Chapter Thirty-Five （Hex Queen）

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE (HEX QUEEN)

HAZEL

The walls shook again. Was Zero literally ripping this place apart to find the Supra official?

I massaged my temples. Zero needed our help. I couldn't leave here without him. If for whatever reason I couldn't convince Coral to help, or if she couldn't help us, what would I do?

There was no question. I'd stay here forever. I came here looking for freedom but it was never about freedom in that way. It was about being able to find what I'd craved my entire life—companionship. I'd found it and I wasn't losing it again. I didn't want to feel what I had when I thought I'd lost Gonzo and Zero.

I shoved the cat in Bree's arms and looked up at the room numbers.

"Okay," I said, pulling out the group therapy list. Ward A, room twenty-three. "What's the chances of her being protected?" I asked, shoving the list back into my top.

"Coral isn't the leader by popularity," Bree said. "I don't think any of the other witches like her. She's the creepiest and if I had to guess, the strongest." I nodded as I led them to our destination. I'd never led a team before. I was a lone killer. It felt uncomfortable, like clothing I wasn't used to. I looked down at my dress, remembering how weird I felt the first time I wore it. But now it was the only thing I wanted to wear. Maybe this was who I was always supposed to be, someone who was part of something—not a lone wolf.

"This should be fairly easy then," I said, twisting down A ward and eyeing the room numbers.

"What will be easy?" Bree asked. I stomped up to the door and slammed my boot into it. It flung open with a crack. Coral was sitting criss-cross in the middle of her room. I leapt in and reached for her with excitement. Then I stopped mid-lunge, locked in decision paralysis.

"Wait, what do I do if I don't want to kill her?" I asked over my shoulder. Coral leaned over and looked through her purple hair at the others. She didn't seem awfully concerned.

"Threaten her?" Baz asked.

"Dominate her," Nemo said.

"Maybe talking might be a good first step," Orson sighed.

"Talking! Good thinking," I said with a big smile. I lunged forward and put her in a chokehold. She kicked and clawed at my arm around her neck. Then she passed out and I released her.

"Is that how people talk outside of Verfallen?" Baz asked curiously. I grabbed Coral and threw her over my shoulder.

"Group therapy time," I chirped, marching past them.

Coral woke up in the hydrotherapy room, thrashing in a lukewarm bathtub.

"How nice of you to finally join us," I said.

"Us?" She asked. She looked around at the decaying corpses of our peers. Then she leaned over the bathtub and threw up. My brother and his friends were waiting outside, making sure no one bothered us. The earthquakes and hissing static inside Verfallen was putting everyone on edge.

The place had gone a week with barely anyone in the halls. Now no one wanted to stay in their room, as if sensing the next big thing about to happen. As if on cue the building shook again and dust fell from the ceiling.

I pulled the group therapy list from my top and looked at Coral's least preferred way to die. Conveniently, being buried alive was pretty easy. I could just toss her under a pile of corpses. It was close enough and likely even more horrifying.

"I'm not a smooth talker," I said. "So unfortunately I'm going to rely on my other talents."

"Killing?" She asked, eyes bulging.

"That's the one!" I said. I pulled out my stickers, ripped off a gold star, and stuck it on her hand. She swallowed.

"But I'm willing to leave you alone."

"What do you want?"

"Information. If there was a spell made by a powerful group of witches. How would I break it?"

"What kind of spell?" she asked. "What does it do?"

"It traps someone inside a certain area," I said. She frowned.

"Barrier spells are pretty weak. You just have to destroy the seal. Most are made with chalk or ash, something easy to get rid of."

"No, this isn't like that. It's permanent…" Zero thought that even if the walls crumbled he'd still be here. "Something in the ground maybe." Coral's eyes widened.

"That's different." She looked me up and down. "What do I get if I help you?"

"Your life? I think I made that clear."

"Fine," she blew out a breath. "A permanent barrier spell will mean a metal circle was laid into the ground. You need to find that and destroy it."

"Just break the metal?"

"Yeah, unless it's copper. Then you're fucked."

"Why?" I Asked. Her eyes widened wildly as she looked at me through dirty strands of hair.

"Because no one is ever willing to sacrifice what it takes."

"What would need to be sacrificed?" I asked.