it in the hope to find a weak spot, but she couldn't enter. My gaze moved back to Gael. Madness glittered in his eyes, and I knew I had to stall for time if I wanted to live.
"Why did you take me to see Madame Estevaz?"
My question took him by surprise. He smiled. "She was supposed to see your past to make sure you were Esmeralda's incarnation, but she failed me. Unfortunately for her, a betrayal doesn't go unpunished in my family."
"Why did you kill her?" I remembered the dark entity around me, clutching my soul, marking me. Was it the same one that had taken my life all those years ago?
"She had to die because she recognized you. Said she wouldn't help me kill a priestess, so she triggered your memories so you could use your powers." Gael grinned. "They aren't much use to you now, huh?" His raised his blade over his head.
I struggled to get up as panic gripped hold of me. My gaze fell on the sharp metal engraved with silver symbols. Maybe he wasn't all bad and had an excuse like finding out about my abilities and thinking I might be able to resurrect his brother. I moistened my lips to gather my voice. "Please, if you want to talk to Derrick I have friends who can help."
"Derrick was an idiot," Gael hissed. "He whacked the wrong Romanov witch. Luckily, little Theo did the job I should've done a long time ago."
"You wanted to kill your brother?"
"I should have," Gael said. "He almost messed up my big chance. You see, legend says only the Blade of Sorrow can kill you, but we hadn't found it yet. Not without a bounty hunter's help. He wouldn't wait so he tried any knife before I could stop him. He said it would work and I believed him. Theo and you looked so similar, the same height with your long, blonde hair. The moment Theo died, I knew he had the wrong sister."
I hadn't dyed my hair black yet, and it had been dark that fateful January night. Mixing us up made sense. A pang of guilt surged through me. So my stepmother, Marie, was right. Theo's death was my fault. If I took a taxi and didn't arrive late, Theo would still be alive. The rage I had been nourishing for the last few months turned against him, against myself, against fate for being so cruel and letting me make such a stupid mistake.
"You said he almost messed up your big chance," I said. "The chance for what?"
"Your powers."
I raised my chin, sensing my chance to escape the psycho. "You can have them. I'll give them to you willingly. Just let me go." Somewhere outside the circle I thought I could hear someone's voice—maybe the girl from before—but I couldn't let anything divert my attention, not with Gael being much stronger than me. Slacking in concentration wasn't an option if I wanted to make it out of this situation alive.
He shook his head, still grinning. "And how do you propose to do that?"
"I'll figure something out," I whispered.
"I have a better idea." He took a step forward, the blade in his hand shinning menacingly with the promise of a long and painful death. "I'll cut it out of you, and then I'll get what I want. What I deserve." Without so much as a warning, he lunged for me. I kicked, aiming for his abdomen, but only hit the air as he ducked out of the way. The blade hit my left shoulder and I cried out in pain. My fingers moved instinctively to the gash. For a moment I just stared, horrified, at the red liquid that shimmered almost black in the darkness, trickling down my arm. And then the real pain began. Pulsating pain that came in hot waves and seared my flesh. I bit my lip to keep myself conscious, but my vision was already blurry and my brain numb, threatening to descend into that darkness I kept seeing in my dreams. Death. Maybe the darkness had been a warning or a prophecy telling me what lay before me. My lungs burned as I breathed in and out the cold Scottish air. I begged my brain to remain lucid, but I knew I didn't have much time. I had to find a way to get away from him.
"Gael," a male voice called calmly. Gael turned his head at the resolute tone and I followed his