96. Anna

96

Anna

I hadn't seen Finn all night, not since they dragged me away. I was taken to a completely different part of the building, three floors up, and chained to a different wall with a bed.

Cozy.

Instead of resting for the ritual, I pulled myself as close to the window as I could possibly get and stared outside. It was the same side of the building, the same view of the ritual circle. No new information presented itself, but while I was trying to find an escape, I was also searching for Jax.

I could feel through the bond that he was close. Alive. Getting stronger every hour that passed. Hope flared inside of me.

When the sun rose, the door opened. Three wolves and three witches stood before me. "Time to prepare," one of them said, her voice laced with excitement. She put a white dress on the bed.

I glanced at it and snorted. "If you're hoping this is some kind of virginal sacrifice, I have bad news for you. I have been well-loved and well-fucked."

"Don't be ridiculous. The magic doesn't care about your virginity," she said with the roll of her eyes. "We will purify you for the ritual."

"Purify me how?"

"With magic, of course."

I blinked at her. "Seriously? You've had decades to prepare for this, and you are going to purify the null with magic? Who exactly is in charge of your training? You should definitely fire her."

She bared her teeth. "Why do you think we've been stealing magic. We have more than enough to reach even the likes of you. Now get dressed, or the wolves will help you get dressed."

Since I was not going to go along with any of this ridiculousness, in the end, the wolves did have to help me get dressed, and in doing so, they tore one of the seams along the side. The witch was horrified, but we both knew I wasn't going to stand there and let her sew it up, and I'd already mussed the white fabric when the wolves got a little too rough and smashed my nose.

Good. When they'd ragged me in front of everyone, they would know that I wasn't sacrificing myself for them. They were murdering me.

Since they had to retrieve the chains, I got the sense that they were surprised that I was still fighting them, and really? At what part in their delusional planning made them think I was going to be okay with this? In any case, I was chained. The cuffs were etched with the same sigil that was supposed to keep me from changing, but since magic didn't work on me, I shifted, tore the dress, and the cuffs fell off. If I wasn't about to die, I would have laughed at their reaction.

It took another hour for a second dress to arrive. This time, they tased me until I shifted back to human. Pain electrified every cell in my body, and I worried for my baby, so I stopped fighting. By the time they hauled me to a small candle-lit room, I was exhausted.

"Andrea," a voice said soothingly. "It is an honor to meet you. I am Cleo, high priestess of the Rising Moon coven."

"Fuck off," I grunted. "You're the asshole running around, kidnapping witches and stealing their magic? Why? What in the hell do you gain if Maeve becomes queen of the wolves?"

It didn't make sense. In my head, Maeve had gathered covenless, wayward witches, and put them to use, but an organized coven? And a big one at that? Had they organized under Maeve?

"The idea of a ternary means the wolf-witch hybrid can and does exist, at least through birth. Maeve will help us channel magic from the mountain so that we can also share our bodies with noble creatures and embrace the wolf magic."

Was she serious? I fought my weakened state and leaned as close to her as the witches holding me would allow. "Listen to me very carefully," I told her in a low voice. "First of all, the only way you can have a wolf is if you were born with one. It's a natural state that cannot be recreated with magic. Wolf magic and witch magic are still two very different things. I know this because I have both, and they don't always play well together. Secondly, even if it could happen, Maeve would never allow it, and if you pulled your head out of your asses, you would realize that. Maeve, in her delusional mind, wants to bring order, not more chaos."

Cleo just smiled serenely at me. "You will be submersed in our healing water. Let go of all that holds you back and prepare yourself for the journey on which you are about to embark."

"You are not going to survive the day." Hands picked me up and carried me to the copper tub. "Neither Jax nor Maeve will let you live."

The water was cold as they dropped me horizontally in. Their precious dress turned translucent and clung to my skin, and their hands pushed me under the water. Above me, I heard the mutated sounds of a spell.

Then the real fun began.

The copper of the tub began to brighten, and the water bubbled. The hands holding me turned red and released me as the witches shrieked in pain. Coming up for breath, I gripped the edge of the tub and grinned. "Is boiling me alive part of your ritual?" I asked as I checked my own skin.

Perfectly fine.

"Silence," Cleo thundered, and the bubbles quieted. "Dunk her again."

A new set of faces stepped up to the tub and stared down at me. I grinned. "Is it going to boil again or is there something else in store for me?"

They pushed me down and new chanting started. I would give them credit. Their influx of magic had managed to tear through the null space, but nothing they did touched my skin. In the defense of what they were throwing at me, my own magic responded. The water electrified, and everyone holding me down stiffened and fell dead, draped half over the water.

Re-emerging, I wiped the water from my face and pushed the bodies onto the floor. "Refreshing. Does anyone want to join me? A little girl-on-girl action before I die?"

Using wood paddles, they forced me out of the tub, and I fell to the floor. Hands grabbed under my arms and dragged me away. "There are other ways to purify you," Cleo hissed. "Perhaps we should try fire."

"I don't think Maeve will like it if she discovers you roasted her ternary alive. Really, Cleo, I think you're just going to have to accept me, flaws and all." I was all talk. My own defensive magic had drained me.

I watched as they dragged the dead bodies away before new witches circled me on the floor and clasped hands. I had to give it to them. They were committed to the cause. Their dead colleagues hadn't made them pause for even a minute.

When they started to chant, I watched the magic rise up above us and lock us into a funnel. Warily, I held my breath. What if I was wrong? What if there was a limit to how much magic I could withstand?

The magic paused and then hit me all at once. For a second, I thought my own blood was boiling from the inside out as my body tried to fight it off. Opening my mouth, I screamed, and then the world stilled.

"Honestly Anna, is this the best you can do? I raised you better than this."

At the sound of my father's voice, I groaned. I really did not need to spend my final moments with ghosts.

"Go away," I said tired. "I'm trying to focus on not dying here."

"All that magic is draining you. Wasn't even meant to be yours. You should have been a wolf. My wolf. Now look at you. All these things inside of you that you can't control, and now you're letting others manipulate it. Weak. So fucking weak."

"Great talk, Dad. Really. With all that motivation, I'm sure I can get up any minute, slaughter all these witches, and walk away."

"A mother does whatever she can for her child."

Oh, goodie. Now Katherine was here. We could have a party.

"I gave you a gift, Andrea."

"You locked away my magic and left me to fend for myself. What kind of gift is that?"

"And now you've gone and gotten knocked up with some other fucker's baby."

Strange how Emerson's voice didn't make me want to hurl anymore. I guess that's what happened when you help send them to their grave. I didn't even bother responding to him. I would have killed myself before I ever let him breed me.

The pain stopped, and I felt myself return to my body. I was so weak I couldn't even open my eyes, but I could tell from the angry whispers around me that their ritual was really not going to plan.

I guess I wasn't going to be purified for the ritual after all. Maybe they'll try again tomorrow.

A scream pierced the air. A familiar one, and for a second, I prayed that it was mine. I desperately hoped that I'd done the impossible and found the strength to open my mouth and release everything.

But it wasn't my scream, and I didn't have to open my eyes to know who it belonged to.

Maybe all hope was lost.

It was Lunessa.