Page 56 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

Magical ones.

I’d have to be smart about how I used them, but if there was one thing you learned as a witch, it was how to think outside the box.

Or to be extremely creative inside it, I supposed.

Vera and Madison glared at the man who sat down in the seat Cecil had taken moments earlier. The phlebotomist had a bunch of equipment—needles, blood bags, and so on.

It didn’t take long before he was wiping my inner elbow with alcohol and pulling out a needle.

I casually slipped a pin from my hair. The moment he slid the needle into my skin, I pricked a small cut on my outer thigh, away from everyone’s view.

His nostrils flared at the scent of my blood, but I knew I’d timed it right.

Vampires were experts when it came to blood, but I had plenty of my own experience.

While he slowly filled a bag, I sketched a careful rune on my leg, anchoring it to the slice of orange hanging on the glass of my barely touched mimosa. Edible plants were rarely used as anchors, but they did work.

The parts of the rune were simple, but together, they created complex magic.

Most witches would never even consider needing to achieve what I was crafting.

I finished the final aspect of it just before the man sealed the first bag, handing it to someone who came over to take it.

He filled another bag.

And another.

And another.

Every vampire who worked with Cecil was going to have a very rude awakening, because I was pretty damn sure he wouldn’t be keeping all of the blood for himself. Not on an island that was full of people running from both human and supernatural law enforcement.

Whether or not they had ever been criminals, they wanted to use me and hand me over to the other witches. That would literally cost me my life. So, I didn’t feel bad for the karma that was about to hit them.

I could barely see straight when they finally walked away with all of the bags of my blood. I felt drunk—super drunk—and was leaning heavily against the armrest of my chair.

One by one, the vampires in the restaurant slipped away. As soon as they were gone, Madison and Vera were both at my sides, holding me up.

“I’ll get food and water,” Vera said. “Can you keep her steady?”

“Of course.”

Vera rushed away.

Madison’s forehead creased as she saw the rune on my leg. “What’s that?”

“The vampires will find out soon,” I mumbled.

Madison barked out a laugh. “Fuck, yes.”

Vera was back with a massive plate of food pretty quickly, and a few glasses of water and juice.

They went back to their seats when I slowly started eating, though they both watched me closely.

“Can we tell Liam?” Vera asked.

“Nah. He’ll find out.” I sagged against the back of my chair, unable to finish even half of the food she’d brought out. When I slid it across the table, the other women gave me a minute to change my mind before they dug in too.

I fought off sleep, waiting quietly in my chair.