Chapter 24

‘Her charms are broken.' I hear Dorian gathering up the beads spilt across the floor. ‘She's been unprotected all night down here.'

‘They killed me. Cut me up and tore me apart.'

‘What did you say, Pixie?' Shaw asks, lowering my gag and giving me a shake.

I lift my head. It's as though I'm looking through water. Everything is distorted and blurred. Despite that, I see how Shaw visibly recoils at seeing my eyes.

‘Cut. Cut. Cut.' The words come from my mouth, but they're not mine and not in my voice. Neither is the deranged laugh.

The next thing I know, his hand is around my throat.

Inside, I'm afraid. But I laugh. It's such a laugh. One to have the blood in your veins run cold. It's full of cruelty and wickedness.

‘Get the fuck out of her!' he snarls, slamming my head into the wall. ‘You evil little cunt.'

Another whack, and everything shifts back into focus.

The sliced-up spirit faces the wall, naked and covered in cuts.

Dorian pushes Shaw aside and pulls my face away, forcing me to look at him.

‘Don't look at her. Look at me.'

‘Who is she?' I manage, my focus glued to her. ‘She was inside me.'

‘Look. At. Me.' His hold on my chin is absolute. I meet his gaze. ‘Of all the spirits you can channel, do not channel her.'

‘Can you fix the charms?' Archie asks, lingering by the door as he gathers the beads nearby. He keeps staring at me as if I'm about to explode. ‘I don't fancy seeing those eyes looking back at me again. Very keen to keep Pixie behind the reins.'

Dorian releases me and steps away to enchant his talismans. Shaw places down a stool and sits opposite me.

My gaze keeps drifting to the many spirits in the cell. None so much as the naked woman covered in cuts.

Dorian places his charms on my wrist and steps back.

The spirits fade. But the memories of their suffering have firmly taken root, settling with my own. I ache all over. My soul fucking hurts from my night in this hell hole.

‘Better?' Shaw asks.

Better? Fucking better?

‘We brought you some food.' Archie places a plate in front of me.

I kick it away.

‘Don't act like a child,' Archie sighs, looking at the spilt grapes and bread.

‘What happened to your charms?' Dorian asks. ‘All night with no protection, you must have seen-'

‘Let me out.'

‘What happened to your charms?' Shaw says firmly.

‘Your banshee. She broke them.'

‘If the banshee broke your charms, then she'll be punished.'

‘If?' I repeat hatefully, trying hard not to scream. ‘You think I'm lying?'

‘She'll be punished,' he assures me. ‘It won't happen again.'

‘That spirit. The woman. You know her,' I accuse through a clenched jaw.

I wish I could break free and rip their fucking throats out.

‘Your charms will protect you,' Shaw insists.

So many questions. No answers. Just orders and chains. Maybe if I'm calm. Sweet and pathetic. Perhaps then they'll take pity on me and let me out.

‘Can I have some warmer clothes? I'm freezing.' My bare legs and feet are numb, and my muscles ache from shivering.

‘Of course,' Shaw agrees. ‘Here.' He takes off his coat and rests it over my legs. I move away when he goes to sweep my hair from my face. He retakes his seat. ‘I'll get you some proper clothes in a moment. But first, we need to talk.'

‘Can we talk upstairs?' I try.

‘You'll run.' His brow furrows as I shift. ‘Where are you hurt?' He waits for my answer.

I nod to my side, and Archie kneels to lift my shirt. My skin is clear. Until he removes the glamour.

‘Shit,' he winces, running his fingers over my ribs. ‘Can you breathe properly?'

My side is riddled with bruising, and I can't get a full breath without doubling over in agony. He bites his wrist and offers me his blood. I seal my lips closed and lean back.

‘Drink. Heal.' He offers it again.

‘It makes me high.' I shake my head. ‘I need my head clear.'

With a sigh, he steps away, clearing my view to Shaw.

‘Please let me out, Shaw.'

‘You'll try to run again.'

‘I won't.'

‘They can't know, Pixie. My people can't know what you are or what we've done. If I take you upstairs, you'll tell them. You'll try to run.' I shake my head, but he smiles sadly. ‘I know you pretty well, and I know you will try to run away from us again. And we will catch you. You'll get hurt.' He glances at my side and shifts to the edge of his seat. ‘Again.' He rests his elbows on his knees, watching me closely. ‘You're going to listen to me.'

‘Why do you have my snake?'

‘Because it realised we were a danger to you. When this is over, and it no longer sees us as a threat, we will return her. I promise. Now, will you listen to what we have to say?'

I nod. What other choice do I have? I'm so fucking angry. So trapped and scared. I'm unable to think straight. But worse is this strange sense of betrayal, which is a foolish feeling. They kidnapped me. How can I be surprised I've ended up down here?

‘I'm listening.'

He places a book in my lap.

‘What… what is that?' I ask.

‘I think you already know.'

I stare at the thick, leather-bound book. Power hums from it. Dark power. A thick and heavy vibration of menacing magic. I feel a pull. A call. A promise.

Strength. Power. Magic.

It's a song. One sung from the pages straight to the darkest part of my soul, luring me in. It's made of human skin. Written in the blood of the innocent. Of children.

‘The blood coven Grimoire,' I whisper, almost too afraid to acknowledge it aloud.

It wasn't the earth grimoire they were worried about losing. It was this monstrosity. And the items… my father, Kieran and Thalia.

‘Yes,' Shaw confirms, looking at it. ‘It belonged to Neve Hella. The Blood Queen.'

I buck it away, staring at it with terror. Its pages fall open. The dark words shimmer. Words written in the blood of witch children.

‘It's evil. Complete evil.' I search his eyes, desperate to see some understanding. ‘I don't understand. Why do you have this?'

He reaches over and picks it back up, holding it between us.

‘One spell, Ashe. That's all I need you to do. One spell, and we're free.'

‘Free?'

‘Dorian, Archie and me. You will free us, and in doing so, you will free yourself, too. Look.' He opens the grimoire, showing me a double spread of images, symbols and words. ‘This spell will free us from the curse Neve and her coven placed on us. With it removed, we will no longer need your blood to access our powers. You can be free, Ashe.' He smiles as if this is the most fantastic news ever.

‘That's all the spell will do?' I ask.

He doesn't answer but looks uneasy.

‘Taking a beating heart from another is not a simple spell, Shaw. I don't believe you.'

‘Blood magic destroyed us, Ashe,' Shaw says. ‘In every way. It destroyed so much and so many. Neve and her sisters didn't just curse us. They tormented us. Had us on a leash for decades before we got strong enough to turn on them. To break away long enough to join those who stood against them.' He pales, remembering that part of his life. True horror is all I see him reliving. ‘We were powerful creatures who lived free in nature before they caught us. Now we need the blood of a blood witch to access our magic and we have to feed off humans so we don't grow weak and feeble. Neve and her coven made us…' He swallows dryly. ‘No one should have to go through what we went through.'

‘I lived deep in the ageless forests beyond the sea,' Archie says, a wistful smile on his lips. ‘I'd run with my pack for days. There are trees so thick it would take an hour to circle the trunk. Moss would grow as deep as your knees. There were flowers that would have you smiling for hours in bliss.' His eyes glaze in blissful memories.

‘Pack?' I ask. ‘There were more of you?'

‘They're dead now. Neve and her sisters killed them. Slaughtered them, destroyed our forests, and took me.'

‘Why?'

‘Because Sinthia, Neve's youngest sister and third in command of the coven…' He can't even look at me as he says her name. ‘Because she liked my face. And she wanted to see how long it would take to rid me of my smile.'

‘I was with Neve herself.' I look at Shaw. ‘She cursed me three years before Archie and Dorian. The curse makes it impossible for us to use our magic without their blood, and it makes us crave human blood, which was perfect for Neve because we were happy to slaughter humans to satisfy our cravings. We became addicted to them. Willing to do anything to get their blood so we could use our powers. It took years to get the strength to sacrifice our magic and break away from their hold. To get the blood thirst under control. We joined the humans and the other covens. Led them as vampires. Creatures known only to history as blood drinkers and strong immortals. Those who stood against Neve were desperate for any aid, so they welcomed us. We demanded blood in exchange. We demanded freedom and money, which they gave.' He sighs heavily. ‘But blood from anything other than a blood witch is just sustenance. Like you living off water. We lost our magic. Lost what made us who we were. We were empty, unable to access the part of us that made us whole. We thought that killing them would undo the curse. It didn't. And with them dead, we had no idea how to undo what they did to us. Imagine living like that, Pixie. Starving and missing your soul.'

‘I can't live without free access to my wolf any longer,' Archie admits. He meets my gaze. ‘My wolf is my soul, Ashe. It's half of me. When I can't shift, it's as though I can't breathe. I can't feel. I'm hollow.'

‘It's the same for all of us,' Dorian adds. ‘Without your blood, the shadows suffocate me.'

‘We can't keep you locked away like this for the rest of your life.' Shaw leans in close, resting his forehead against mine. Such sincerity shines through them. Such desperation. ‘Your blood has given us all back our souls. But it's getting harder and harder to control ourselves. There are three of us, Pixie. And each one of us wants to drain you dry. You will die if we don't lift this curse. We will wish for death if we have to go back to living without our magic. Will you help us?'

‘Blood magic is evil. Look at what it demands. My father's heart was still beating right in front of you. And all the other organs? The eyes? The tongue? You killed Kieran. When did you even grab Thalia? Is she still alive?'

‘We took her as you slept in the carriage as we returned home. She's alive. For now.'

‘You took her after you blew sleep dust in my face?'

‘Yes.'

‘Will you let her go?'

He shakes his head.

‘Nothing good can come from such evilness. It will change me. Make me twisted, just like Sinthia, Dhalia and Neve. You get your souls back, and I lose mine. I become the thing you hate. The thing you kill.'

‘It's a risk we have to take.'

I pull back, away from his touch.

‘And if I agree? I do this spell. Break your curse. Will you let me go?'

His lips seal together as he looks deep into my soul.

‘You won't, will you?'

‘You're too dangerous to be free,' he says. ‘We can never let a blood witch go.'

‘You'll kill me.'

‘No,' Dorian says.

Archie and Shaw all shake their heads, too.

‘We'll keep you. You'll be safe and watched. We'll make sure you don't hurt anyone.'

‘Will I stay in the cells? Locked up? Hidden away?'

‘We'll give you every freedom when you see that being with us is best for you. You will be killed if you're discovered. And we swore not to let that happen.'

‘You can't keep me locked up down here.' I pull at the chain. ‘Let me out!'

‘There's a celestial event in two days. The end of a star cycle, which will give the final spark the spell needs,' Shaw says over my struggling. ‘After that, we'll see how you are and make a choice.'

‘A choice to keep me locked up or not? A choice on if you let me live or kill me because you made me a monster?'

‘If you keep your soul, we'll let you out.'

‘And if I don't?' I stare at him, hating every fucking inch of his infuriatingly beautiful face. ‘You make me do a spell that will drive me to darkness, and as punishment, you will lock me up?'

‘You're strong. You've used blood magic, and you're still you. You have a phenomenal connection to earth magic. You may come out of this with a soul.'

I spit in his face. Slowly, he wipes it away and flashes me a furious stare.

‘If I lose my soul in your pursuit of power, I will become your worst fucking nightmare,' I warn.

‘You'll die if we keep taking from you, Ashe. One of us, maybe you would live. But all three of us craving you? You won't last until winter. Our cravings are getting stronger. We can't be responsible for killing you, and even if by some miracle you did survive us, we're ageless. You aren't. When you die, we'll lose your blood.'

‘Then spare everyone and go cut out whatever counts as your fucking hearts.'

‘So, you refuse to help us?'

I sit back in silence, staring into his dark eyes.

He stands.

‘We have no other choice,' he says. 'I'm sorry.'

‘I was always going to be your pixie, wasn't I?' I ask him. ‘Tied up. Torn apart for your own desires. And left begging for death.'

He remains silent as he watches me. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but nothing comes out.

All three leave, locking the door behind them.

Time loses all meaning. There's no light. No windows.

No freedom.

I'm given a bucket to relieve myself, a mattress and blankets, warm clothes and candles. They feed me, refusing to leave me unattended with the gag out and insisting that I don't allow myself to starve.

They refuse to let me out even when I tell them I will do the spell. They don't trust me. They're right, too. I'd break out as soon as I could. They won't risk it.

My mind often wonders to what they're doing out there as they wait for this celestial event. Are they just carrying on like they were before? With their parties by the fire? With their human pets to play with?

I close my eyes. Silent tears slide down my cheeks. With each deep breath, I force my thoughts and doubts into submission.

Images of them making me food spring to life in my mind. Memories of the space they made under the bed for me.

I've not known much kindness in my life.

I never expected to find it here, no matter how short-lived it was.

It wasn't real. None of it.

I'm a blood whore. Their pixie. Trapped and slowly taken apart for pleasure, just as the pixie I freed from them was.

When the door opens, Shaw is sliding on his coat. He's fully armed and looks determined.

‘It's time,' he says before leaning down and blowing sleep dust into my face.

I slump, sinking into the scent of lavender and the sound of waves.

Knowing that my life will never be the same when I wake up.