38. Adelaide

38

ADELAIDE

The stone circle looms before us, ancient and imposing in the moonlight. Each monolith stands like a silent sentinel, their weathered surfaces etched with the passage of countless years. Unseen energies snap and fizz in the air, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. We've gathered all the ingredients - the Moonshade herb, still faintly glowing with its unnatural light; the phoenix ash, warm to the touch even now; and the vial of sacred water, shimmering with hidden power. Each one was hard-won, but now comes the real challenge.

Zaiah pores over the ancient book, his white eyes scanning the pages intently. It pulses with energy, the ink shifting and swirling on the yellowed pages as if alive. "Right," he says, looking up at us. "I think I've deciphered the instructions for the ritual. It's complex, to say the least."

I nod, steeling myself. To say I'm shitting myself would be an understatement, but we are on this path, and nothing can veer us off it now. "Walk us through it," I say, my voice steadier than I feel.

Zaiah takes a deep breath, his form shimmering slightly as he taps into his djinn powers. "We need to prepare the circle first. Adelaide, you'll need to draw specific runes at each cardinal point. They'll act as anchors for the magickal energies we'll be channelling."

He shows me a series of intricate symbols in the book. They shift and dance before my eyes, alive and nervous. Each one is a complex web of lines and curves, some sharp and angular, others flowing and organic. They speak of ancient power, of cosmic forces beyond mortal comprehension, or even immortal comprehension. I haven't got a fucking clue.

"And I'm guessing one tiny mistake could blow us all to kingdom come?" I ask, only half-joking.

Zaiah nods grimly, his eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. "Or worse. These runes are conduits for immense power. A misdrawn line could tear a hole in reality itself."

"Fabulous," Ignatius mutters, a nervous flame dancing between his fingers. "No pressure, then."

Corvus steps forward, a piece of chalk in his hand. His cool fingers linger on mine as he passes it to me, a silent gesture of support and encouragement. "You've got this, Dollie," he says softly, his blue eyes meeting mine with unwavering confidence.

I take a deep breath, the crisp night air filling my lungs. The chalk feels heavy in my hand, more than it should. As I approach the first stone, the magick in the air thickens, pressing against my skin like a physical force.

Zaiah steps up beside me with the book, holding it up so that I can copy it exactly. Raising the chalk, I feel a strange sensation. The rune flows onto the surface as if it's always been there, just waiting to be revealed. Each line and each curve feels right, as if I'm not creating the symbol as much as uncovering it.

"Whoa," I breathe, stepping back to examine my work. The rune pulses with a faint inner light, shimmering in the moonlight. It's a glimpse into a world of power and mystery that attracts but unnerves the fuck out of me.

"Perfect," Zaiah says, his eyes wide with surprise and a hint of awe. "How did you...?"

I shrug, moving to the next stone. The chalk feels warm in my hand now, almost alive. "It's like the runes were already there, waiting, and I just uncovered them. Or more like she did."

"Take some credit, babes," Zaiah says. "You give her way too much of it. This is you, not her."

Smiling, I don't reply. It's great that he thinks that, but I know, deep in my core, that this isn't me, as much as I'd like it to be.

As I continue drawing the runes, I can feel the magick building around us. Each completed rune adds to the power, creating a web of energy that I can see shimmering in the air.

Crimson stirs in the back of my mind, her presence a constant reminder of what's at stake. Her essence feels different now, less antagonistic and more, I want to say, nervous, but somehow, that doesn't feel right.

You ready for this, little bitch?

"As ready as I'll ever be," I mutter, my hand steady as I complete another intricate symbol from Zaiah's book.

"What was that?" Zephyr asks. My Dark Fae prince looks on edge, his purple eyes darting between the runes and the surrounding darkness.

I shake my head, focusing on the task at hand. "Nothing. Just concentrating." I can feel Zephyr's gaze linger on me for a moment before it flicks away, scanning the forest around us.

When I complete the final rune, the energy in the circle is buzzing. The symbols glow with an ethereal light, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. The air within the circle feels different, charged with potential. We're standing in a bubble separate from the rest of the world, a place where the laws of reality are more flexible.

"Djinn magick," I murmur in awe. This is how it must feel for Zaiah all the time. It's incredibly seductive, and I eye him up in even more awe than before. "Now what?" I whisper. The power humming through the circle makes me want to speak softly, as if a loud noise might shatter the delicate balance we've created.

Zaiah consults the book again, his fingers tracing the lines of text as he reads. "Now, we need to place the ingredients at specific points in the circle. The Moonshade goes in the north, the phoenix ash in the south, and the sacred water in the east."

As we position the ingredients, I can feel the energies shifting and aligning. Pieces of a cosmic puzzle fall into place. The Moonshade glows brighter as Ignatius places it at the northern point, its silvery light beating in harmony with the runes. The phoenix ash, when Corvus sets it in the south, sends up a small plume of sparks, awakening. The sacred water, as Zephyr uncorks the vial in the east, ripples and shines even though there's no breeze to disturb it.

"Now the blood."

We each drip a few drops of blood on the ingredients as we move around the circle.

"And the west?" Corvus asks, noticing the empty point. His voice is tense, and I can see the concern in his eyes as he looks at me.

Zaiah's expression grows serious, his white eyes seeming to look through me rather than at me. "That's where Adelaide will stand. She's the final ingredient - the nexus through which all the energies will flow."

I gulp, suddenly scared and wanting to back out. The fate of all this rests on my ability to channel and direct these cosmic forces. Ignatius places a warm hand on my lower back, his touch comforting despite my nerves that are ready to snap. "You've got this, Addy."

I nod, but I can't speak. My voice box has frozen, and my hands shake uncontrollably.

As we take our positions around the circle, I feel a sense of destiny. Everything that's happened since I came to MistHallow - every trial, every revelation, every moment of joy and pain - has inextricably led to this moment. I look at each of my guys, these extraordinary beings who have become my world in such a short space of time. They're my anchor, my strength.

"What do we do?" Ignatius asks.

Zaiah gives him a stare that speaks volumes. "You don't let anything interrupt."

"Got it," he says after a beat.

"Everyone ready?" Zaiah asks, his eyes glowing with power. The book hovers in front of him, its pages fluttering in a non-existent breeze.

We all nod, our faces set with determination.

"Then let's begin," he says, turning the pages to the ritual's incantation.

As Zaiah begins to chant in an ancient language, I feel the energies of the circle surge. The runes flare brighter, and I can see threads of light connecting each of us to the ingredients we've placed. It's as if we're at the centre of a great web of power, each strand humming with potential, but all of them leading back to me.

I close my eyes, focusing on the power building within and around me. Crimson's presence grows stronger, her essence intertwining with mine in a way it never has before. There's no struggle now, no fight for dominance. Instead, it feels like two halves of a whole finally coming together.

I've got this, sister.

"Why don't I believe you?"

That's up to you. Stay the course. Don't panic.

"Panic?" If anything was going to make me panic, her telling me not to pretty much freaked me the fuck out.

Calm down! If you ruin this for me by being a pussy, I will make your life a living hell.

"And you're back."

Shut it and focus.

I ignore her acerbic tone and take a deep breath, centring myself as the magick builds to a crescendo.

As Zaiah's chanting grows louder and the sparks swirl around us, I open my eyes to see the fabric of reality ripple and warp. The stone circle pulses with an inner light, the runes I've drawn glowing brighter than ever. The air shimmers with power, and I can see the barriers between worlds thinning.

Suddenly, a bolt of energy shoots from each of the ingredients, converging on me at the western point of the circle. The impact nearly knocks me off my feet, but I stand my ground, gritting my teeth against the onslaught of power.

Crimson's essence swirls up, bursting through my consciousness. But instead of fighting it, I embrace it, letting our energies merge and flow together. It's exhilarating, but I'm scared shitless. It's like standing at the edge of a great precipice and choosing to jump or be killed by the monster chasing you.

As the ritual reaches its peak, I throw my head back, a primal scream tearing from my throat. Light explodes from my body, shooting up into the sky in a pillar of pure energy. The ground shakes beneath us, and I can hear the distant sound of reality groaning under the strain.

In that moment, suspended between worlds, I see everything - every possible future, every path not taken, every world that could be. It is terrifying, and I know that with a single thought, I could reshape it all.

The energy reaches a fever pitch, and for a moment, I think it might tear me apart. But then, suddenly, it stops. The light fades, the shaking subsides, and I'm left standing in the stone circle, gasping for breath.

I open my eyes, blinking as the world comes back into focus. The guys are staring at me, their expressions ones of horrified expectance. The circle around us is scorched, the grass withered and blackened. But beyond that, everything seems normal. Unchanged.

"Did it work?" I ask, my voice hoarse. "Did it?"