Chapter 20
Hannah
Istand by the parlor door, my arms wrapped around myself, unable to look at Julia. The binding spell pulls at my chest, demanding I move closer, but I stay back.
The grandfather clock ticks on, and the dying fire pops, its warmth fading.
Elizabeth sits in a wingback chair, and the room is so silent that the groan of material beneath her is loud. She opens the grimoire, its ancient pages crackling. “I’ve found two potential solutions to your predicament that don’t involve total surrender.”
My heart beats faster. “Really?”
“The first is a separation ritual.” She drags her finger down the page.
“We would take Hannah as far away as possible while performing protective spells on both of you to help withstand the binding’s resistance.
If you can endure the pain long enough, the tether will eventually snap from the strain. ”
An icy sensation washes over me. “Oh. That sounds…”
I glance at Julia, remembering the agony of being separated from her when I went into the forest. The thought of deliberately subjecting ourselves to that torture—and worse—makes my stomach clench.
“How long would we need to stay apart?” Julia asks.
“Forever.” Elizabeth’s tone suggests she’s not optimistic about this option either. “You’ll need support from the side effects for several weeks, so you’ll both need witches to live with you until the pain subsides.”
“We’d be in pain for weeks?” I ask, my voice squeaky.
“Like I said…” She looks sternly at Julia. “These solutions are more complicated than—”
She snaps her gaze toward the parlor door, her nostrils flaring. Julia looks too, her brow pinched.
I look over my shoulder at it, seeing nothing.
Elizabeth sweeps her hand, and the door flies open to reveal Riley standing there, eyes wide, looking distinctly like someone who’s been caught eavesdropping.
She glances over her shoulder before darting inside, shutting the door behind her. “If you try the separation ritual, I’ll stay with Hannah to keep her safe,” she says shamelessly.
I don’t miss the way Julia goes rigid. She clenches her fists, and tendrils of dark magic snake from her fingers. “That’s not necessary,” she says through gritted teeth.
Riley lifts her chin defiantly. “Hannah shouldn’t have to go through that alone.”
“She won’t be alone. She’ll have the coven’s protection.”
My gaze darts between them like a tennis match. This is getting more heated by the second. Does Julia not like the idea of Riley protecting and comforting me, or…?
“I don’t want to do that, anyway.” I cross my arms and avert my gaze to the dying fire. “It sounds…”
“Excruciating,” Julia finishes.
There’s a pause. Now it’s Riley’s turn to look between us like a tennis match.
Riley steps closer to me. “But if it means you’ll be free from her…” She shoots Julia a nasty glare. “You have to try it, right?”
Julia’s fingers stroke the air like she’s ready to blast Riley across the room.
“There is another option,” Elizabeth interjects before this can escalate. Her knowing look suggests she’s well aware of the tension crackling between us. “More complex, but less painful.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“A redirection ritual. Spells follow the Rule of Three—they can be strengthened or weakened by forming a magical triangle.” Elizabeth traces a triangle in the air with her finger.
“If we can temporarily bind the two of you with a third person, the original binding becomes unstable. Think of it like distributing the magical load across multiple connection points until the stress causes all the bindings to snap.”
Julia’s eyes widen. “Of course,” she whispers.
“The ritual would require someone close to Hannah,” Elizabeth explains. “And this person would need to surrender themselves to Julia the same way Hannah did.”
I step back. “They have to what?”
Julia stares at Elizabeth in stunned silence.
Another feeding. Another person splayed under Julia, offering their essence while I sit back. My stomach lurches as I imagine what might happen if Julia can’t bring herself to stop feeding.
I mouth wordlessly for a moment before I manage to speak. “When you say the same way, do you mean—”
“I’ll do it,” Riley says, and she’s already stepping forward.
“Riley, no,” I grab her wrist. “You don’t understand what you’re agreeing to.”
Her skin is fever-warm, and I swear I can feel her magic humming beneath it.
She sets her jaw, looking as strong and fierce as ever. This is the Riley who never backs down from a challenge, the Riley on the soccer field who takes the shot and isn’t afraid to get hurt. “If it means saving you from being bound to a sanguine witch forever, it’s worth it.”
I shake my head fiercely. I absolutely cannot let Riley become one of Julia’s victims.
“I’m willing to try it if she is,” Julia says casually, sliding her hands into the pockets of her trousers.
I look sharply at her.
There’s a hungry look in her eyes that I don’t like. Is she looking forward to feeding on another victim, or is this about the potential to feed on Rebecca’s descendant?
“Julia, if you hurt her—” I snarl.
“Hurting her won’t help,” Elizabeth says. “You need her alive if you want the ritual to work.”
There’s a heavy pause. My breaths quicken as my chest tightens with panic.
“Are—are you sure about this?” I ask Riley. “We can find someone else. It doesn’t have to be you.”
Riley’s gaze traces over my neck and shoulders, no doubt cataloging every mark Julia has left on me tonight.
The red-gold fire in her eyes blazes brighter than ever.
“We don’t have time to get someone else.
Anyway, I can handle it. I broke your heart because of what I am, so let me do this one brave thing for you, Hannah. ”
I walk a small circle, rubbing my face like I can smother myself and make this all go away.
What else are we supposed to do? Surrendering didn’t work, the torture of separation will probably kill us…and we have a willing volunteer right here, ready to try a redirection ritual.
Elizabeth rises from her chair. “Into the sanctum.”
Before I can protest, she flicks her hand, and the bookcase rumbles.
Slowly, it slides aside, revealing an arched stone passageway.
She steps through it and descends, disappearing from sight.
Riley beckons for me to go ahead, shooting Julia a glare.
I obey, placing a hand on the cold stone wall and stepping down into a dank chamber that smells like burning sage. She and Julia follow.
The ceiling is domed like a cave, gleaming with green veins.
Symbols are etched into the walls at eye level around the perimeter, and the far end is full of wooden shelves covered in black candles, gemstones, leather-bound books, and jars of natural ingredients like bones and herbs.
I rub my arms, my skin prickling in a static charge.
The bookcase rumbles across the exit, sealing us inside. The dim light from the flickering black candles and green veins casts us all into an eerie glow.
“Riley, fetch the candles,” Elizabeth says, laying the grimoire on a wooden table. “Julia, help me draw the pentagram.”
I watch with my pulse pounding as the witches prepare the space, drawing a pentagram on the stone floor with some kind of sand or ash, and setting candles at three points. Their flames dance brighter, casting writhing shadows on the walls.
At Elizabeth’s direction, I stand at one candle, Riley at another, and Julia at the third, all of us at arm’s length. My palms are sweating.
So I’m going to have to watch the woman who broke my heart offer herself to the witch who’s introduced me to the most intimate moments of my life. And somehow, I have to be okay with it, even though I know what that witch is capable of.
“Each of you must do exactly as I instruct.” Elizabeth consults the grimoire.
“Hannah, you need to remain perfectly still to anchor your existing bonds with Julia and Riley. Julia…you’ll need to feed from Riley while maintaining your link to Hannah.
The triangle will amplify your power, but you must be careful not to take too much. ”
Julia dips her chin, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Fuck, amplified power?
Riley meets my gaze across the triangle. “It’s going to be okay. I can handle this.”
Maybe, I think, but I’m not sure if I can.
First, I’m not convinced Julia won’t drain her dry. Riley is Rebecca’s descendant, and we all know how she feels about Rebecca. The question is: does she hate Rebecca enough to sabotage this ritual in order to get revenge? Or will she obey Elizabeth’s orders and stop feeding before she kills Riley?
And then there’s the other thing: as I stand here watching Julia prepare to touch Riley the way she touched me, hot fury surges through me.
My jaw clenches as I watch Julia’s gaze rake over Riley’s body. Those are the same eyes that looked at me with desire in the forest, and now they’re fixed on Riley like I don’t even exist.
And Riley… The skin I’ve kissed all over is about to be claimed by someone else. Someone else is about to touch her, undress her, make her feel pleasure.
Riley stands taller, glaring at Julia. “My safe word is venom.”
“Safe word?” Julia asks.
“Yes. You hear the word, and you fucking stop. Got it?”
Julia chuckles. “You won’t want me to stop, love.”
“I say venom, you stop,” Riley repeats firmly.
“All right, then.”
There’s a pause.
“Any other terms?” Elizabeth asks.
Riley shakes her head.
“Are you ready to surrender?” Elizabeth asks.
Riley nods. She doesn’t even hesitate.
“Julia, you’re ready to feed?”
Julia’s lip curls.
“You may begin,” Elizabeth says. “Stay within the pentagram.”
They step toward each other.
My stomach twists, and I have to lock my knees to keep from moving. The binding spell tugs at my chest, wanting to be closer.
Julia’s gaze rakes over Riley’s body—the same hungry assessment she gave me in the forest. Those piercing eyes trace Riley’s collarbone, the curve of her neck, the rapid rise and fall of her chest.