This Coven Won't Break - Isabel Sterling Page 0,83

just need to push a little further.”

He lets go of my wrist, and I sigh, turning to sit against the wall beside him. I still don’t believe we can escape, but I’m not going to go out without a fight, either. “So, what’s the plan then?”

I think Archer tries to smile, but his whole face is swollen and bruised, and he just ends up wincing instead. “It sounds like they’ll draw our blood as part of their research for the drug. That might give us an opportunity.” He turns his head a little more in my direction. “We need to get your magic back before then.”

“But I’ve tried. The only thing that works is Blood Magic.”

“If Blood Magic can help,” Archer insists, “that means it’s in there. You just need to figure out how to access it.” He tips his head back, staring at the dark ceiling. He’s quiet a long time, and I don’t interrupt his thought process. My mind is busy with its own wandering, parsing through all the things Cal said about my magic, about what it means that just being near Morgan, even when she’s not using her power, makes it better.

How am I supposed to embrace grief in a place like this without getting lost in it?

“I don’t think fear will help,” he says at last. “If it did, I think it’s safe to say you would have found your magic in that office.” His burnt hands are proof enough that fear is not the emotion I’ve been avoiding.

“I am so, so sorry about that.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t blame yourself for a second of what’s happened here.” He goes quiet, his eyes shut against his pain. “I don’t want you to feel pressured, but if you can’t find a way back to your magic . . .” He lets the sentence trail off, and my mind is happy to fill in the horrifying gaps.

“I’ll try,” I promise. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

And I do try. Long after Archer has fallen asleep, I try to reach my magic. I force myself to pull down the walls around my heart. I push against every emotional bruise until I’m aching and raw and so scared and miserable I can’t breathe.

Time has no meaning in this windowless cell, but it feels like hours have passed. I’m exhausted, but my mind won’t stop spinning. I don’t understand how this happened—how this keeps happening. Going after Benton was my fault, but the Hunters finding us and drugging Archer? That wasn’t me.

David’s death wasn’t on me, either. The Hunters always seem to be a step ahead, almost like . . .

Nope. I don’t even want to think it. But no matter how many times I push it away, the thought comes back. Each time, it’s more insistent, it brings more clues and theories.

What if someone betrayed us?

What if someone told the Hunters we were recruiting David? What if the Hunters knew we were coming to raid their facility? Once the thoughts lodge in my brain, a list of suspects comes racing through.

Maybe Veronica, Cal, and I were right before. Maybe David helped the Hunters create the drug, then thought better of it and tried to change his allegiances. Except . . . he didn’t know anything about the raid, which means it was probably someone else. Someone who tipped off the Hunters and got David killed, so he couldn’t create the potion to destroy them.

What if it’s Lexie and Coral? They weren’t thrilled that I let Alice escape, and Veronica did call them long before they were recruited. Plus, Lexie made those charms that could detect other Clan Witches. That could explain how the Hunters knew where to find us.

Or maybe it’s Tori. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Lexie or Coral, so I don’t know where Tori is or what happened to her. She was the one who wanted to bind Alice’s magic. Maybe she helped the Hunters make the drug as a way to get back at the Blood Witches and didn’t realize the Hunters would target all three Clans.

But how would the Casters have known about the Council’s other plans for Dr. O’Connell’s research?

Then it hits me. Alice.

Alice, who acted like she didn’t want any part of this. Alice, who was furious at me for inviting the Casters to Salem without warning. Who was furious that I dropped out of the raid. She threatened to back out unless I helped, and then less than a day