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My release saturated my fingers, easing the passage even as her body tried to expel me. "Gray, I can't—"

"What's wrong, Witchling? I thought you wanted to come?" I asked, my voice mocking as she stared down at me in shock.

"It's too much," she said, shaking her head.

"We'll be done when I say we're done, and not a moment before." I smirked, lowering my head to her pussy all over again.

Willow wouldn't sleep that night.

CHAPTER 28

WILLOW

Willow

I strode through the hallway to the room where I knew the legacies were suffering through their channeling class. It should have been the most entertaining of classes. It was an opportunity to embrace the magic in our veins, but the professor who taught it had lost his way.

It was hard to channel when your magic didn't answer your call because of your neglect.

I waited outside for the bell to ring, leaning against the wall. My body ached with each step, but I was determined not to let it deter me from what needed to be done. All last night had done was prove that I needed to do whatever it took to rid this world of Lucifer.

I needed to do whatever it took to get him out of my life, and my body, as soon as possible.

Iban walked out of the class with a group of male friends at his side, and I looked over his shoulder to find Della's stare. I nodded to her without a word, watching as she flattened her mouth and nodded. I hated what my actions would do to her relationship, except the alternative was unthinkable.

If Gray had already affected me so profoundly in such a limited time, what would he do if he had years to manipulate me? How long until he had me so deeply entrenched in him that I believed he loved me? Even worse, that I loved him enough to forgive his faults?

"Willow," Iban said, his voice hesitant. His friends glanced at him in question, but he just waved them on and took me by the hand, guiding me toward a secluded alcove. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll do it," I said, my voice firmer than it had been yesterday. "Can you gather the people we'll need for the spell?"

He canted his head to the side, releasing my arm and keeping his distance. His proximity to death seemed to work wonders for making him respect my personal space. "What made you change your mind? I know you weren't fully on board yesterday. Did he do something to you?"

I flushed, my cheeks heating at the reminder of all the things he'd done to me the night before. It had felt like both a punishment and a reward, as if he couldn't decide if he was furious with me or relieved that I had been honest about not feeling anything from Iban's kiss.

"He tried to kill you," I said, the lie sitting heavy in my throat. What kind of person had I become thatthatwasn't the driving force behind my decision to get rid of Gray?

Iban looked as if he didn't believe me, his wariness sitting heavy on his boyishly handsome features. He didn't call me out on the lie, nodding and glancing over my shoulder. "I'll have them meet us in the library in an hour. Can you make that work?"

I glanced toward the hall leading to Gray's classroom, indecision warring within me. The cage around my heart had cracked for him, leaving me restless and on edge. I couldn't shake the feeling that this would be the greatest mistake of my life, but I'd only be able to rebuild that shelter if he was gone.

I may not have been born without a heart like his Vessel had, but that didn't mean I didn't prefer the numbness from a thousand jagged cuts against my soul.

Life had broken me. My father had broken me.

But Gray hadshatteredme.

I wouldn't give him the time and opportunity to do it again, even if it meant condemning myself back to that place where nothing really mattered. The irony wasn't lost on me.

Gray hadn't had a heart to love me with, but he'd been willing to do anything to get it back.

Only for me to be willing to throw mine away.

"I'll be there," I said, smiling softly at Iban's back as he turned from me without a word. I left it to him to gather those we needed, knowing that Della and Nova at least would stand at my side and be a quiet support until I had to leave to do the one thing I wanted to avoid more than anything.

"Are you alright?" Nova asked, coming up beside me. Della avoided my gaze, hurrying to find Juliet. I could only hope she wouldn't confess anything to her, though I wouldn't have been able to fault her even if she did. Just because I was willing to sacrifice my heart, didn't mean I would have expected the same from her.

Not everyone had to choose between love and duty, between doing what they wanted and what was right. Some loves just made sense. They fell into what was realistic and expected of a relationship, feeling more like the slow growth of roots beneath the surface than lightning striking the branches. Gray and I would burn the world to the ground if I allowed our love to grow, accepting it as part of me when it was unnatural.