the brutal scene. She quickly wiped them away. I longed to reach out and comfort her, but my touch would only appall her. At her side, Odette held a singular hand over her mouth, too shocked to move.
When the deer had stilled for good, Gabby reached into her dress again. She took out berries and a vial of unknown powder. She sprinkled powder into the potion and crushed the berries inside before she shook it violently.
Then she did something shocking. Gabby poured the potion over her head. The blood ran down her hair, face and dress, making her appear like some pagan monster that had wandered out of the woods and into the nightmares of men.
When the glass was half-empty, Gabby lifted the warm blood to her lips and drank the rest down, chugging the glass like it was wine. My stomach churned, and I had to suppress the urge to vomit again.
“Fucking disgusting,” I heard Stefan whisper, until Delmare told him to shut it.
Gabby began to retreat. As Gabby backed out of the circle, still muttering the chant, a hole in the ground began to open up at the place where she’d knelt. It was a monstrous black pit, hungry and ebbing. I tried to look down it, but there seemed to be no end, a darkness that could swallow up the very world.
The pit grew larger and larger. Eventually, the dead deer fell in, before the oak tree toppled into the endless void.
She was feeding the Underworld. Feeding Droga.
I thought that horrible pit would keep growing until it consumed the entire world, but it got to the chalk boundary of the circle and stopped. It began shrinking to a smaller size, becoming minuscule. The hole disappeared and there was no sign a ceremony had been done— both the tree and the deer were gone.
Gabby stepped into the middle of the circle. She threw her arms wide and lifted her face to the light of the moon as the chalk circle began to glow, creating an eerie illumination upon her bloody form.
The glowing stopped. Gabby wiped the blood from her eyes and kicked the dirt around, erasing the chalk circle before she left the area, continuing on into madness.
None of us spoke for long minutes— not until we were all sure that Gabby was gone, and she wasn’t coming back. Kiara was the first person to speak.
“That was definitely Unseelie magic,” Kiara said firmly. “There’s no doubt about it.”
“I’ve used Unseelie magic before. It’s not all bad. This... this was a monstrosity. Meant only for the servants of Droga,” Emma said.
Kiara sent a worried glance at Alexei. “You okay, Lex?”
Alexei was green. He shook his head as he whimpered, “That poor deer... I could feel its terror as it was dying. Felt its pain and sorrow. It was begging her not to kill it. Gabby felt no mercy. Only power. That deer was a tool to her. As we all are.”
Several of us dropped our heads. We hadn’t interceded. It felt awful to sit there and do nothing, but we needed to prove she was guilty to the Circle.
“Well, her reign of terror is about to end,” Theo said, and he waved his phone in the air. “We’ve got the proof.”
Emma tried to stand. She let out a cry of pain, and she faltered. Odette had to catch her. Delmare moved forward, a concerned expression on her face. I began to sweat as everyone’s attention turned toward Emma.
Delmare lifted the edge of Emma’s shirt and gasped. The fabric fell as she revealed to everyone the massive cut on Emma’s side.
“Holy shit, Emma!” Stefan belted. “What the fuck happened?”
“Ethan stabbed me,” Emma said flatly. That was it. She didn’t give any explanation, didn’t give a warning— just said it.
“What?” the girls gasped at the same time. Horror shone in their eyes, while dark expressions hooded the faces of Alexei, Stefan and Theo. The guys moved in front of Emma, like they were trying to protect her from me.
Maybe they had to.
“I didn’t know it was her! I thought she was someone else,” I said.
“Like that makes a difference,” Emma snarled.
“What’s going on? You need to tell us!” Kiara demanded. Her voice rose in rage as she said, “Why on earth would Ethan hurt you?”
“Because,” Emma stated heavily. “I’m the White Rose, and Ethan is the Phantom.”
Delmare’s expression fell, and Stefan facepalmed. Terror mounted within me as recognition shone on the faces