Page 8 of Blood Coven

A solemn look crossed all their faces, but it was Alina who spoke. “You are always welcome here. We will never lay a hand on you.”

“Unless,” Sorin added with a grin, “you want us to.”

Alina had something in her hands and stepped up to Red with careful, calculated movements. With a tender raise of her hand, she gently rubbed something on the cuts in Red’s cheeks; her soft fingertips and the cool salve made the throbbing of the wounds ebb. Alina showed her decency no one else had ever done before. Their eyes met and held, unlike the other times Alina caught Red watching her, and they both looked away.

Does Alina watch me from a distance as I watch her? The thought terrified and thrilled her all at once, but terror won, and Red turned on her heel, her wounds tingling as they healed.

Red ran the rest of the way home, ignoring her body’s lingering aches and pains.

The houses along the muddy path in town glowed with firelight and candles, lighting her way. She heard loud music and rowdy laughter roaring inside as she passed the tavern. She glanced at the newest building in town, the only establishment that brought people together. Long ago, Red’s ancestors had burned down the previous brothel and the Madame who owned it. But all manner of wicked things stay in high demand, and it was not long before it was rebuilt from the ashes.

The lantern hanging at the front of Red’s home shuddered in the wind. She froze at the front door. Dread filled her as she wiped her hands on the front of her skirt, clearing away the crusted blood and dirt that remained. She was not presentable, and she was late, but none of it really mattered. The result would be the same. Entering the house, she knew what she would face: another missed meal, perhaps a physical punishment, then off to bed.

It was just another day.

5

OCLEAU

THE YEAR OF THE CURSE

MATTHIAS

Waking in a bed too small for him, Matthias wrinkled his nose at the smell that settled in overnight. Musty bedding and the essence of something brewing downstairs greeted his senses, forcing him to rise. His childhood bedroom smelled stale, as though nothing had changed since he left. The very air seemed to be waiting for him to return and breathe it in again.

Everything sat where he remembered it when he stormed out of the house ten years ago at nineteen. The straw-filled bed still sat under a window so grime-covered he couldn’t see through it. The far side of the bedroom was nestled into the a-frame of the roof, so when he stood straight up, he hit his head. A chest sat by the door where he knew he would find his clothes, as though his mother had always known he would return.

Clad in clean breaches that didn’t fit him properly and a tunic with creases from being folded too long, Matthias went downstairs to see Azalea and Juniper. A familiar and almost homey feel slammed into him as he reached the landing where the stairs turned. He paused to observe Juniper kneeling before the fire, breaking dried flowers into the cauldron that hung over a low flame. Azalea was in the kitchen, barely visible behind the herbs and plants hanging from the ceiling. Something smelled delicious.

“Good morning,” Juniper said without looking over her shoulder. Despite focusing intently on her task, she was in tune with everything around her.

She’s done alright without me; she’s a survivor. Still, he worried. So much that it made him consider staying. Witch burnings were happening more and more often in other towns. Azalea had even mentioned attacks on the house; their lives were in constant danger from aggravated townsfolk. He knew it was not a lie because Juniper supported it, and his sister was not a liar. No matter Azalea’s influence, he believed she was still the girl who took in wounded animals and nursed them back to health. The girl who built wooden homes for birds and bats alike. Juniper loved all living things; she was innocent and just. He had to believe that if nothing else.

He descended the rest of the stairs to join them.

“Eat,” Azalea commanded as she shoved a plate of fresh bread with a heap of melting butter his way. The metal plate dug into his ribs before he could grab it. Despite his irritation, he ate ravenously. Hunger was not easily ignored.

“Thank you for breakfast,” Matthias said cautiously when he finished, his stomach not yet full but his craving satisfied. Giving Azalea thanks was his way of keeping her happy. If she believes I’m giving her a second chance, maybe she’ll reconsider her deal, he thought. If she tried to keep him around by being kind instead of using her witchcraft to murder the woman he loved, he would never have left in the first place.

“Your speech is coming back,” Azalea remarked. “Very good.”

“Yes. I suppose it was just a sore throat.”

She scoffed at him, a sharp cackle escaping her lips. “A sore throat? No, Matthias, that is a side effect of the moon curse. Animals do not speak, so you lose your speech the more you shift. Each month, you will descend further and further into becoming a beast, losing your humanity. Eventually, you will no longer be able to speak or walk upright.”

“I struggle to see how that is possible,” he argued, glancing at his sister for confirmation.

Juniper looked at him briefly, then bowed and returned to her tasks.

Azalea walked up to him, her tall frame allowing her to look him in the eye. Her foreboding presence made her seem taller. “Use your head, Matthias. Every time you make the shift, your bones crack and break—they can only handle so much. Your vocal cords will eventually be so shredded that the only sounds you will be able to make are grunts. Tell me, do you wish for that?”

He stared her down, but without Juniper saying she was lying, Matthias was forced to believe her words. “No.”

Her eyes betrayed no emotion as she stared at him, the flesh around them wrinkled. Deep creases around her mouth from years of frowning stretched when she spoke. “Then today, you must begin your search. It will not be an easy task. The full moon is in twenty-five days, and it must be done by then.”

“Twenty-six,” he corrected.

“The full moon lasts three days, Matthias. You will shift into a wolf for three nights and days, and each time will be more dangerous than the last. You’ll have tasted blood the first time, and you will crave it,” she explained.

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