upper hand and stood over Ansel, his boot pressed against his brother’s neck.
“It’s a spell,” Tudyk managed, pulling himself off the ground.
Sofia and Kalla rushed over, and Thayen stayed with them. They were all stunned and confused. Tudyk and I carefully approached Moore as he focused on Ansel. The teen Aeternae tried to fight back, but his kid brother was merciless, nearly suffocating him.
“I recognize the death magic. It’s a sleeper spell. It’s probably been in him for a long time and was activated somehow,” Tudyk added. We moved around, gaining inches as we drew closer. “Someone must have used specific words to trigger him.” He paused, his eyes round with horror. “Oh no. Mother… he’s been active since he hugged her…”
My breathing grew ragged as I tried to find a solution that wouldn’t hurt Moore. He was only a child. He had no idea what had been done to him or why he was behaving this way. “How do we stop it?”
“We need to subdue him,” Tudyk replied. “I’ll tackle him, then you can help me hold him down.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, and he gave me a slight nod.
He darted toward Moore and used his full body weight to knock the boy down. As soon as they landed, I rushed over and caught Moore’s hands, twisting them behind his back. He cried out, squirming like a restless and ridiculously strong worm, but I managed to hold him down. Kalla brought over a thread of steel, which we used to bind Moore’s hands.
“Why do you carry that around?” Tudyk asked Kalla, panting and shivering.
“It’s one of the few things that work in holding an Aeternae, at least for a while. Steel wire is made from the same material used for prison cells, only it’s much lighter and easier to carry around.” Kalla looked at me. “We brought a couple of rolls with us from Orvis, in case you need some.”
“Yeah… thanks,” I murmured, allowing myself to sit.
Moore’s eyes were still weird. His sharp fangs were supposed to appear threatening, but all they did was make me feel sorry for him. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to understand and accept what had just happened. Ansel sat next to me, feeling his throat. There would be bruising, I was sure of it. There were already red blotches blooming where Moore’s boot had pinned him down.
“A sleeper spell, huh?” Sofia asked, unable to take her eyes off the kid.
Thayen nodded. “It’s still in him, isn’t it?”
“Yes. We need to find whoever cast it and either kill them or get them to break the spell.” Tudyk sighed as he fought back tears. “I can’t believe she’d do this.”
“Your mother,” I said.
“No one else could’ve gotten so close. And very few others have such knowledge,” Tudyk replied.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this,” Ansel said, his voice raspy and broken. “Kalon either. This has our mother’s signature written all over it. And I think I know when she activated it.”
It didn’t take a genius to unravel this one. “When she whispered in his ear earlier.” My tone sounded flat, but I didn’t care. I’d had enough of Petra’s nonsense. Once again, she’d put one of her sons in harm’s way while claiming her family mattered the most.
“She might have been telling the truth about what words she actually said to Moore, but she definitely neglected to mention what those words would do to him,” Tudyk said. “She’s a liar. She’s a filthy, manipulative liar. This stunt could’ve gotten Moore killed if you hadn’t been here, Esme.”
“Even worse, he could’ve hurt us. Or killed us,” Ansel said quietly.
“Moore was gunning for me,” I said. “Petra’s had it in for me since the day I laid eyes on Kalon. What irks me is that despite her claims of being a good mother, she keeps hurting you. All of you.”
Sofia scoffed. “What the hell is she trying to prove with this?”
“Oh, we’ve got a problem,” I realized, my breath running short as the whole picture came into focus. Moore watched me, growling and trying to get out of his bindings, but he couldn’t. A grin slit his face—a devious, hateful grin that mirrored his mother’s hatred of me. Poor kid. “Petra isn’t here to make amends to us or to her sons. She has some kind of endgame, and it doesn’t involve her staying a GASP prisoner for long. Moore’s situation is proof of that, and I’m afraid it’s only the beginning.”
Kalla frowned. “Don’t