Page 57 of Fallen Angel

Hannah stared into Nathaniel’s grey eyes and felt her soothing Siren’s song in her mind. Not only did it provide her with a sense of calm, seductive power, but she already knew Nathaniel would feel relaxed and eager to comply. She took Nathaniel’s hand and said, “Bite yourself. Draw blood. You want to.”

Hannah could see the haze of her voice draping over Nathaniel’s body. His eyes glazed over. She released his hand and watched her magic at work.

Nathaniel exposed his fangs and pierced them into his forearm. He groaned in pain as blood dripped down his skin. Hannah felt completely invigorated. She was powerful—in control. She decided, in this moment, that this was how she wanted to spend the rest of her life—even if that was only one week.

When Nathaniel retracted his teeth, he snapped out of his trance and growled. “Very funny.” He held his other hand against the wound. The skin mended itself, and Nathaniel wiped the blood away.

Hannah pressed her palm against Nathaniel’s chest. “Again.” Her voice was breathy and captivating.

Nathaniel returned to his trance and punctured his skin in the exact same place. She stared at him with awe. He couldn’t resist her. Hannah’s lips drew into a grin at the thought.

“Stop it, Hannah,” Callan yelled from the ground. “This is not you!”

Hannah felt an instinctual sense of rage toward Callan. She desperately wanted him to be silent and to let her enjoy the new sense of freedom she had. At her internal desire for Callan to be quiet, a single word rose to the surface of her brain.

“Silentium,” she said. Her magic jolted within her, causing her body to jerk forward. The feeling startled Hannah and caused her body to ache. But as soon as she saw Callan’s lips fuse together, rendering him silent, she knew it was worth it.

Mara’s eyes widened. “I did not realize you had knowledge of the old language,” she said.

“It just came to me.”

Mara’s lips twitched.

Nathaniel pulled his teeth from his arm and glared at Hannah. “Stupid wench. I should rip off your head.”

In one swift, beautiful motion, Hannah turned to Nathaniel and placed her hand on his cheek. “You’ll never do such a thing. You will never hurt me.” Nathaniel’s eyes glazed over before returning to their natural state.

“I am sorry,” Nathaniel said. He took a step backward and lowered his chin.

Hannah had never been able to command such respect in her life. After her parents died, she never thought she deserved it. But now, she knew that no one would ever cross her. And if they did, they’d regret it.

Mara stepped between Hannah and Nathaniel, looking slightly agitated. “I think that is enough for today,” she said.

Hannah deflated at Mara’s comment and less-than-enthusiastic demeanor. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked.

Mara was quick to plaster a smile on her face. “Not at all, my dear girl. You simply do not require as much practice as I thought.”

“It feels as if I’ve been waiting for this my entire life. I finally feel whole.” Hannah couldn’t remember why she was so afraid of Mara—why she and Callan were trying to resist her. She had awakened Hannah to who she was always meant to be. The best part of Hannah’s transformation was that she no longer felt weighed down by the heavy guilt she had been carrying with her for the past two years. If her parents had to die in order for her to be converged with this incredible magic, then it was simply meant to be. She was no longer responsible for their death. If only they could see her now, she was sure that they would be proud of her. “Thank you,” she said sincerely to Mara.

Mara shifted. “No need to thank me, Miss Fenwick. You shall repay me soon enough.”

Hannah nodded and turned to Callan, whose lips were stitched shut. His eyes looked heavy and his body defeated. She remembered the Latin word Mara used when they were in the forest to release Callan from his binds. “Absolvo,” she said.

Her organs lurched against her abdomen and her intestines twisted upon themselves. She dropped to her knees and curled over, clenching her teeth in order to keep from screaming.

Callan’s lips separated.

He ran to Hannah’s side and cradled her to her feet. She leaned against his steady frame until the lurching pain subsided.

Mara smiled and sauntered toward Hannah. “You are still new to magic, dear. I would council you to not indulge so thoroughly in your confidence. The old language may be too arduous for you just yet.”

“It didn’t hurt before,” Hannah said. She remembered when Mara’s grimoire took hold of her magic, the Latin spells didn’t affect her this way.

“That is because you had the help of my precious grimoire. Performing the old spells by yourself, without assistance, is another story.”

Hannah didn’t mind Mara’s condescension. She realized that Mara knew better than she did. She would listen to her.

“Now, what are we going to do with this one?” Mara said, pointing a bony finger at Callan.

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