I gulped a huge lungful of air. Cordelia wiped the tear from my cheek with a disarmingly gentle touch.

“Would you like a chance at redemption, lost witchling?” she asked. “I must warn you redemption is far more frightening than punishment. Punishment requires mere resignation, but redemption—it takes effort.”

“What’s your offer?” Walker asked.

I was grateful he’d spoken. After facing the force of Cordelia’s magic, I had yet to regain my voice.

“It’s simple,” Cordelia promised. “I only need the two of you to retrieve something for me.”

“What’ssomething?”I asked.

“It’s very powerful,” she admitted. “In fact, it’s part of the very reason I did—in your words—nothingover these past few months.”

Though I was impatient, I waited for her to continue. I didn’t want to experience Cordelia’s wrath again. The High Witch studied us and smirked, as if pleased with our training.

This petty, egotistical witch is a Leader?

“It’s a creature,” Cordelia finally answered. “In the infancy of power now, but on the cusp of true horror. It must be collected by the next full moon.”

My gaze flickered to the round moon overhead.

One month.

We had one month to do Cordelia’s bidding. The timeline, however, wasn’t what concerned me most. Though it grated my nerves to stroke the High Witch’s ego, it was the best method to discovering what we were up against.

“I’m sorry for my emotional outburst,” I said with what I hoped passed for sincerity. “I have felt rather lost without my mother.”

Cordelia’s eyes lit with delight that reminded me of Arion’s satisfaction when he trapped a mouse in his paws. Walker balked at my shift in tone, but I ignored him.

“Though I have no right to ask,” I said, “I feel I must for the sake of succeeding in the task you’ve so graciously given us. Why haven’t you, with all your power and resources, captured the creature?”

For a heartbeat, Cordelia’s bravado wavered, and fear tightened the corners of her soulless gray eyes. She hid the flash of raw emotion so quickly, I wondered if I had imagined it.

“I’m not in the business of killing powerful, young witches with great promise,” she cooed and brushed a rogue curl behind my ear. “I want you to redeem yourself, lost witchling. I wantyou to prove to me that your project—” she looked pointedly at Walker, “—can be controlled.”

Cordelia’s expression was so earnest, I almost believed her.

“Your hunt for the creature will take you across the globe,” she continued. “Throughout it, if the hunter is able to control his magic, and you successfully retrieve your target, you and your coven will be granted full amnesty.”

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