The Last Witch: Volume One

As I return to the camp, I see bodies on the ground. Nomads and Traitors alike. My eyes take in as much of the carnage as possible. Looking at as many faces as I can to make sure that none of the bloody, tangled mess of people is anyone that I care about. But none are faces that I recognise.

But there are still people fighting. Dozens. More. Theo and Grayson are in the centre of it all. Their lightning never stops. It covers both their hands as they send it to the other. They yell, throw punches and try desperately to knock the other one down with their magic. Grayson even starts using Theo’s men as weapons. Hurling them at him like cannon balls. Yanking them suddenly from their own fights to be used as blunt weapons. They yell as they fly towards their target, but Theo merely swipes his hand and sends his men into the battle raging around him, uncaring of their fates. Theo’s men try to protect him. As does Grayson’s men for him.  But each man knows precisely where each threat is coming from and the attackers don’t stand a chance. They barely distract the witches, father and son, mortal enemies.

Grayson and Theo are both so lethal, so skilled, so fast, that neither of them gets close to winning.

I flood with relief when I see Gabriel. Alive and looking savage as he fends off attacker after attacker. Each time he strikes a man, he speaks. I can’t hear the words, but the man that falls isn’t the same man that rises. They turn on their own and fight beside Gabriel. Some take their own weapons, and use them on themselves, sliding blades across their own throats or putting pistols in their mouths. Most are more afraid of attacking him than Grayson. There’s blood splattered all over his clothes but other than that, except for the injuries Theo inflicted, he seems unharmed. He keeps scanning the crowds. Looking frantically between each punch.

‘ANY SIGN?’ he bellows at Collins who’s in the distance snapping necks, punching men so hard that they don’t get up, and firing a gun into as many as possible. I see him looking sporadically around him, searching. ‘CAN YOU SEE HER?’ Gabriel yells. ‘CAN YOU SEE ANY MORE FIRE?’

‘NO!’ Collins calls back before slamming his fist into another man’s already bloody face and once more scanning the space around him. ‘I CAN’T SEE HER ANYWHERE!’ Collins has a large red patch on his shoulder. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say he’s been shot.

Gabriel’s face looks panicked for a brief moment as he once more looks rapidly around him.

Hendrix lets go of a man who he has hold of from behind and drops him lifeless to the floor at his feet. There’s a thick pool of blood in his mouth from where he just tore the man’s throat out. He too starts frantically looking around him. His black eyes land on me.

‘THERE!’ Hendrix shouts, pointing straight at me. ‘SHE’S OVER THERE!’

Gabriel’s head spins round so fast he stumbles. Our eyes meet across the battlefield, and he looks beyond relieved when he sees me. He smiles, but his smile soon fades and shifts to concern when he sees my tear-streaked face, red puffy eyes and clothes which are covered in mud. I don’t smile back. I can’t bring myself to feel happiness. Just relief. But as I linger at the edge of this battlefield, as I look around at the violence, at all the fighting and death, my eyes fall on the man responsible.

Theo.

He sees me.

He points and shouts over the din, ‘GET THE HOOPER WITCH!’

Theo’s men all turn to me. Their eyes hungry for the capture their master so desperately wants.

Grayson looks at me. He tells me to run. Gabriel starts making his way to me, but Theo’s men block him at every opportunity. They almost bundle him, dragging him down into the mud like dead weights so he can’t reach me.

Inside me is a whirlwind of emotions. None are good. Heartbreak. Grief. Anger. But the hatred I have inside me is unrivalled. It drowns out everything else. I look at Theo with tunnel vision. The battle may as well be a million miles away. The noise fades away. All I can hear is the blood rushing through my body and my deep, steady breathing. I hear myself give a low, guttural growl and for the first time in a long, long time, there isn’t an ounce of fear. There’s no dread. There’s no panic. I’m completely focused. Completely in control as my hatred shifts from Toby, to the men who now threaten my friends and the man I love. I’ve lost so much already…no, I’ve had so much taken from me. And I refuse to see a single one of these men, my family, suffer any more injury at the hands of the people who have terrorised and mutilated me.

I am in no mood for mercy. No mood for forgiveness.

They’re going to pay.

Theo’s going to pay.

Grayson throws one hell of a punch towards Theo while he’s distracted with me, but Theo catches his fist in his hand and slowly turns to face his eldest son.

Gabriel’s under a heap of Traitors. Collins is there, pulling them off while defending himself from attack, and Hendrix is making his way towards me.

‘Stay behind me, Little Witch,’ he says gruffly when he reaches me. He turns to face the men charging towards us. ‘I’ll protect you.’

I rest my hand on his arm and guide the vampire aside.

‘I don’t need protection.’

I hold out both my hands palm side up and raise my arms. As I do, the air fills with yells as all the Traitors, all the ones I can see, leave the ground and shoot upwards into the night sky as if gravity has all but abandoned them. I leave Theo and Jensen where they stand so they can see exactly what I’m capable of.

As they fly through the trees, bits of branches and debris fall to the floor as they slam into the canopy above us and far beyond. Everyone who remains on the ground, my family and the Nomads, Theo and Jensen, stops still to watch as countless Traitors soar up into the night’s sky.

They go higher and higher until they’re out of sight and no one can hear their screams. It’s suddenly eerily quiet.

‘Holy fucking Christ,’ Hendrix mumbles, craning his neck to see where at least thirty men have disappeared to.

The Nomads gather and look to the heavens too. But no one can see a thing. I’ve sent them far, far away.

For now.

All my attention is squarely on Theo. I don’t look anywhere else. And he, in turn, looks only at me.

I have a confident, holding all the cards kind of look. He has an angry, loss of the upper hand expression. Which I love. Immensely.

The corner of my mouth hitches in a smile, not too dissimilar to Toby’s come to think of it, and I give a small scoff of laughter at the look on his face.

He tears his eyes away from me and looks upwards, as does Jensen who’s made his way to his master’s side. And together, they stare at me in stunned silence.

All their allies, their comrades, their friends…are gone, leaving them hugely outnumbered.

And I take a tremendous amount of joy in telling them so.

‘Four witches, one vampire and at least two dozen Nomads…against you, and Jensen.’ I take a sharp breath in through my teeth and shake my head cockily. ‘I don’t like your chances.’

I see Grayson in the distance quietly laughing to himself, looking between me and the sky with pride.

‘Did you know… that if a man falls from high enough, they can make a hole in the ground twelve inches deep?’

‘You’re unhinged,’ Theo calls back.

‘Probably.’

‘Where are my men?’ Jensen shouts, storming forwards and pointing into the sky. He only takes a couple of steps before Theo takes hold of his shoulder to keep him away from me.

I look up and laugh, ‘They’ll be back. Soon.’

‘Why are you fighting for them? Why would you take their side?’ Jensen shouts back. ‘I don’t understand!’

‘They didn’t torture and mutilate me,’ I reply simply. I ball up my fists, cutting off the magic that’s keeping his men high above us. The sounds of their yelling start to come back into range as they plummet down.

‘Save them!’ Jensen orders.

They all fall through the trees screaming. Their arms and legs flailing.

‘LILLY!’ Jensen bellows looking up. ‘PLEASE, SAVE THEM!’

I open my palms and stop them before they hit the ground, leaving them a meter or so in the air. The men reach out, desperate to touch the floor but I keep them there. Hovering in the air close to safety but also a million miles away from it.

‘Put them down,’ Jensen says, taking a cautious step forward. ‘You don’t want to do this. Listen to me,’

‘Jensen, you can’t reason with madness.’

‘WE TRIED IT YOUR WAY! STAY OUT OF IT, THEODORE!’

He looks back to me, trying to keep calm. He wants to reason with me.

‘We’re sorry we hurt you. You have to see, we did it for the greater good.’

‘The greater good?’ I laugh. ‘No. You did it because you could. You know what I can do?’ I grin.

I send them all back into the air again as I laugh hysterically.

‘Weeeee.’

‘What do you want?!’ Jensen asks in desperation, watching as his men once more disappear high above our heads. ‘Tell me what you want.’

‘My fingers back.’

Theo’s lightning crackles. I shake my head and tut three times, not hiding how fun this is.

‘If you so much as sneeze, Theo, you’ll be scraping bits of your men’s bodies out of the dirt.’

‘For god’s sake,’ Jensen hisses at Theo over his shoulder. ‘Just stand down. Please, let me talk to her.’ He turns back to me. ‘How does this end?’ he asks. ‘What do you want?’

‘I told you. I want my fingers back.’ There’s nothing he has that I want. I know I’ll never have my fingers back. Like I’ll never have my little girl back. All this pain inside is fuelling a cruelty and malice that I can’t get under control. I don’t want it under control because when I stop feeling it, I know what comes next. Pain. Suffering. Misery. Grief.

I close my palms once more, making sure he sees. The sound of his men crashing through the trees make them all look up. Grayson and the others, Jensen and Theo, all turn their attention to the sky. They all look at the canopy and wait.

‘You don’t have to do this!’ Jensen tells me, holding up his hand to me in surrender, all the while looking up at the sky. ‘They don’t deserve to die!’

‘I would rather kill Theo if I’m honest,’ I say with a slight shrug. ‘But since that would lead to my family and the man I love dying too, I’ll settle for your men, and enjoying as you watch helplessly.’

‘They’re not your family. Your family would never want you to do this. Your mum would never want you to be a killer.’

‘Far too late for that, I’m afraid.’

Theo’s eyes narrow on me. I take a step forward, and so does he. His hatred of me and the power I hold over him right now is written all over his face. And I’m enjoying it very much.

‘Lilly,’ Theo warns. ‘You will let the men go. You don’t want to kill them. This isn’t you.’

‘You don’t know me. Hell…I don’t know me.’

‘Lilly?’ Gabriel calls over. I glance at him quickly as I keep my attention on Theo. He looks worried. ‘We have the upper hand now. You can let them down.’

‘Like hell!’ Grayson snaps. ‘Drop them to the floor. Kill them!’

‘This isn’t her, Grayson,’ Gabriel argues as he points at me. ‘She’s going to Break. Look at her!’

They all stare at me. I must look a sight. I wonder if the misery I’ve felt tonight is visible. Is it in my eyes? Is it written on my face? I feel like it’s covered me completely, but I won’t let it inside. I can’t. Not yet.

Maybe I am going to Break. Perhaps all this is too much and what I’m feeling now is me giving in. I look down at the ends of my hair, but they’re still red. Not a hint of white. Yet.

‘Lilly. Calm down,’ Gabriel pleads.

I return my attention to Theo and seeing his hate-filled face refuels my anger.

‘It all started with you, Theo,’ I tell him. ‘And it will end with you, on your knees.’ I gesture to the floor. ‘Beg.’

He scoffs at me and shakes his head.

‘You want me to save your men? Get on your knees and beg me.’

‘I will never beg you for anything,’ he snarls. ‘You won’t kill them. You don’t have it in you.’

‘Just shut up, Theo!’ Gabriel barks angrily. ‘Stop goading her. I won’t lose her because of you.’ He looks back at me, hand outstretched. ‘Come here, Beautiful. Calm down and let’s go home. Me and you.’

When I don’t move, his eyes start to go black.

There’s a loud groan as a giant oak tree falls on its side, landing with a loud thud between Gabriel and me. He jumps back as I stare at him.

‘You stay exactly where you are. And don’t even think about using your magic on me,’ I warn. ‘Or the next tree won’t miss.’

‘Lilly, please…’

I look back to Theo and Jensen, ignoring the look of betrayal on Gabriel’s face. He can’t stop this. I won’t let him.

‘Where were we? Oh yes. Theo, you were about to beg for the lives of your men.’

Jensen looks between me, Theo and the sky. He knows, like I know, that Theo will never beg. Usually, I know that I could never kill all these people. That I could never willingly watch as others suffered. But that was before. Before I learnt that the man I loved beat me until I lost our unborn child after making me believe her death was my fault. Before I discovered the truth about what happened to Rose at Grayson and Theo’s hands. Before I was cut. Before all this. Now, I’m not sure what I’m capable of.

I will not be controlled. I will not be manipulated. I will not be hurt anymore. My pain, my suffering, my loss… I choose not to feel it any more.

‘Coming after me, my mum and the man I love was the biggest mistake you will ever make.’

I lower my hands, letting them fall limply to my side and with this action, the magic I was using to keep them in the air, goes.

‘Lilly…’ Jensen steps forwards, his eyes upwards. ‘Lilly? What are you doing? Raise your hands. Lilly…’

We hear them coming back. The slow screams of the plummeting men get louder and louder. Everyone’s eyes are up. Everyone’s except mine and Theo’s. We watch each other with such contempt it contaminates the air.

‘Lilly, please, don’t let them fall,’ Jensen pleads.

‘Funny, I think I heard Gabriel beg Theo to stop cutting off bits of my body. But you didn’t stop him. Did you?’

‘I did! I stopped him when you passed out!’

‘Very big of you.’ I take a deep breath, letting it out in a long, slow breath. ‘Let the fun begin.’

The first man hits the ground with a hollow thud, like a watermelon smashing into concrete.

‘Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,’ I sing.

Thump.

‘Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,’

Thump.

Theo’s eyes widen in shock as he looks away from me and to the corpses lying in front of him. He really didn’t think I would do it.

‘All the king’s horses,’

Thump.

‘And all the king’s men,’

Thump.

I step forwards and they both back away.

‘Couldn’t put Theo’s army back together again.’

‘STOP THIS!’ Jensen bellows. ‘STOP THIS NOW!’

The bodies fall like the beginning of rain on a tin roof.

Thump…thump…thump. Thump. THUMP!

I never look away from Theo, and he never looks away from me. I have a smile, but he looks murderous. The bodies fall one after the other. Each with a horror-filled cry that gets louder until it stops suddenly with a thump.

‘You evil little bitch!’ Theo spits.

‘That’s me alright. Let me show you how evil I can really be.’

The camp erupts in violent red flames as I slowly walk towards Theo. All I can hear is the flames roaring around us and the screams of the men as they plummet to earth. When I reach Theo, he does nothing. Just stands there looking ready to explode.

‘Maybe this is what causes your vision,’ I say in a sweet, calm voice. ‘Maybe it’s just me finally getting sick and tired of being the victim. Maybe it’s me, fighting back.’

‘Your hair’s turning,’ he says in a very forced calm. ‘You need to calm down.’

‘And you,’ I reach out and grab his hand with mine. ‘Need to scream for me.’

With my other hand, I grab two of his fingers. The same ones that are missing from my hand. And I snap them. Pressing them back so hard the crack of his bones echo around us. As he yells, my fire explodes over my hand and spreads onto his. He shrieks and tries to free himself, but I hold onto him with every last bit of strength I have left. Gabriel’s compulsion is still working. Pushing my body beyond its limit, not giving in to the pain or the exhaustion.

With his free hand, Theo grabs my arm and releases his lightning into it but the pain my fire is causing has him on his knees in agony.

‘There you are,’ I say calmly. ‘On your knees after all.’

The more he fights, the more intense my fire grows until all I can smell is his burning flesh, and all I can hear are his agonising yells as I turn his hand into a charred black mess.

‘I doubt very much that this will heal,’ I laugh, letting him go. He falls on his side in too much pain to move. I kick him hard in the face. He lands on his back. I proceed to slam my foot into his face again and again until he’s a bloody, broken mess that doesn’t move. Behind him, I see Jensen running towards us. I spin round and come face to face with him and he stops. His eyes look between my face and my hand. He doesn’t dare come any closer, but I would love to see him try.

Around us, the men continue to fall. My fire’s everywhere. I can’t see any of the Nomads. I can’t see anyone but Jensen standing terrified in front of me and Theo unconscious at my feet. I step over him and walk towards Jensen. He tries to back away, but there’s nowhere for him to go.

‘This isn’t you,’ he says.

‘You don’t know me,’ I remind him.

‘I did. I knew you well, Lilly. Many years ago. I knew your mum. She wouldn’t want this for you. Stop. Calm down. Please.’

‘Who are you?’ I ask. ‘Is it you? Are you my f-’

I’m suddenly hit by a wave of energy and fly sideways through the air, slamming into the ground and skidding a good few feet before I stop and start to get back to my feet. When I look back, Jensen’s pulling Theo up. He’s awake, but barely. Enough to use his magic against me. They turn like cowards and start running into the woods. But they’re both in my sights. They’re all I can see. All I can think about. I want to tear them apart. I want to peel the skin from their bones. I want them to suffer.

As I go after them, I’m cut off as Gabriel runs between us and holds up his hands.

‘Whoa! Stop, Beautiful.’

‘Move,’ I warn. When he stays put, I scream. ‘MOVE!’

‘No!’ he says firmly. ‘I need you to calm down. Now, Lilly!’

He’s looking at my hair.

‘Move aside,’ I order, but he shakes his head. ‘Move aside, or I will move you myself.’

‘I’m not letting you go. Your Break is taking over! Your hair’s turning white. I’ve only just got you back. I’m not losing you now.’ He takes a step towards me. ‘Look at me. Let me see those beautiful green eyes of yours. Not these empty violet ones. Please…come back to me.’

‘They can’t get away!’ I tell him. I’ve started to shake. ‘THEY HAVE TO PAY!’

‘NOT IF IT MEANS LOSING YOU!’

I stop looking past him and instead look at him. His smile, his worried eyes, his bloody face. He takes another step closer, then another. Each bit of space removed between us takes away the anger and the hatred until he’s close enough to touch.

His hand reaches out and strokes my cheek.

‘I love you,’ he says. ‘Look at me.’ His gentle hand rests on my waist. ‘I love you.’

Grayson’s in the distance calling our names, but neither of us reacts. Our eyes remain locked. Gabriel’s smile stays firmly in place.

‘I have to kill-’

‘I love you.’ He rests his hand over my heart, leans down to me as his eyes begin to blacken and rests his mouth close to mine. ‘You’re safe now, Lilly. Stop. It’s over.’

My body suddenly feels unbearably heavy. The forced adrenaline leaves me beyond exhausted. His compulsion is gone. I couldn’t chase after Theo even if I wanted to. Both my arms wrap around his neck as my legs become too weak to hold myself up. He holds me close, keeping me on my feet and breathes a sigh of relief as he runs his fingers through my hair. It stops turning ashen and returns slowly to red. I feel myself once more. And my god, the pain. It’s almost too much to bear. I cling to him desperately.

‘Don’t let go,’ I whisper.

‘Never.’

I pull him in. Our lips meet, and we hold onto each other desperately. My hand runs through his hair. I’m flush against his body as we stand amongst the flames.

His eyes flick open as our kiss slows. He’s smiling, but then he looks over my shoulder and frowns. His eyes widen in horror.

‘NO!’ he yells before hurling me to the floor.

A loud bang echoes through the woods as I fall, and I watch as something hits him in the chest. He stays on his feet but staggers.

What the hell just happened?

His fingers rest on his shirt, and when he pulls them away, there’s blood. A pool of it spills out of him and down his shirt faster and faster. I would scream if I could.

He’s been shot!

He looks down at me and falls to his knees. I catch him in my arms and hold him close. The patch of red on his shirt gets bigger. I clamp my hand over the wound and scream for help. I scream so loudly I think the whole woods can hear me, maybe the entire world! Gabriel’s hand rests over mine as I try to stop the bleeding.

‘Look at me,’ he says weakly. I pull him even closer as I sob. This can’t happen. I can’t lose him, not now. Not ever! ‘I love you, Lilly. So much. I have since I first saw you.’ His eyes start to close. With each blink, they stay closed for longer.

‘I love you too!’ I cry, pulling him closer and closer to my body. ‘Don’t you dare leave me.’ He reaches up and strokes my face.

‘You be strong. You stay you.’

‘Don’t say goodbye. Don’t you dare. You promised. Nothing can separate us. Nothing!’

His hand falls limp by his side.

His eyes close.

Grayson skids to a stop on his knees beside us and pushes his hand down firmly over mine, trying to stop the bleeding. We share a look of utter panic.

‘FIND THE SHOOTER! NOW!’ Grayson orders the Nomads who all turn and run in the direction of the bullet. ‘He’ll be okay. He’ll be okay.’ But I hear the fear in his voice. I’ve never heard fear in his voice, but it’s there now.

Collins kneels beside me and all I see is more fear. I can’t take it. Looking at two of the strongest, bravest people I know and seeing them so terrified as they watch the increasingly pale Gabriel. Instead, I look down at the man who lays bleeding in my arms.

‘Stay with me, Beautiful,’ I tell him, leaning down and kissing his forehead. I kiss his cheeks, his lips, all of his face. His chest is still rising and falling. He’s still breathing, but he’s losing so much blood!

‘Get her out of here!’ Grayson orders, watching my actions with hatred. ‘Before that shooter comes back! Get her away, Collins!’ Grayson reaches over and actually pushes me off. I land on my backside, but in an instant, I have Gabriel back in reach.

‘I’M NOT LEAVING HIM!’ I scream in his face, shoving him away. ‘Get your hands off him.’

Nomads have started surrounding us. I don’t care. I’ll tear them apart if they try to touch me.

‘Collins!’ Grayson barks. ‘You get her away from my brother now.’

‘Collins… if you touch me, you’ll regret it,’ I warn, not taking my eyes of Grayson. Collins stays put. A wise decision.

‘I know what you did. I know everything. Rose. Ava. All of it.’

‘Gabriel lied-’

‘I saw it. I looked into his memories and saw it all. And I’m warning you now, Grayson Kendryk, you try to separate us, you try to hurt us or you so much as think about threatening any of us, Collins and Amara included, I’ll do to your men what I just did to Theo’s. I’m not bound and I’m not fucking about.’

‘Don’t you dare threaten me.’

‘I’m not threatening. I’m promising.’ I look at Collins as I hold Gabriel close. ‘He forced Gabriel to sleep with Ava by threatening to do to me what he did to Rose. Did you know that?’

‘Err, Rose? Who’s Rose?’ Collins asks, looking between us blankly. ‘Rose as in Rebecca’s daughter? What did you do to Rebecca’s daughter?’ His blankness is replaced instead with suspicion and caution as he watches Grayson. He has no idea about any of it!

‘Enough, Lilly. My brother’s been shot. He needs medical care.’ He gestures for three of his men to join us. ‘Get him into a car and back to the house now. Call the doctor and make sure she’s there when you arrive.’ They nod and watch me as they take cautious steps forwards.

‘I’m going with him.’

‘Like hell.’

‘I wasn’t asking your permission, Grayson.’

‘Stop acting like a child. The man you claim to love is bleeding to death. Unless we get him to a doctor, he could die. We will all die! So you will let him go, let the men take him and stop acting like a selfish fool!’

He’s right. Gabriel’s injured. He has to be treated.

I look at Collins. ‘Will you stay with him? Promise me you won’t leave his side. No matter what.’

‘But…what about you?’ he asks quietly, glancing at Grayson.

‘I can look after myself. Gabriel needs you now. Just, keep him safe.’

Collins nods and vows that he will. So, reluctantly and with a final kiss, I let Gabriel go and watch as they carry him away. Collins firmly by his side. But before he leaves, he looks at Grayson.

‘I’m letting you know this right now, Grayson. If you hurt her, or Gabriel, you’ll be sorry. You hear me?’

‘Go,’ he growls at him angrily. They leave and he turns his attention to me. ‘Jesus! Lilly, you’re missing two fingers!’

‘I want to go with Gabriel.’

‘No. You’re staying with me.’

‘I want-’

‘Someone just tried to shoot you! He pushed you out of the way just in time and took the bullet himself! You are staying with me! What the hell were you thinking coming here?’

Now I know what Gabriel was looking at so strangely over my shoulder.

‘Theo took Gabriel and was hurting him. He threatened to kill him. I had no choice. I had to come.’

‘There’s always a choice! The problem is you don’t think clearly when it comes to him! I can’t risk losing either of you. Not now we’re this close to bringing down the veil. Damn it…You could have died!’ He grabs my chin and looks at the cut that I can feel stinging from Theo’s backhand. He’s shaking with anger. Very unlike him. He lets me go and points a finger straight at me, his voice low and full of warning. ‘You will listen to me and obey me. You and Gabriel will not be together. Not until the veil is down at any rate.’

‘You can’t do that,’ I tell him adamantly.

‘You will be kept close to the Nomads and me. Where I can keep you safe. From yourself as well as the Traitors and Hunters. Do you hear me?’

‘No!’ I shake my head.

‘Gabriel will be taken to a secure location for treatment. When he is recovered, he will be leaving England. That’s the end of it. Gabriel is leaving, and there is nothing you can say or do to change my mind. I need you to focus on the spell, and I need him to stay alive. Both will be considerably easier if you’re not running around sacrificing your lives for each other. When the veil’s down, you can do whatever you want.’ He turns and starts walking away. He doesn’t get far. He stops when a wall of red fire springs up in front of him. I make it curl into a circle so he has nowhere to go.

‘We’re not done here, Grayson,’ I say firmly.

Slowly, he turns. If he was angry before…now he’s livid.

‘This has nothing to do with the veil. Or his safety. This is about your jealousy. You want me, and it kills you that I don’t want you. Sending him away won’t change how I feel about him, but it will make me hate you. Even more than I already do.’

He glances at my wrist. ‘Where’s your binding spell?’ he asks.

‘Destroyed,’ I answer simply. ‘Don’t pretend that you took me in out of the kindness of your heart. You need me. So let me make my position, and your position, clear. I no longer have a binding spell and I never will again. I’m too strong for you to try and force one on me. I could level this place and hurl your men into the sky like I did Theo’s. I could walk away from the spell and refuse to do it.’ He opens his tight lined mouth to hurl back his own threats. ‘But…’ I interrupt before he can say a word. ‘I want to bring the veil down. That goal we share. I want all of our kind to be free. But it’s like this. I’m in love with him. Not with you. And he loves me. Not Ava.’ His mouth twitches when I say these words. ‘If you send him away, I’ll go too. And you’ll have to find another way to break down the veil because I will refuse. You can hunt us down. You can threaten us. But if you do, I will destroy everything you have built.’ I stand and wait. ‘Either let us be together and get what you want, or try and keep us apart and lose everything. Your move.’

Grayson takes a second to organise his thoughts. He seems to get them in line as he looks at me through my ring of fire keeping him penned in.

‘Gabriel will leave. But, he can come back to us when I have the Journal. When I have it, he can come back. That way, it eliminates the amount of time you two can be used to manipulate each other and get us all killed. Now put this fire out.’

‘I know where the Journal is,’ I tell him, folding my arms and narrowing my sights on him.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Toby was here. He still is. I know where the journal is, and where he is.’

‘That’s a bit of a coincidence,’ he mutters.

‘It’s the truth. I can get you the journal tonight. I can start on the veil tomorrow. In exchange for your word that Gabriel can stay at the house and you give us your blessing. If you don’t agree, I’ll never tell you where the Journal or Toby is, and I won’t help you do your spell. If you try and screw me over once you have the journal…well, you’ve seen what I can do.’

He nods. ‘You have a deal. Give me the journal and Gabriel will be back at the house tonight. You’ll have my blessing, as long as you’re careful and don’t end up in a mess like this again.’

I could fall to the floor in relief.

‘I have no intention of getting in a mess like this again. Believe me.’ I walk to Grayson and extinguish the small circle around him. I stretch out my hand, and he shakes it, sealing our arrangement.

‘If you betray me, I’ll make you sorry,’ he says.

‘Right back at ya,’ I reply just as menacingly.

He tightens his grip on my hand and starts pulling me in the direction the others have carried Gabriel away.

‘Where are we going?’ I ask.

‘You tell me. You’ll take me to the journal now. I want you by my side until I have it in my possession.’

‘And then you take me to Gabriel?’

‘Yes.’

As we walk to his car, I notice there’s no sign of any of the bodies that fell into my new red fire. They’ve been consumed by the sheer intensity of the heat.

I almost lost control completely tonight. My hair started to change, but it didn’t. I’m still here. Gabriel tethered me down, brought me back. We’re finally going to be together. We’ll get the journal. Do the spell, and then my life can really begin in a world where we don’t have to hide anymore.