Page 93 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

“It’s my fault,” she whispered, “this is all my fault.”

“We shouldn’t have taken the deal,” I said, “but there’s nothing to be done about that now. Sweetheart, we have to help them.Please,Freya.”

She inhaled sharply, and magic hummed in the cave.

“Hold my hand,” she instructed.

I reached for her fingers blindly. As soon as they clasped hers, air whooshed around us and picked us off the ground. As I balanced myself on the breeze Freya carried us on, I clutched her hand like a lifeline and willed my lightning not to harm her.

As we crested the mouth of the cave, screams pierced the whirlwind of air and magic. I blinked against the stark light of dusk and barely ducked out of the way of a throwing star.

Witches dressed in royal blue robes surrounded us. Ryder dodged their spells and swiped with his claws, but these witches were unlike any we had ever faced. As they attacked him with earth, fire, and water, they grinned wickedly.

They toyed with him.

My ears tuned to my sister’s earthen magic, and I spotted her farther into the jungle. With Elle at her side, they ran from the witches. Boulders popped up in the opposing witches’ paths, but Cady’s blockades barely slowed them down. As one of them launched a wave of flames at her, I bellowed, and lightning sprung from my chest. It struck the witch, but not before her flames seared Cadence.

Cady’s screams rattled the blazing jungle.

“No,” Freya whispered,“no.”

As I ran toward my sister to pry her from the fire, I sidestepped a bloody clot of fur.

Arion.

I ran past him.

Cady, Cady, Cady—

Something cold shackled my feet, and I hit the ground face-first. I tried to claw myself upright, but knees dug into my back and pressed me to the ground. Lightning spread across my skin, and my attacker hissed, but she didn’t loosen her hold.

With uncanny strength, my arms were shackled behind my back. All at once, my control over my magic was cut off. My lightning burned in my veins with nowhere to go.

More fire blasted into the jungle, and trees, grass, and foliage burned. Birds screeched and animals cried out, but Cady’s screams quieted.

My throat burned, and tears blurred my vision. I blinked them away and tried to wrench my hands from the cuffs. My shoulder popped, and smoke burned my throat, but the physical pain was nothing compared to my worry for my sister.

“This was not part of our deal!” Freya screamed. “No one was supposed to get hurt!”

Through a haze of agony, Freya’s words registered in my mind. Freya’s panic in the cave hadn’t been lingering fear from her encounter with the ghosts. Freya wasn’t afraid of anything but losing her coven.

“You did not keep eyes on the chimera until our arrival,” the High Witch argued. I couldn’t see her, but I recognized her disgustingly smooth voice. “I was very specific in the instructions I gave you when we astrally projected last night.”

No.

Ryder roared.

Agony wasn’t a strong enough word for the pain in my chest. I shook from the force of my hurt and betrayal and helplessness. My magic seared my blood with nowhere to go. Sweat slickened my skin, and shadows danced in my vision. A figure silhouetted by flames approached me.

Death?I welcomed it.

The figure drew closer, and I realized it was Elle. Soot covered her skin, and her clothes were nearly burned to ash, but she carried a small, pale body in her arms.

Cady.

As Elle fell to her knees right out of reach of the fire, I struggled to rise to my feet once more, but the witch on my back kept me pinned. Ryder howled, and I didn’t need to be a wolf to understand the pain lacing his voice.

“There she is,” the High Witch purred. “The star of the show.”

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