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The Council chamber was enormous, reminding me of the colosseum. Each council member had an allotted seat surrounding the center where they tried and executed witches for frivolous offenses. They must have rebuilt it after I blew it up.

I strutted to the middle of the chamber, smiling menacingly as each witch powered up their own magic. I held up a single finger, twirling it around, my arm lifted high. What did I have left to lose? Let’s find out what exactly a witch queen could do.I was about to unleash all that power that once terrified me.

“I will give you all one chance to come clean. One chance to confess the sins against me by this Council.”

There was a moment of silence before the first launch of power came hurtling toward me. On instinct, I threw my hand up. The bolt burned my hand slightly as I caught the magic for a moment before deflecting it. It landed on the ground a couple of feet from me and exploded. I pulled my magic into my hands, launching it back at the witch. I stopped myself from returning the lethal bolt. Instead, I pinned the witch to her seat and locked her power. I would not be like them.Damian was deserved, but I would not add to my tally of witch deaths.

I expected to feel some drag or energy drain at the spell, but I just felt invigorated. That was odd. With the kill strike to Alfonso in the dungeon and then a power bind, I would normally be on the ground, passed out. Yet, there was no flag in my power.

My rage burned through me, making my voice echo through the cavernous room. All the remaining witches’ eyes locked on me. “Anybody? No? Nobody here wants to confess to the cold-blooded murder of my parents? Executed to prevent me from claiming a title I had absolutely no interest in?”

The next bolt of power hit me in the shoulder, making me spin in a tight circle. I stopped myself from falling, crouching to steady myself. My long hair fell forward to cover my face, allowing me to hide an unsteady breath before I flipped it back. I shot a lethal glare at the source of the attack.

Sankt Hans, patriarch of the Hans line,his name whispered to me by Alfonso.

One of the eight witches who planned my demise and killed my parents. I powered up a lethal bolt into my hand but stopped myself a second before I launched it. I would become no better than them. That was not the path my parents or my goddess would have me take.

My brow furrowed with concentration as I dodged the next spell and launched another power-binding spell at the Hans line. The other witches finally seemed to break free of whatever daze held them suspended, some wisely heading for the exits. I watched as the fleeing witches immediately flooded back into the chamber. The sound of growls echoed through the room as werewolves prowled forward, cutting off the exits. I easily recognized Erik and his wolves, though the hurt from his betrayal only made my anger burn brighter. I thought I’d found a new family, a new life, a new place to belong, but it was all a lie.

The remaining witches powered up, throwing multiple spells at me at once. I darted between the first couple, but the third hit me in the side, making me spiral midair. I landed hard on the ground, and my hands flew up, projecting my shield. Several bolts of energy hit it hard, and for a moment, exhaustion overtook me. Then an infusion of strength,familiarstrength, flooded my body. Fuck, I was drawing on Lucien.

I gritted my teeth and threw both my hands out. My shield exploded, sending shards flying through the room, shorting out several spells. The wave of energy from within me shouldn’t have been that strong, but Lucien was that strong.

“As of today, I’m destroying this Council and reclaiming my birthright as witch queen.” There were several gasps of shock and outrage from around the room, some obviously not understanding what I was. They’d erased everything of my life, my line, trying to get rid of me. They wouldn’t get a chance to do so again.

A scream of rage alerted me to the next attack. A witch launched over the railing, intending to take me down. With a step to the side at the last second, I tripped her before she could touch me. Who knew those lessons with Lucien would come in handy?Pain flashed at the memories, and I pushed them away. I wouldn’t think of him.

“It was Alfonso’s idea! We just followed his orders!” the Ellis witch screamed, afraid of my demonstration of power. They’d never seen anything like this before. I’d never seen anything like it before.I spun on my heel, launching another binding spell, trapping and gagging the witch.

They were right to fear me. I was their reckoning. No other young witch would cower when summoned before them. No longer would they use these chambers to conceal their crimes. This was justice for every witch they’d executed because they thought them a threat.

Like my mother, my father, and me.

“How many of you venerated Council members agreed to kill my parents? How many of you agreed to execute me for a crime I was innocent of?”

Not that I needed the names, but I wanted to make sure those innocent in this festering cancer of hatred and jealousy understood why my vengeance would be so absolute.

Several witches watched me warily, their eyes wide with fear at my awesome power and horror at what I was revealing. Many likely didn’t know what the Council had done for years to maintain their power.

The lies ended today.

XXXVI

The Realm of Mortals.

Outside Austin, Texas.

I TUNNELED MY FINGERS THROUGH MY HAIR, struggling through my thoughts.If I didn’t get to her soon, they’d execute her. How did I get to her in time?

I recalled the look of agony on her face when she realized what I’d done. I couldn’t think about that. There would be time to make her understand once she was safe, but first, I needed to get to her.I tried to block out the memory of her words, how final they’d sounded. She thought I’d betrayed her.Another vampire to add to the list.

I had to stay focused if I was going to help Phoebe. The Witches Council chambers were in Salem. I’d never get there in time.She was never going to forgive me.If only I could rift like Phoebe, collapsing space to be by her side when she needed me.

I paced back and forth in front of the two gravestones, guilt ripping me apart. I did the very thing she feared.If I could just get to her, I could make it right.

“Well, you’ve made a real mess this time,” a familiar voice said from behind me.

Cassandra’s words had me lunging forward, grabbing the Oracle by her shoulders. I knew my fingers were likely leaving bruises, but I was unable to temper my strength.