Page 66 of Fated to Monsters

Willow rushes over to him. “Are you okay?”

He nods. “Took more out of me than I thought it would. I underestimated the power it would take to send all three of you.”

Willow grabs a chair and drags it over to Sydney. “Here. Sit.”

“What’s taking so long?” I take in Bo’s rugged features and smooth the hair from his face. “Come back to me, Bo,” I whisper.

“I’m sorry,” Sydney says. “I can’t send you back. Not yet.”

“Tell me how to do it,” I demand. “I can do the spell. I’m a witch, right?”

Sydney shakes his head. “It’s too advanced. If you get the slightest pronunciation wrong, there’s no telling where you’ll end up.”

I shift my attention to Willow. “You can do it, can’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Wren.” Her sad doe eyes don’t make it hurt any less.

“Fuck,” I blurt out. “Bo.” I continue to move his large body. “Can you hear me?”

“What happened?” Sydney asks.

"He attacked her," Willow tells him. "Then started on about secrets." She looks at me. "Do you know what he was talking about?"

"No," I lie. Is it possible Balial can sense the demonic power coursing through me? Is he aware that I'm the worst monster of them all? Is that why he kept Bo behind? To tell him about what I had done and convince him to end my life before I can continue killing demons for Parla.

“Clara.” Willow jumps up from her spot next to Sydney and rushes toward the door. “Nothing you need to see in here.”

But Clara doesn’t listen. Instead, she pushes through into the room and steadies her gaze on me. Dark, threatening, and determined. She heaves her arm in front of her, a blast of green magic flowing from her fingertips and shoving me away from Bo.

I slam into the wall and gasp for breath. An invisible hand wraps around my throat, tightening and constricting my airway. I scrape my fingers against it but there’s nothing there for me to grab onto.

“Clara!” Willow yells as she rushes over to her. She throws herself in the line of the attack but it’s no use, the spell is already latched onto me.

My vision blurs and I struggle through the fog to stare at Bo’s lifeless body still lying on the floor. Tears well in my eyes. “Bo,” I mutter.

In my final moment, I swear I witness him rising to his feet, and with that, I slide comfortably into the darkness.

But instead of death, I'm caught by a stronghold.

“I’ve got you, Birdie.” Bo scoops me into his arms.

“I’m…” Clara’s voice fills my ears. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Is it really you?” I weakly reach up to touch his face.

“I’m here.” Bo holds me closer to his broad chest. “I’m here.”

“The infirmary,” Sydney says. “Down the hall to the right. I’ll be right behind you.”

“It’s not her fault,” Bo tells them. “As long as I’m near, she won’t have that urge again.” He walks us through the room. “Just means she has demon blood in her veins.”

Someone gasps but I'm not sure who. If I had to guess, it was probably the sweet and innocent second-year witch who just tried to murder me for no reason other than the demonic pull this stupid marker on my neck has when the alpha who bit me gets too far.

I had a hunch that would happen when visiting Balial’s hell, but I was hoping given the nature of our travel, that those same laws wouldn’t apply. Now we know astral projection is off the table unless I want any demon around to be alerted to kill me.

“I have to remove this mark from your neck, Birdie. I can’t keep putting you at risk.” Bo carries me out of the room.

“I can walk,” I mutter through my tender windpipe.

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