Chapter 14 Natalya
Iwake in the hospital. There’s a hand holding mine on each side of the bed, and I feel the warmth wrapping around my chilled fingers. A soft groan pulls from my lips as my eyes flutter.
“Nat, baby, you waking up?”
I struggle to find my way out of the darkness. I’m so tired. I don’t want to open my eyes. Sleep is calling. . .
“Nat. Come back to me. I need you.” Hayride’s voice sounds closer, more urgent.
I fight through the sluggish feeling in my head until my eyes finally open.
“There she is.” My dad is here.
My mom is too. She’s holding my left hand.
Hayride has my right hand held close to his chest. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looks close to tears. “Nat.”
“Thirsty,” I rasp.
My mom brings a straw up to my lips, and I sip from a cup of cool water that soothes my throat.
I don’t know why it feels so raw.
“So sleepy,” I murmur.
“Rest. We’re all here,” my dad says, and I see Thad being rolled inside the room as he sits in a wheelchair. A white blanket covers his lower body.
I want to say something, but I can’t summon the energy.
“I won’t leave you,” Hayride promises, and that’s all I need to hear.
The dream that follows is a weird one. . .
THE HOUR IS LATE.
I know the time without looking at a watch or phone. It’s the witching hour—a time where magic is at its peak. My blood stirs with recognition. I’ve been here, on nights like this one, many times in the past.
Fog rolls across the ground and tries to leap over the headstones as I walk among the graves, but doesn’t quite manage it. I see the gathering ahead of me, and I smile. Fairy lights twinkle low in the sky, illuminating the figures of my sisters.
It’s the coven.
They’re dancing. I don’t know what we’re celebrating but I suddenly ran toward them, laughing as they turn and notice my presence. Excitement bubbles in my belly as I join their dance. My body twirls and I move my feet to a beat that’s as familiar as my own heart’s rhythm.
Each of my sisters surrounds me, joins hands, and lifts their arms and voices in a lyrical chant. I can see the mystical energy surrounding my body. It sinks in below the skin, swirling around my organs and bones.
Strengthening. Healing.
I feel invigorated.
Granny Jo approaches me first. “Welcome, sacred sister.” She lifts a necklace over my head. The silver moon charm that dangles from the center features a beautiful blue stone.
Cami is next. “For clarity, sacred sister.” She slides a bracelet over my wrist made of leather that’s been braided and twisted into a stunning piece of jewelry. Little silver half-moon charms are attached in several spots.
The next woman approaches. “I’m Lottie Bishop, Scythe’s ol’ lady.
We’ll meet soon.” She lifts an artist’s brush and swirls it over my skin.
There’s a tingling sensation, and then a mark appears.
It’s similar to a birthmark with darkened, pinkish skin in the shape of a crescent moon. “For protection.”
And then I see Serena. Her eyes fill with tears as I gasp. “Serena? How?”
“The ancestors granted my wish.” She hugs me to her, laughing and crying as we embrace. “I want to bestow my gift upon you as well.”
“But you already gave me the family tree.”
“This is different. A welcoming. A claiming of your birthright.” Her fingers clasp mine, and without my consent, my eyes close.
Visions swim before me like short videos. Moments of history with the Scott women and their legacy. Secrets never to be spoken aloud. Truths I will embrace for the duration of my lifetime.
“Thank you,” I whisper as my eyes open.
“This is your gift. To see me whenever you wish. To visit this holy place with your sacred sisters.”
“How?”
“You’ll know, dream walker. The stirring in your soul will lead you.”
Other sisters come forward and bestow more blessings. I see so many that I struggle to remember all of their names.
“It’ll become more familiar soon,” Serena promises. “Time for you to leave us.”
I don’t want to and tell her that.
She laughs. “That makes my heart happy, but you see, the living don’t tarry among the ancestors. You can only visit.”
I pull Serena into another hug.
She kisses my cheek before backing away.
Cami and Lottie are waiting for me. They hold out their hands, and I run to my new sisters, clasping palms as we rush into the fog. . .
I JOLT AWAKE.
My entire body thrums with vitality. An invisible electric current flows through me, and with it, an otherworldly sensation of metamorphosis.
I’m being healed.
I know the ancestors are helping me. The witches I don’t know yet, but have joined in covenant with me, beckon me to learn more about them and my family heritage. There’s a calling deep in my soul—a thirst for knowledge.
This won’t be the only time that I visit the sacred sisters in my dreams.
My eyes open this time to a brightened room. It’s empty except for Hayride. He’s bent over the mattress, asleep as he holds my hand. Even with his brow furrowed and dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, he’s the most handsome man I’ve ever met.
I pull my hand from his and smooth the frown lines on his forehead.
The action wakes him. Hayride startles as his eyes open. He lifts his head and smiles. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Good. Not nearly as weak and tired.”
Relief sweeps over his ruggedly attractive features. “Your family went to get some food. They’ll be back soon.”
“That gives us time to talk.”
He gives me a wary look. “About the scarecrow—”
“It was you, Hayride. Your eyes. You rescued me.”
He blinks. “My eyes?”
“Yes. They kept turning from red to grayish blue. That’s how I knew.”
“The scarecrow isn’t all me, Nat. It’s a bond with a supernatural entity. One that also has its own powerful being. We combine when necessary but retain our separate identities.”
“Like symbiosis.”
“Yeah, similar. It’s mutualism. We both benefit.”
Interesting. “You gain his strength and skill, don’t you?”
“Yeah. You noticed that, huh?”
“He’s massive, Hayride. Impressive. He even tried to calm me.”
“That was both of us. Our fury nearly took over, but we had to be sure you were okay. I was afraid you’d lose too much blood from your injuries.” He reaches for my hand and squeezes it before holding it close to his heart. “You were stabbed ten times.”
“What?”
“Fuck. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you.”
Ten times? Why didn’t I feel any pain?
The ancestors. My sacred sisters. They’re preventing those injuries from harming me further.
Thank you.
Hayride clears his throat. “There’s a little ritual I want to perform with you, just not sure it’s a good idea until you’re healed.”
A ritual?
“What does that mean?”
“We’ll slash our palms and press them together. A little of my blood will mingle with yours.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a claiming. A mark on you that all of my brothers and the scarecrows will acknowledge. It means that you’re protected. That one of the cursed has chosen you.”
I jerk back slightly. “Cursed?”
“Long ago, thirteen women were murdered in Salem for their beliefs. Those families fled persecution and the remaining dangers. They relocated to Ohio.”
Huh. I never read that anywhere online.
“But they arrived prepared. The founding families who weren’t from Salem were tasked with protecting all Salem descendants. The witches ensured their oath by binding them with a curse.”
“You’re cursed then? As a protector?”
“I can never leave Raven’s Crest permanently. You should know that before you agree to become my ol’ lady and bind to me by blood.”
“Will it affect me?”
“I’m not sure, but there’s a possibility.”
I think over his words, wondering how it’s any less mystical or jarring than learning I’m a Salem descendant and from the Scott lineage. Even if I have the protection of the Sacred Sisters, I still might need more, especially if the rest of the Allenites decide to keep killing people.
I don’t think Rashell Allen’s death will stop them.
If anything, it might embolden the cult.
“Let’s do it.”
Hayride’s lips stretch into the widest smile. “Really?”
“If you want me, then yes. There’s no doubt about how I feel about you.”
And there, I’m saying it. He’s all I want.
His palms capture my face and bring it closer. “I’d want you even if you said no. If you moved away. If I had to wait forever for you to return to me.”
Wow.
His mouth fuses to mine, pushing all of that truth he spoke into that merge. I feel it soul-deep.
When we part, he pulls a small pocketknife from his cut. “If this is too traumatizing right now, you’d better tell me.”
“It’s not.”
“This is going to hurt a bit.”
I know that and expect it to sting before pulsing with pain. It doesn’t. The protection of the Sacred Sisters is remaining strong.
After he slices into my palm, Hayride repeats the process with his palm. We clasp them together. There’s a look in his eyes that makes me feel like the center of his universe. That only I matter.
And then they swiftly change from grayish blue to red. The glow surges as he pulls me closer. I don’t know how, but the scarecrow is making his presence known.
“Claimed by us both.”
I nod, accepting the binding ritual.
“Say it,” he growls.
“I accept the claim.”
His shoulders relax. Something shifts in his eyes as he leans forward and inhales. “Do you feel it yet?”
Feel what?
A buzzing begins along my skin. It travels up and down my body, over every limb, and then settles in my core with a throbbing so intense that I gasp.
“You do.”
He picks up the edge of the blanket and slides his hand between my thighs, pressing against the gown. “Wet and needy.”
This is crazy. I can’t control the sudden ache blooming inside me. It keeps growing, making me writhe on the bed. I feel wetness pooling on the sheet beneath me.
I’m not wearing underwear. That’s not been possible yet.
“I need you,” Hayride says with a guttural sound that isn’t quite human.
“Um, not sure how that’s possible right now.”
He smirks. “I’ll get you off as quickly as I can.”
I think he’s kidding until he pulls the curtain around the bed, walks around, and slides in behind me, rolling me onto my side. The blanket is lifted over both of our bodies.
His jeans are unzipped, and then I feel his erection bumping against my bottom. A dark chuckle leaves his lips before he lifts my leg over his thigh. His fingers touch me through the slick wetness I can already feel dripping from me. I’ve never been this turned-on and willing to risk a quick fuck.
Hayride slowly pushes inside me, and I grip the bedrail, holding back a moan because he feels impossibly large, spreading me open as he rocks his hips and sinks deeper. I have to bite my lip from screaming how amazing this feels and letting the whole hospital know.
“You don’t even need to touch your clit, do you, baby?”
I shake my head.
“I can feel little gushes coming from your pussy. You’re going to come so hard on my cock.”
Everything is coiling tighter. I’m right on the edge.
He growls a single word in my ear. “Come.”
I fall apart at his command, convulsing around his dick as I cry into my pillow. The sound is muffled as I keep moaning, taking the pounding he’s still giving me.
It only takes a few more seconds for him to jolt and then fill me. I feel him pulsing, emptying every last drop.
“That’s just a tease for later,” he says as he pulls out.
Hayride rolls me onto my back, covers me with the blanket, and I fall into a deep sleep. Before I do, I see the shift in his eyes. Back and forth, red and grayish blue.
I didn’t just give myself to Hayride. I’m bound to them both.