ears that it’s all I can hear. The forest is eerily quiet, and in my experience, when animals don’t make a peep, it means they’re afraid of a bigger threat.
I’m not surprised when I wind up in the same clearing where the clash between the vampires and dragons took place. Elena is waiting for me, no longer stooped over her cane, but standing tall and proud. Her white hair hangs loose, reaching her waist and contrasting with her midnight gown. Her lips are painted red, and when she smiles at me, it looks like a slash on her gaunt face.
She’s still keeping my mouth shut, so all I can do is glare at her. She forces me to stop a foot away from her, right on the other side of a dark spot on the grass.
“Isn’t tonight a lovely evening, Aurora? A perfect time for a celebration,” she says.
Fuck you, bitch!
She chuckles, shaking her head. “Ah, I can only imagine the petty names you must be calling me. It’s amusing really when I’m the one who should, by rights, be angry. You tried to screw me over, after all.”
Damn, I wish I had the power to stun her with my eyes.
“What? You didn’t think I wouldn’t know that you were fucking around with that Blueblood? I don’t know how you managed to circumvent the preventive spell I placed on you, but it matters not anymore.”
Her hateful stare drifts to a point behind me. I can’t turn, but I can hear footsteps crunching the grass, getting closer.
“Ah, my second guest has arrived.”
When Calvin appears in my line of vision, my anxiety spikes through the roof. He doesn’t seem to be here against his will.
“Did you bring the grimoire?” she asks him.
“Yes. I’ve got it.” He looks at me with so much hatred that it feels like a punch to my chest.
My adrenaline is rising to dangerous levels, which makes it harder to breathe. The shakes racking my body are impossible to hide. Elena, Calvin, and the first grimoire. This can’t end well for me. I can’t even scream for help.
“Good,” Elena says. “Just set it on the ground.”
“Wait. You said that there was a spell in here that would make Aurora and her bloodsucking lover pay for what they did to me.”
“Yes, patience, boy. First, we must finish what we started.”
“What the h—”
He freezes mid-sentence after Elena throws a sparkling powder over him. He can’t move a muscle besides his eyeballs, which are twitching frantically, alternating between looking at me and her.
Suddenly, I sense the power keeping my mouth shut release. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious, dear Aurora? You know what I want, and unfortunately, I still need you to get it for me. When this fool here burst into the council headquarters yesterday, filled with rage and jealousy, it was easy enough to convince him to bring me the grimoire. He’s dead set on making you and your Blueblood pay.”
She bends over, reaching inside a large bag she has by her feet.
“What are you going to do? You can't force me to marry him.”
She smiles slyly, waving a fresh vine in her hands. “Oh my dear, but I can.”
Walking without any difficulty, she ties one end of the vine around my left wrist then does the same around Calvin’s.
“What’s this?”
“This vine represents your union. Now, the sacrifice.”
She cuts me right above the knot, deep enough that immediately, droplets of blood soak the vine. Her blade strikes Calvin too, and at once, I begin to feel the tangles of earthly magic wrap around me. My stomach twists savagely, making me so sick that I’d be puking my guts out right now if Elena weren’t controlling my body.
She turns her face skyward, lifting both arms above her head, and begins to chant. “Ancient gods of the Earth, hear now my prayer.”
“No! I refute this vow! You c—”
With a flick of her wrist, she cuts off my ability to speak.
“In this midnight hour, I call upon the ancient powers of the moon, of the stars, of the earth, of the wind. With these sacred vines, I bind these souls through the sacrifice of spilled blood. Body to body. Spirit to spirit. Heart to heart. So must it be.”
The most excruciating pain pierces through my chest. I can’t feel my legs anymore, and I know the only reason I’m still standing upright is because of Elena. A scream of despair rises up in my throat, but it gets lodged there, choking