Page 13 of Blood Coven

She appeared stunned, trying to keep her expression neutral. Nothing on her face gave away what she was thinking. No eyebrows knitting together, no pursing of her lips, not even a drain of color in her cheeks. She mastered being unreadable. Was it a skill learned from being married to someone she does not love?

“I would be willing to explore the possibility,” she finally said smoothly, as though she planned the words in that moment of shocked neutrality.

“Meet me at the burial grounds tomorrow at midnight. I’m going to tell you something you may not believe, and if you walk away tomorrow and wish to never see me again, I will understand.” He spoke quickly, like a nervous rabbit with its heart beating impossibly fast.

“Tomorrow at midnight,” she confirmed.

8

SILVANIA

THE YEAR OF THE MOON

RED

The bedroom door was locked, but that was to Red’s advantage. Neither parent believed she would leave her room, so they never checked on her once they locked her in. Though Red had never snuck out—she dared not—tonight was an exception. A frightening thought had crept into her mind after Mama left the room, and she was unable to shake it.

It was said that if someone sacrificed a daughter, they could whisper a simple incantation with the name of the family they wanted dead, and it would be done. Though this curse, this Wolf, had not been used in nearly two hundred years, the threat still lingered. Red heard the stories before bed when she was young, but she was nearly a woman. She stopped believing in the legend a long time ago, believing it was simply a story to scare young children. But now, she was not so sure.

She knew who she could ask.

Clambering out of bed, she donned her red cloak and draped the hood over her head. She tiptoed to the window and hooked her fingers under the heavy lower sash. Her muscles flexed as she fought with a window that hadn’t been opened since the weather was warm. Abruptly, it creaked and opened wide. Red froze at the sound; she would surely be caught. She paused, her ears sharp, but she heard nothing from down the hall where her parents slept.

With an exhale that left fog before her face, Red slipped out of the window and dropped into the backyard. Following the same path she took every other day to bring food to her grandmother, Red battled fear and excitement as her stomach twisted at the thought of being out in the woods, thinking about the Wolf that lurked there—was he watching her now?

Red shook thoughts of the Wolf from her mind, focusing instead on Alina, Sorin, Tatiana, and Lilianna. A pang of elation came each time she recalled where she was headed, followed by the worry that the girls had gone home. Hours had passed since she left them in the forest, but Red was determined. Their offer of friendship and solidarity echoed all the warning signs of a coven. A sweet siren song to lure me in, Red thought. Mama always said evil is often shrouded in what we want most. She couldn’t deny her desire to have such things.

Warmed by her brisk pace, Red continued down the path until she arrived where Alina first approached her. The soft glow of fire and the sound of a lullaby drew her in like a moth to the flame. Twice she stumbled over roots and rocks, but she was too entranced to wince. Staring at the scene before her, she remained hidden in the trees and watched the four girls dance and chant, their bodies gyrating as though possessed.

Sorin abruptly stopped. “We are not alone, girls.”

“She’s come back,” Lilianna exclaimed, rushing away from the warmth of the fire to grab Red’s hands. The young brunette went straight to where Red was hiding, as though she was never hidden at all.

Coaxed into the center of it all, Red was dumbfounded.

“What brought you back?” Alina asked from where she stood on the other side of the fire. Sparks flared from the tops of the flames, soaring over her shoulders and flying dangerously close to her thin blonde hair. She showed no fear of the fire.

Before she could reply, Red noticed the blood on Sorin’s hands, dripping from the heart she grasped between them. The red liquid stained her fingertips and up to her wrist as though she had dug through a corpse to remove the organ. Red’s own heart hammered hard, fear and regret overwhelming her.

Lilianna noticed. The young girl looked over her shoulder and then laughed. “It’s a pig’s heart, do not worry!”

“Why do you h-have a pig’s heart?” Red managed to ask.

“Protection spells require sacrifice,” Sorin replied. Her melodic drawl sent chills down Red’s spine.

“What are you protecting yourselves from?”

Lilianna’s expression darkened. “Tatiana and I will be protected from our father.” Years of anger lurked behind her words.

Red’s heart sank. What happens in the Floarea household is worse than mine, she thought. Is there no good in this world?

“I will be protected from the town,” Sorin explained. “Every town I have ever lived in has wanted me dead.”

“What about you, Alina?” Red asked softly.

Alina waved her hands over the flames; they licked her fingers but never burned them. Her gaze was distant, tears coating her eyes. Then she snapped back into the present. “I will be protected from love.”

“From love?” Red’s brows knitted together. “I do not believe there is love in this town.”

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