55. Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-Five

Evelyn

T he weight of all they learned left Evelyn floaty, as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. No—they hadn’t learned exactly how to break the curse or defeat the Blood Goddess, but the entirety of the prophecy was something worth returning home with.

She and the team stayed the night with Sven and Opal. One glance at Tovi holding her niece and nephew, and Kade had suggested it. No one felt inclined to take her from the new family she’d met, the green in her jade eyes the brightest it’d been since Evelyn had met her.

That evening, they’d sat around the fireplace on cushions and blankets with Opal’s wild mushroom stew and Sven’s br?léed custard. They laughed, told stories, and played music. Tovi’s brother had the voice of a deep sea siren, captivating everyone with tales of shadows and lost loves.

It wasn’t long before the estate’s clock chimed midnight. Juni and Bryn had fallen asleep on Tovi, and through Evelyn’s drowsy haze as Kade led her to their room, she swore her once friend didn’t appear ready to leave them.

As Evelyn fell asleep in Kade's arms, she thought perhaps light against darkness came in many forms. Family, love, forgiveness . The very thing she hoped to earn with her sisters. Her tangible effort sat on the bedside table. Folded neatly, Opal had written the prophecy down for her. She brushed her fingers over it, the inked words the most coveted finding.

Hours later, a red tinge roused her from sleep. Lids heavy, muscles aching, Evelyn hadn’t slept for long. When her eyes sprang open, red lit their room in an eerie glow. Past the night overcast, the moon, now glowing a brutal crimson, burned in the sky. Darkness, horrid and wrong, clawed against Evelyn’s magic, hissing.

The Blood Moon.

“Kade!” She pushed him awake, springing out of bed.

“What?” He blinked awake, eyes widening at the room drenched in red. “Shit. Wake the others.”

But Kade and Evelyn found the others had already risen. Sven and Opal’s estate turned into madness as the team hurried outside. Every inch of snow had shifted from white to red, painting Drystan in the likeness of the Blood Goddess’s namesake. The winter winds had weakened, leaving the air far too still.

Evelyn exhaled, her breath blooming like clouds. The pines tilted, and loose snow twirled upward. Dark magic and licorice invaded her senses and prickled her skin. Her stare met Belle’s, the only fellow witch among them who might've felt it, too.

“Kade—”

A force blasted against them all, and Evelyn flew. She landed with a thud in the snow. Her vision blurred. Her hearing rang. Someone roared her name. Ahead of her, something pink and small screamed. Evelyn blinked, her sights focusing on Linx. A vampyr held her by the throat.

“Remember these, mage bitch,” he hissed.

He held one of Linx’s explosives in an outstretched hand—one that must’ve not gone off during their attack on the fighting rings. Linx writhed and clawed at his grip, her face turning an awful shade of blue.

Evelyn rose and flared her flame, reaching a tendril of fire straight into the vampyr’s back. He screeched in pain, dropping Linx. The mage’s eyes ran with tears, but she grasped the explosive out of his hand. He didn’t care. He was too concerned with his cloak engulfed in flame. Frantic, he tore it off, but his tunic and flesh festered a painful shade of red where Evelyn’s flame had reached.

Around them, the rest of the Gray Fenris fought other vampyrs. Sven cried to Opal to get the children inside. Lou ushered to help. Arrows punctured the chest of a vampyr fighting Bétar, the Gray Fenris archer unseen, but her shots landing true. Evelyn’s heart raced in her chest as she searched for Kade.

Linx, Todd, Bétar, Tovi…

She counted some, but fucking flames, where was he?

There.

Eight feet of furred, rippling muscles stalked a vampyr into the corner. Eldrick paced by his side, unshifted, axe drawn. Fighting ensued, and the Drengr brothers worked in sync as they slayed vampyrs.

Wind howled through the clearing, unfurling Evelyn’s hair. Red dust fluttered and flung in a twister. Riven and Ingrid stepped through the estate’s gate, and the prince’s sights landed on her. How had he found them?

Evelyn pulled her staff free of her bun. It elongated in her hand, flushing against her palm in beautiful familiarity. She cast her flame up it, power dancing and twirling from the ancient bone.

She tilted her head, egging Riven to attack. Adrenaline thrummed through her as she widened her stance, facing her foe head-on. They weren’t in Drystan Castle. She was no longer his prisoner, and she’d make sure she killed him before he could threaten anyone else she loved ever again.

Riven unsheathed a black metal sword, the power of the weapon ringing through the clearing. More dark magic. Rage unleashed through Evelyn, and she bellowed a cry. For Kade. For her sisters. For herself. Riven readied for her attack, and his blade reflected the snow like silver against charcoal .

Evelyn unleashed a wave of flame with her staff. Riven deflected her blow. One after the other. His sword matched her ferocity, the magic weaved in the blade an equal against her own. She aimed a fiery blast at his feet. Snow steamed as it melted near his boots. Riven moved . His vampyr speed propelled his steps left to right over and over, Evelyn’s attacks missing him by inches. He turned and slashed his sword. The metal rang through the air as she pivoted, the whoosh of the blade leaving her cold and breathless.

Dragon bone collided with Riven’s blade. Evelyn pushed, and Riven’s boots slid through the snow. A boom like the crack of thunder rocked through them. He faltered. Evelyn spun, advancing this time harder, swifter. She hit the center of his sword while he still regained his footing. He was off balance, distracted, and blasted backwards into the snow.

Wind tickled Evelyn’s ankles, and she deflected a wave of power from Ingrid. She locked eyes with Evelyn and blasted a wave of wind, throwing her through the air. Her flame went out as she landed hard, yards away. Her staff clattered out of her hand.

Righting herself with one foot behind her, the other out front, Evelyn stood her ground in a lunge, fighting the pain. She forgot her staff and splayed her fingers, letting her flame come forth again. In the proximity of Ingrid’s encroaching wind, it danced and twisted to overshadow the dark with light.

She inhaled, exhaled, and attacked.

The witches sparred, ribbons of wind and flame tangling together. Each winced against the blows, the magic reaching to their souls feeling the impact of each attack.

A blast from Ingrid pushed Evelyn back, her boots skidding in the snow. No. She refused to lose. Fire, anger, resolve burned in her so hot and fierce, her eyes shined with it. She launched. Evelyn’s power ballooned and spread against Ingrid’s burst of wind. The witch held true until—

A blast of water, ice, and snow collided into her, throwing Ingrid into the air. Belle stood at a distance, hands open and splayed, the water around them bending at her will. Pride shot through Evelyn at the sight, and she nodded towards Belle.

Around them, fighting continued. Tovi and Eldrick battled side by side, a refreshing sight. The Gray Fenris held firm, but blood still painted the snow—drenched Sven and Opal’s acres of peace in darkness. And vampyrs blocked Kade’s path to Evelyn, his face contorted with rage.

“Surrender, Evelyn, and maybe I’ll let them all live.” Riven dragged his blade through the snow.

Ingrid rose, glaring at her sister. She wheeled her hands in the air. Wind picked up and up to reveal a glimpse into another place—a danu . The darkness of the Drystan dungeons waited on the other side.

Not until the land is cast in red, a new dawn will rise.

Opal’s earlier words tickled Evelyn's memory. She didn’t have the faintest idea how the prophecy worked or what the words meant, but if they had even the slightest chance of figuring it out, she couldn’t let Riven capture her again. She’d never let that happen. And perhaps, a new dawn that rose could be of her choosing, not the Blood Goddess’s.

All Evelyn had was hope and belief. It ran through her veins, fiery, hot, and powerful . And this resolve to face her fears fueled her spirit and lit her soul. The next time she set foot in her homeland and saw her sisters, they’d know it. See it, too. Because she wouldn’t let Riven win. Not now, not ever.

Riven’s desperation to succeed slid across her skin like the dark magic Ingrid wielded.

Magic.

A wild, reckless idea sparked inside Evelyn.

Their plans. The spell. Allowing vampyrs to walk in the sunlight. Her blood. They needed the magic in it. Not her exactly.

The prince advanced, and Evelyn swiped one last mighty wave of flame. He screeched, dropping his sword and clutching his right eye. Steam and the scent of burning flesh wafted in the air .

Evelyn dove left, her insides flipping backwards. The idea. Her anxiety. Reckless . Perhaps, but in the end, the Blood Goddess’s wishes hinged on the light in Evelyn’s magic. What if she robbed them of the possibility?

It hides what you are, who you are.

She grasped the bloodstone she still wore. The light of her flame disintegrated the remaining setting Ingrid had created, leaving only the red stone. The power of fallen gods sang to her soul.

It can hide a curse. Hide magic of any kind.

“What are you doing?” Ingrid shouted.

Evelyn tightened her hand, crying out from the pain. She gritted her teeth, ignored the sweat prickling at her brow.

In, in, in.

She chanted, she sang. She cried to the Sun Goddess for help and will and strength, pushing her magic, her flame into the stone to hide it from those who wished to use it against her.

“No!” Ingrid’s cry almost broke through her maddening attempt.

Then her soul ripped. A knife, red and glossy like the bloodstone, reached and snatched a tendon of her soul and sucked it into the enchanted gem. Blinding pain seared through her.

Evelyn screamed.