Two witches attempt to corner me, blocking me from reaching Will. Angry, I throw out my arms before me. The fire in my heart spills from my palms, lashing forward at my attackers. Morphing from a soft, shimmery iridescent glow, it becomes a violent and blinding orange. It breaks through skin, leaving behind gashes in flesh.
One of the witches cries out when I pass her, but I ignore her fear. Instead, I search for Will. I call to him, seeing him battling his own demons. He’s wounded and frightened. The anger in his eyes shoots ice down my spine. I suppose this isn’t the best welcome to Darkhaven he could have received.
I trip over brush, my ankle twisting awkwardly as I tumble forward. I yelp, landing in a heap of icy snow. Before I realize what’s happening, Will is at my side. He lifts me from the mound, and we both watch as the remaining witches surround us.
Leaning against him, I attempt to cocoon us both within my magic, but I’m growing far too sluggish. I anticipate the other witches will combine their strength, and in my weakened state, I’m not confident I can withstand their fury.
“We need to get out of here!” I shout.
The witches lock hands, forming a half circle before us. Immediately, the elements are bared. The wind whips my hair feverishly around my face. The snowflakes falling become plump and moist, blurring my vision as clusters of ice collect around my eyes. Slowly, Will and I dip into the earth. The frozen ground at our feet turns to mush, and we sink deeper into the mud.
Before we can escape, another witch approaches us, her dark gaze as black as night. Her cheeks are pink, her lips chapped as she shouts an incantation. Her hair whips around violently as her element is intensified by her allies.
She stands before them, a leader before her coven. She’s floating, carried by air. Her ankles slack, the tips of her toes pointing directly to the ground as she’s lifted by her magic.
With arms outstretched at her sides, she shouts several Latin incantations, and her magic rushes at us. Hardened bullets of beaded air, the wind assaults my magical barrier, tearing it down with little effort.
Other witches stand beside their leader, lending their strength to intensify her magic. With each air shard working its way deeper into my magical shield, I begin to feel the effects of wielding a power far stronger than me.
I slump beside Will, letting him carry my entire weight. My forehead is slick from sweat and snow, my nerves raw. My head aches, and my stomach growls.
“I can’t hold on anymore,” I whisper, closing my eyes.
The moment my magic dissipates, evaporating into the air and sinking back within my core, Will steps forward. He wraps one arm around my body to hold me upright and lashes forward with the other. A blast of swirling white light tears through his palm and shoots forward.
The surprised witch screams and attempts to protect herself, but it’s too late. He mimicked her air blasts and sent his directly to her heart. She falls to the ground, her legs buckling awkwardly beneath her. Her head slams against the frozen ground, and her lifeless eyes stare at me. I loathe the accusations there, so I look away, instead finding comfort in the other witches’ disbelief.
They stare at Will as if he too is floating. They expected magic from me, but now they know there is another half-breed. I’m not sure if I should be happy the witches fear us or if I should worry about the target etched into Will’s back. I fear he will regret coming to Darkhaven.
I exhale sharply as the witches retreat, choosing to abandon their fallen. Though I’m not surprised by the witches’ actions, I feel sorrow for their dead. Why does abandonment come so naturally to them?
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I whisper.
With my magic now safely tucked inside my soul, I grow stronger. Still weakened by the attack, I push away from Will’s embrace and find comfort in the distance I put between us. I’m grateful for his help, but I’m still not sure if I can trust him. I want to believe I can, and after everything he’s done, he deserves my trust. But I’m living in a time of war, and trust is not easily given.
“They made my decision for me,” Will says. “It was them or us.”
I glance at him and notice the darkness in his eyes. I wonder if it’s hard for him to kill a witch—since he once was one. Or has time hardened him to the realities of this life as a hybrid creature?
“They’ll never forgive you for this,” I warn.
“I don’t expect their forgiveness.”
I consider explaining what it means to have a target on your back in Darkhaven, where there are more witches than humans, but I don’t bother. I’m guessing Will has been alive a lot longer than me, and in that time, he’s probably made enemies. Still, he risked his life to save mine. That must mean something.
“Thank you,” I say softly, sincerely.
“You’re too young to be harnessing that much power, Ava,” Will warns.
I nod. Holland warned me about this too. If I tap into too much too soon, I risk death.
“I can’t control how much comes out,” I explain. “It just happens.”
“I know, and it will get easier. Control comes with time.”
I sigh, letting his words wash over me. The vampires, and even Holland, have said this very same thing to me many times before, but I never believed them. Not until Will, someone who truly understands, said them. Knowing I’m living through the hardest parts right now somehow makes this transition easier.
“They’ll come back,” Will says, scanning the trees around us. “We need to leave.”
I nod and stare into the distance. I can still see them running away from us and toward the village. They retreat, and the predator within me wants to follow, to hunt them down one by one.
I look around at the massacre. The snow is stained crimson, and the euphoric scent of blood coats the air.
The witches are dead, and I know I should fear the repercussions of what happened here tonight.
But I don’t.
Chapter Nine
The silence of the night is unnerving. The forest has never been so calm, so quiet. The loneliness of walking these grounds after every sunset begins to mount.
Is this what my life has become? An endless stream of days sleeping and nights fighting my enemies? A life of watching my back and praying I see the next day? Of watching my step and tracking the shadows? What kind of life is that? Am I even living?
I glance over at Will, who’s become suspiciously silent himself. I find myself matching his stride as we venture closer to the manor, where my vampire allies await my return. Will they welcome Will as I have? Will they trust him? Should I trust him? The constant questions and second-guesses are making my head hurt. In a town full of enemies lurking around every corner, I really should know who to fear, who to trust.
In my heart, I believe Will doesn’t intend to hurt me, but I never expected Mamá to forsake me either. I keep wondering who to trust without asking if I can even trust myself. Can I count on my gut, my senses? Or will they betray me too?
“Have you given my request more thought?” Will asks, breaking our silence.
“Hmm?” I say, pretending I have no idea which request he’s referring to. It’s a lie. I know exactly what he’s talking about, and I’m not ready for the truth of my words.