Page 43 of Blood and Hexes

But he watched, finding that his senses were coming back to him. He was starting to let go of the despair, the horror. Diana chased the nightmare away.

The witch looked terrified.

"You can do this," Diana said gently. "You will do this, or Chloe will die. You understand?"

Levi and Mikar both looked sharply away from Chloe long enough to take Diana in. What did she mean? Could she truly save Chloe?

Vampires were tough, but there were a few ways to end them. And one of them was to pierce their heart.

Horror in her dark eyes, Gwen nodded, shakily.

"Three, two, one." Diana pulled, and Gwen, both hands extended, froze everything on and around Chloe, even Levi's hands.

She let her power pulse through her palms, calling to all waters in the air, in the lake, to twirl around her and move as she directed them.Soon, Chloe's pale body was cocooned in a diamond-like coffin, entirely covered in ice. Levi removed his hands from it, and Gwen used the last of her energy to fill the two gaping holes in her structure.

Numb, cold, lost, Mikar stared at the ice. Underneath, he could feel nothing. No heartbeat. No scent. No power.

No life.

He fell to his knees.

Diana was the only one who seemed to have her shit together. "Carry her to one of the tables. I need to prepare." She moved toward the lake.

"Can you do this?" The question came from Alexius, who joined his sister as she neared the cold water. "I didn't think...Our father never taught me how. I didn't think he'd passed the knowledge down to you."

"He did."There were a thousand questions in Alexius's eyes, and Diana was doing her best to avoid his gaze. "I need several things. A circle of witches, for one."

Blair looked around. "Where's Greer?"

Ignoring her, Diana kept listing, "Clean water, salt, a silver dagger, and someone..." Diana cleared her throat. "A volunteer."

Mikar started to understand what was going on.

Diana cut off whatever questions anyone might have asked her when she leaped over the surface and plunged underwater. She wasn't taking a leisurely midnight stroll, though: moments later, she walked out of the lake, her soaked dress translucent and clinging to her lush curves. Even now, Mikar noticed them. His cock, which had no business doing anything at the moment, hardened at the sight of her.

Fuck. He was sick. Chloe was dying, for heaven’s sake!

"Me," Levi told her, firm and final. "I'll do it."

Walking toward the table, which now served as an altar,Diana eyed him doubtfully. "If I bring her back and you're gone, she's..."

"Me," Levi repeated. His voice was dark and void of anything but sorrow. "I know of the Helsing magic. You can bring someone at the edge of death, but you have to take someone else in return. Take me."

"She wouldn't want that," Mikar said. "She'd hate herself for the rest of her life if you were gone because of her."There was only one option. He set his gaze on Diana. "Use me."

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