Chapter 22
Bianca POV
Miles breathed in deeply before holding his breath. Why was he upset?
Was it still because of my birthday?
“It’s okay.” I placed my hand on his arm. “You can always bake me a cake.”
This would be a good homecoming. I’d been craving some German chocolate—
Miles scowled. “I’m not making you a cake!” he snapped as he stepped past me. “Let’s just go.”
My heart fell as I frowned after him. He stalked forward in the dark, using the lantern to smack wayward brush out of the way.
Why wouldn’t he cook for me? You’d think that after everything he put me through—
But then he stopped and turned to me, grasping my hand. “I’m not doing the same thing he did,” Miles continued, pulling me closer to him. “I need to do something even better.”
“But—” I began.
I liked food.
My ears popped before I could complete my thought, and a tingle passed over me. My breath felt lighter as the heaviness surrounding the area seemed to lift, and I looked past Miles to the sky. “What was that?”
“Hm?” Miles followed my line of sight as he furrowed his brows. “Oh, Kathleen’s barrier dropped. I should be able to use my magic again.”
“She must have been pretty powerful,” I responded. “It feels different now.”
He looked at me, raising his eyebrow, and said, “Different how?”
“Like…” I began, pondering. I scrunched my nose as I added, “The sky has cleared, and the energy feels calmer.”
Miles glanced to the right, considering. “Well, Kathleen was a blood witch. There was a heavy undertone present in her magic. But I’m surprised you could feel it.”
“Um.” I touched my fingertips to my bottom lip. Wasn’t I supposed to? “It was the same when Daniel Cole tried to kill me,” I told him. “It was all over the room—I could hardly breathe.”
Miles scowled. “I’m sorry,” he said, too low to pick up, but I could see it on his face. He looked away. “You shouldn’t have had to take care of things on your own.”
“I didn’t,” I reminded him. “Finn was with me.”
His scowl deepened.
“What?” I blinked. What was that face?
“I’m sorry,” he said again, pulling me to him before I could speak.
The breath was knocked from me as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
I could no longer see his face, but he made sure to speak into my ear.
“I’m in charge of the witches, and until now, I haven’t been strong enough to control them. ”
I grasped his sleeves, pulse-pounding, and said, “I-it’s fine…”
“I’ll do better from now on,” he promised. “All I need is—” He paused. He pushed back from me and pointed over my shoulder. “Mushrooms!”
Mushrooms? My stomach sank as I looked after him as he stepped past me, only for my fears to be confirmed.
Miles’s magical mushrooms had reappeared, including a trail we had left behind at one point but must have been previously blocked from surfacing.
“They’re back!” Miles exclaimed. I’d never seen him so pleased. He approached one of the ancient tree trunks and pointed at the orange abomination.
“Ugh.” I glared at the offending object. “Don’t you trust me to get us out of here? I was doing just fine without them.”
He turned to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “It’s not that I don’t trust you,” he began, and I narrowed my eyes. “I do. Even if sometimes your ideas are a bit scary—”
“What do you mean scary ?” I asked.
“Like the time you made me trap an angry spirit in a salt circle.”
“That wasn’t scary ,” I told him. What a baby. “It was necessary. Plus, I never forced you to do anything.”
“Regardless,” Miles continued, not addressing my correction.
“There’s a reason we work so well together.
You and I”—He pointed between us—“we’re the most likely to find the loopholes to bring their plans and our agenda together.
Plus, we’ve got plenty of aces up our sleeves that we don’t always disclose to the others. ”
“Are you saying I’m sneaky?” How dare he.
“I’ve been watching you,” he continued, and I frowned.
I preferred the term ‘mischievous.’ It was much nicer.
“And I know damn well you’ve got survival experience,” he said, and my breath caught. “I’m not going to ask why or how you’ve learned to live this way—I figure you’ll tell me if you want. And I’ve been depending on that since we’ve lost our way. I trust you. Now it’s your turn to trust me.”
I looked away, my skin warm. “I—I do trust you,” I muttered. “I asked you to make the circle, right?”
“Then,” Miles said, grasping my hands. He held them between us as he peered earnestly into my face. “I want to do it now. I want you to be a part of it.”
I blinked and tilted my head. “Do what?”
“The spell,” he said. He held my hands between us, and I could feel his fingers trembling. “Kathleen left me the potion, and it’s a full moon. It’s the perfect time.”
“Um.” I bit my lip. “Kathleen said you’re missing one ingredient.”
Miles paused, glancing away, before he took a deep breath. “I know,” he said. “And I’m kind of trapped. Most of my supplies were left behind when we fell in the river. So only you can help me now.”
“What do you mean?” Kathleen had said all that was left was blood, surely—
“I need the blood of a virgin,” he said.
My throat closed, and my stomach dropped. “W-what?” I pulled back from him and stepped away.
Kathleen had said he needed blood, but I thought…
I thought she meant his.
He was giving me a curious look. “It won’t hurt,” he reassured me, holding his hands. “It’s only a prick.”
“That’s not i-it,” I squeaked through my rising anxiety. The corners of my vision were turning dark, and I bit my fingertip. “I—I can’t! I’m not a v-virgin…”
He knew this! There was zero chance that they all didn’t know.
A dark expression cloaked his features, and Miles narrowed his eyes. “Titus said he went over this with you.”
“I—I mean…” Why was he looking at me like that? “He did. But—” I was shaking so hard my knees rattled. “What—what if it doesn’t work?”
“It will work,” Miles responded firmly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial of potion.
“I—I don’t know,” I told him. “I don’t want you to waste it. Who—whose blood were you going to use?”
“Damen’s,” he replied. “I keep some on hand for emergencies.”
“ Damen’s! ?” I covered my mouth, unable to hide my disbelief. I had no idea how many people he’d slept with, and while it was definitely fewer than me, there was no way he was a virgin. “What?”
“Make no mistake”—Miles’s lips quirked—“it’s not because he has a pure heart—there’s too much darkness in him for that. He’s my Supporter, that makes him an exception.”
“Oh,” I replied. So, my original concerns were still valid. I shifted my weight between my feet. “But what if—”
“Hold that thought,” Miles interrupted, raising his hand. “Sit down.”
“Um, sure.” I obeyed as he moved to a seat on the ground. I sat on my knees as he placed the jar on the ground and began to mess around in his little belt bag. I vaguely noted the Hawthorne berries but was too nervous to care other than to wonder: was that all he’d been eating before we arrived?
“This is important,” I told him, barely able to control my voice. I pulled a lock of my hair over my shoulder and twisted it between my fingers. “I’m sure there’s someone else out there far more qualified—and much less of a risk—than—”
He’d cut off my protests by shoving some berries in my mouth, and I stared at him.
“Eat that,” he said. “I want to hold your hand.”
I nodded but wasn’t sure why he was telling me now. He held my hand all the time. Still, I wouldn’t argue. It wasn’t like I could anyway; he’d already grabbed my wrist.
What a weird way to hold someone’s hand.
“That’s not—” I mumbled as I chewed, but my statement ended in a yelp. “Ow!” I glared at Miles as he held my pointer finger in an unbreakable grip. He tossed something over his shoulder and reached for the open glass bottle. “Why would you…”
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he wore a look of intense concentration as he held the bottle under my hand and squeezed my finger. Blood began to bubble up from the treacherous wound, and I continued to scowl at him as he guided a few drops into his beautiful potion.
“Good,” he said. He released me and held up the jar in front of him. The lantern light cast creepy shadows over his face, making it seem that his good-natured features might be a bit wilder than previously noted. The potion began to change colors until it turned into a dark crimson.
I’d stuck my finger back into my mouth. “You tricked me.”
“I prefer to think of it as operating on a need-to-know basis,” he replied.
I watched him warily. Why did he look so pleased?
“I told you it would work,” he said, showing me the potion. “It’s perfect.” He swirled the red, thick solution that now appeared to have a slight glow from within. “I only needed your blood.”
My skin grew cold as my annoyance faded, and I blinked down at it. “Oh…” Titus—and Finn—had said, but I hadn’t believed them.
“But—” I’d been so sure. Even back then. “Does that mean that D-Daniel Cole…”
I almost let him win.
“The fae aren’t the only ones who hide double meanings within their words,” Miles said, leaning into my line of sight. “If Daniel had been successful in using your blood in his spell, you would not have just been lost to us again, but there would have been no avenging you.”
“Oh,” I said again, my skin flushing. Miles pulled my hand back to him.
“You might be my Controller,” he said, kissing my fingertip. “But it would be disastrous for a witch with ill intent to gain access to anything you offer. Be careful.” He lifted his gaze, and our eyes locked. “Please,” he added.
“O-okay,” I replied. My chest felt heavy, and a sense of dread pooled in my stomach.
There was still so much I didn’t know.
“You’ll be fine,” Miles continued. As he spoke, he laced his fingers through mine, and my attention was pulled back to him. “I need you to trust me.”
“I—I do,” I said as my mouth went dry. Although, he had some nerve in asking for trust when he’d stabbed me with a thorn.