Page 77 of Barely Breathing

Astrid waves her hand over the book to turn another page. This time, there is an illustration of a child surrounded by pure light.

“Children possess magic in its purest form,” Costin answers. “They’re innocent, untouched by time. They still carry the magic of coming into creation before rules, and society corrupts them.”

Astrid nods. “It’s why they can see things adults can’t, why they believe in magic so easily—Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, imaginary friends, monsters under the bed. Most lose this power as they grow up, but some...” She looks up at me. “Some children retain traces. The book calls it forgotten magic because it’s what everyone has a touch of before they forget how to use it.”

My throat tightens, and terror shivers its way over me.

Costin touches my shoulder and adds, “It’s deeper than that. Diana underwent a magical ordeal,and then the amulet took those memories away from her. She retains that childlike ability to believe in magic without questioning it. She’s touched by draconic magic and a descendant of death magic. She has been touched by all three.”

“She’s perfect for the ritual,” Astrid agrees. “Young enough to channel pure power, but old enough to survive the initial surge.”

“Fine,” I feel my frustration rising, fueled by Draakmar’s restlessness. I hate feeling helpless. I throw my arms to the side, raising my voice so that it echoes around us. “But why? Why even do this ritual? What’s it for? What’s it going to do? End the world? Why is everybody always trying to end the freaking world? Don’t they understand that it’s going to end them too!”

Costin and Astrid remain calm. I find it annoying. I want them as worked up as I am. I feel the dragon’s growing rage, and it amplifies my own. I want to give in to it. It feels good, tempting.

“Why go to centuries of trouble?” I demand. Nothing can be worth all of this sacrifice. “Why do all three of us have to be sacrificed?”

I don’t want to die. I don’t want them to die.

“It’s a power redistribution.” Astrid leans over the book as if reading before answering, “When the moon is full tomorrow night, they’ll use herforgotten magic as a conduit to strip power from all supernatural beings.”

The amulet flares are so hot I gasp and lean forward to drape it away from my skin. Draakmar’s fury floods through me. That’s why he’s been restless and angry, why he tried to surface when he did. When they steal all supernatural powers, they’ll try to take his as well. But it’s not just the ritual that gets him agitated—it’s Diana’s role.

“Draakmar.” I press my hands flat against the table to steady myself. I take several deep breaths. “He’s saying something to me about Diana.”

“Tell him we know. They’re going to sacrifice an innocent child to reshape the supernatural world,” Costin says in disgust.

“It’s not just that.” I shake my head and grab the amulet. It burns my palm, but I close my eyes and try to listen. Draakmar’s insistent presence feels different. “He knows something about Diana’s magic that we don’t.”

“The ancients are notoriously vague. Let us know if he says something useful, but we don’t have time to decipher his riddles.” Astrid takes a deep breath as if centering herself. “They have orchestrated their plan perfectly. They have one shot to get it right. Tomorrow’s full moon is the first total lunar eclipse since the amulet shattered and the timeline reset. Paul’s deathmagic is still fresh, your connection to Draakmar is at its peak, and Diana...” She presses her lips together. “They won’t get another chance like this one. The moment the Earth passes directly between the sun and moon, it will create the blood moon.”

“Blood and moonlight,” I whisper.

Astrid nods. “Blood and moonlight.”

“Sanguis et Lunaria,” Costin adds.

We stand in silence, feeling the weight of the revelation. Astrid was right. There are so many little pieces fitting together. It feels like impossible odds. My mind spins with the magnitude of it all. “If they strip all supernatural powers, what happens? To vampires, to magics, to?—”

“To everything,” Astrid puts forth. She glances at my amulet like she wishes she would have smashed it long ago.

“They’ll redistribute it the way they want. Thane and Elizabeth want the same thing—dominance over the vampires and anyone else who opposes them. It’s a match made in hell. It will never last. Once the thrill wears off, they’ll destroy each other with their greed for more,” Costin says.

Astrid smirks. “The Freemonts are vain enough to think they can control where the power goes and use that chaos to establish a new order. They don’t understand what Elizabeth is capable of or what she’s willing to do to get what she wants. Even theother vampires fear her particular brand of ambition. Mabel has always been jealous of us Devines because deep down, she knows she’s nothing but a two-bit hack who married poorly.”

They’re talking more to each other than to me.

Astrid’s perfect posture somehow becomes even more rigid. “And now they ally themselves with wolves. As if Thane’s feral pack of backwoods bikers could ever maintain the delicate balance we’ve built. The treaties may seem restrictive, but they’ve kept the peace for centuries. Without them, we’d be back to territorial wars in the streets, wolves hunting in broad daylight, vampires draining whole neighborhoods dry. The humans would notice, and then where would we be?” She smooths an invisible wrinkle from her silk blouse. “The wolves forget there’s a reason they were restricted to industrial zones. Their kind can’t control their baser instincts. In the 1950s we tried giving them a small town. After two weeks it looked worse than those nuclear test sites.”

“Elizabeth should know better,” Costin adds.

“How do we stop them?” Everything in me is filled with panic. I don’t want this battle. I want to curl up into the fetal position and never move. I think of Draakmar and the sleeping ancients like him. Power that old and raw could tear the world apart.

“Elizabeth knows vampire weaknesses and how to neutralize our defenses,” Costin says. “I can’t know everyone she’s turned against me during the years, but I can guess. She’s always resented the old order, just like the wolves resent their territories. But there’s a difference between resentment and revolution.”

“The dogs won’t go against their master. Thane is a dictator. Peter is terrified of him. We can’t expect him to do more. They’ll have the ritual site fortified.” She stands and leaves the book on the table. Waving her hand, she magically forces it to close. “I’m going to make sure Peter is safe. If Anthony were here, that’s what he’d want us to do.”

I’m glad Lorelai and Anthony are safe in Kansas City. As much as I’d like my brother at my side, I can’t ask that of him. Plus, I suspect Astrid won’t call him to come back. She’ll want to protect her son and the Devine magical heir.

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