be painful, but not in a physical way,” Hattie insisted. “Give these two the space they need to perform the work that must be done. I’m sure you can all entertain yourselves.”
The fae looked between themselves, but Kiara said, “We can trust Hattie. It’s only right upstairs.”
There were uneasy movements, but no one went to stop Hattie as she began ascending. Emma used her telepathy magic to hover my body as she followed Hattie to the attic.
Hattie’s house was small, well-kept, and comfortable. She motioned Emma to follow her through a door off the kitchen. Inside was a blank room with no windows. The walls and the floors were both painted black. Hattie set the cauldron down and began pouring a salt circle. She lit the candles at the four directions— North, West, East, and South— and began burning the incense in the cauldron.
Emma hesitated, and I couldn’t blame her. This looked all too similar to the failed exorcism we’d performed months prior.
“Lay the prince within the center of the circle, then sit at his right hand,” Hattie instructed as she stood at the candle in the North. Her wolf Familiar stood at the South.
Emma did as she said, and placed my body down on the hardwood floor. She sat cross-legged beside my body, both of us within the confines of the salt circle. The leshane’s red eyes, for the first time, shone in terror as he worked against the bonds of the binding spell. Within the salt circle, his magic was reduced. Emma stared down in disgust.
“What must I do?” Emma asked.
“I will put you into a deep trance with a prayer to Mother Miriam. She is my Coven’s goddess, and will help us vanquish this demon. There, you will be able to communicate with your mate as he’s on the soul plane,” Hattie instructed. “Prince Ethan must win the war within himself, and face his demons. With your support, he’ll gain the strength to push the demon out.”
“How can he do that?”
“You will have to ask his god for help. If the prince is able to excommunicate the demon from his body, I will destroy it,” Hattie said. “But I can do nothing unless Prince Ethan orders the creature out. Don’t force him, Emma. Let the prince make whatever decisions he will.”
Emma closed her eyes, to prepare herself for the trance. Hattie raised her hands and spoke solemnly. “Mother Miriam, Goddess of our Coven, offer your healing. Bring that which lies underneath to the surface, and illuminate the shadows to bring demons to light.”
Hattie began to chant a low prayer to her goddess, mumbling the incantation in repetition. Her wolf Familiar accompanied her with low moans that sounded like howls. Emma’s head lolled. The demon struggled, and I watched as Emma’s head fell backward, her eyes taking over a supernatural sheen.
Hattie, her Familiar, and the demon vanished. I was no longer floating— I was sitting across from Emma, in the confines of the salt circle with the candles burning lowly around us. The trance had worked.
Emma reached for me, but her fingers slipped right through my arm. She stared— we blinked at each other for a few moments, before she let her hand fall to the floor.
“I didn’t think we’d ever speak to each other again,” Emma began.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Might be the last time.”
Emma frowned. “Don’t say that. You don’t know.”
“I do know that I’m tired of fighting,” I said. “I fought for all the wrong things, and it brought me to death’s door. I’m not sure the choices I’ve made are reversible.”
“If you can’t reverse them, you can move on from them,” Emma said firmly. “No one is who they were yesterday. We’re always changing and evolving. This demon isn’t just an entity inside of you. It is you. And if you’re going to live, you have to wrestle with that piece of yourself and put your past behind you.”
“How can I live with what I’ve done? It was a mistake to choose the Phantom over you, onawilke. It was a mistake to put Malovia before you,” I began. “I realize now that a man can’t save his kingdom if he can’t keep his home safe. You were supposed to be my home, Emma. My job was to take care of those closest for me before I attempted to rescue everyone else. And I failed at that.”
“You did the best you could with what you had at the time,” Emma said gently. “I’ve forgiven