Chapter 2

TOBIAS

If Maeve screamedand lashed out with shadows, I"d cope.

I can"t cope with this.

She"s silent, not here or with us, her mind behind a barrier that blinds me as much as Andrei"s star-bright eyes earlier. The Winterfall is in control—the magic and the girl.

I"d braced myself as the car crunched along the gravelled driveway, the sound like gunfire heralding her arrival, because I didn"t know what to expect.

Now, as Maeve and Jamie stand in the hallway that Andrei once almost ran from, I look from the impassive girl to the pale-faced Jamie. The unwelcome dark evening behind them silhouettes the pair, but they"re walking into something much darker than the night holds.

Jamie shakes his head as Maeve walks slowly across the tiles towards me and Ash, and I steel myself, but there"s no barrage of emotion to overwhelm my mind. She"s closed me out. All of us.

Dropping her rucksack on the floor, Maeve turns to me, and her inscrutable eyes meet mine. "Is Andrei dead?" she asks evenly.

Jamie moves and attempts to take her hand and she pulls away, clasping both behind her back. There"s little other magic around her; Maeve funnelled all the energy she has into creating this version of herself.

"Answer me, Tobias," she says equally calmly when I don"t respond.

"No."

A single blink. "Is he dying?"

"We don"t know."

Her breath catches, but the stillness remains. "We? Is it here? That creature?"

I nod. "But be careful. Don"t?—"

"Don"t attack it?" This almost robotic girl remains emotionless. "I don"t want to die too, but I want to talk to it."

It.The First isn"t "her" and never was.

"I need a drink," says Jamie hoarsely and turns towards the kitchen, the hand he places on the door handle shaking. Guilt hits me. I"m so focused on Maeve"s response that I"ve barely considered how this news affects Jamie, too.

Earlier, Ash walked away the moment I told him about Andrei, and I heard his phone sound a couple of times somewhere close by. Then he left the house. Now, I don"t even know if he"s still on the estate.

Maeve"s head snaps around to the kitchen. "I can hear its heartbeat."

She doesn"t push her way past Jamie, in no rush as she steps after him. "Maeve," I say and try to touch her.

"Please don"t," she says and glances back at me before she walks into the kitchen.

The loathing I have for the creature intensifies with every interaction between her and us. Yes, the First warned us about the risks, but she manipulated a guy drowning in emotions he couldn"t comprehend or control. Something"s behind this decision—why else would she stay and harm Andrei in this way?

Unless we"re sport.

That hatred cements further when I see the First resting casually against the counter, dressed in simple black leggings and blue jumper swamping her figure.

Maeve"sclothes.

"How was your trip, Maeve?" the First asks and sets down a glass of orange juice.

"What have you done to Andrei?" Maeve replies calmly.

"Oh? Questions already? You"ve only just arrived." The First pulls out a chair and sits. "I waited. I"ve noticed you all like meeting in the kitchen and discussing what to do—including plans for me."

The First wouldn"t give me any answers earlier when I confronted the creature about the state of Andrei. Instead, the First sighed and insisted I wait because ‘she' couldn"t be bothered to repeat herself, as if it"s a boring story not worth telling twice.

What could I do? Nothing but contain the tangled emotions that urged me to attack the First, knowing I"d die too if I lifted a hand against the creature.

"Did you force the blood on Andrei? He"d agreed to wait," says Maeve and rests against the wall.

"Why do you all think I"d force the boy? No. This was more of a "now or never" situation for him. I'm leaving for a few days and can"t guarantee I"ll return before your time is up and Gabriella dies. I offered him the vial of my blood; he accepted and chose to drink."

I stiffen. Manipulated. Forced.

"Is Andrei dying?" asks Maeve.

As she speaks, Jamie drags a chair to the other side of the room and steadies himself as he sits. I move to stand beside him and place a hand on his shoulder, lending support and aid from the pneuma, although taking on others" distress isn"t helping me cope with mine.

"I told you all that"s a possibility. Andrei knew he had choices and accepted the risks, Maeve Winterfall."

"That isn"t an answer."

When the First shrugs, the anger that pulses from Jamie almost sees me throw some of my own at the creature. "Andrei survived the purging. That"s better than some hemia in the past."

"The blood he vomited?" I ask and a muscle twitches in Maeve"s jaw.

"Yes, and evidently enough remains for his heart to beat. That"s a positive." The First takes the juice and sips. "Right?"

"And does Andrei need more blood now?" asks Maeve. "Will that fix him?"

"Fix?" The First chuckles. "Not necessarily, but as he"s hemia, Andrei might want blood if he survives."

I clench my teeth together. So fucking casual.

"What happens next? Because if Andrei is suffering as he dies, you stop that. Now," says Maeve, deadly serious.

"And if he"s suffering but might not die?" the First asks.

Jamie sucks air through his teeth. "Fuck you," he snarls, and I grip his shoulder.

"Excuse me?" snaps the First.

"Stop the fucking games. You destroyed the Winterfall and Blackwood grimoires. You did this to Andrei to destroy Maeve. Us." Jamie"s voice shakes. "You could"ve just killed us all and Gabriella instead of whatever the fuck you"re doing instead."

"No. I did this to protect myself." The First licks juice from its lips and sets down the glass, and I prepare to intervene as the creature approaches Maeve. "And now killing Gabriella won"t kill Andrei."

"If he survives," says Maeve flippantly.

"Yes. And if Andrei does survive, he"s tied to me. If you attempt to weaken or trap me, Andrei will experience the same result." The First waves a hand. "If I"m unable to move or act, Andrei won"t be able to either. As long as I"m restrained, he"s in stasis."

"What does that mean?" I ask sharply.

The First points upwards. "Andrei would be as he is now, and for the whole time I"m trapped. Now, that would probably kill him. The boy"s body couldn"t cope."

Surely now Maeve will respond with something because Jamie"s on the verge of laying fists into the First. A new horror raises hairs on my neck—for Andrei to live, we can never capture the First and trap the creature away from the world. As Gabriella had to live to save Andrei from death, now the First needs to stay free to avoid a living death for him.

"Quite frankly, I"m sick of the years I"m repeatedly bound by witches, and I stumbled on the ideal solution. Even if you could find Winterfall and Blackwood magic elsewhere to restrain me, the Winterfall wouldn"t help because she"d harm her lover. Maeve"s the last Winterfall and would never perform a spell against me now."

"That depends on what you"re planning to do," she replies evenly. "Everything happening is bigger than him. Us. I could decide to help against you, and his state wouldn"t matter."

The First scoffs. "Why not take the opportunity to live that I"m offering? Jamie"s right. I could"ve killed you. Still can."

Games. Why, why, why? Is she a predator playing with her food? There"s no reason the First can"t march in and take out Gabriella, even with this plot against Andrei to neuter the Winterfall. Unless there is a reason and the First's fooling us, and we"re the ones trapped this time.

Maeve moistens her lips, a small tell that she's with us. "You strongly believe Andrei will live if you planned this."

The First leans closer, but Maeve doesn"t flinch. "Or strongly believe that if he dies, his death will destroy you. Either way, I win."