Page 28

ROWAN

The shadows surge before I summon them, and the darkness snakes along my arms toward my fingers.

The cool room chills further as my mind blackens into fury that the witch touched Violet.

Sure, the woman only managed to shove Violet for a second because she’s distracted by her delight in finding Viktor, but the witch intends to hurt her.

And nothing inside me would accept that.

How the fuck did these three get inside?

Isn’t Grayson supposed to be on lookout?

Two other witches block our exit from the embalming room, male, one taller and bulkier than the other, both with fire at their fingertips.

Neither steps forward to attack me or to help their friend, both fixated on my hands.

A dark smugness rises inside me as I scare the horrified pair into inaction. I’m a witch wielding shadows with vicious unpredictability.

I have the power I wanted.

With the shadows, fire won’t touch me. Nobody will.

As I funnel the magic at one of the shell-shocked witches, the third turns and bolts away.

I step forward and smirk at the white-haired guy as the shadows engulf his arm and extinguish the fire he conjured.

The panicked man’s graying face disappears behind the dark cloud, his attempt to recite a spell cut dead as the magic circles his neck.

Kill him.

I dart a look at Violet pinning the witch to the spare gurney by the same magic Eloise used on Viktor.

The witch Violet holds in place struggles, face filled with consternation as she shouts out incantations.

I’ve experienced how potent Violet’s magical force can be, and how pointless any spell is against that, but the witch’s strength surpasses most. The woman manages to move, forcing Violet to push her into submission with magic stronger than the spell she used against the human.

My bonded witch becomes the hybrid—her expression remains neutral, but Violet’s eyes blacken as she pierces the witch’s mind. The woman’s scream fades to a rasp, and she grapples at Violet’s invisible fingers on her neck, choking for breath.

Blood leaks from Violet’s eyes, triggering a memory of the girl who returned from Kai’s party. The one who admitted she wanted to kill in retaliation for the human guys’ hands on her.

I can’t catch her attention to speak. You want me to kill?

One word enters my mind. Yes.

“But we need information,” I call out, snapping my focus back to the shadow-bound witch.

Kill him.

These witches came here to assault or subdue us, deluded that their combined magic could trap Violet. Instead, the trio met something they never expected. The witches’ attack on Violet triggered the darkness in my soul to rise and take hold of the Blackwood magic that I’ve never fought against.

I’m transfixed by the shadows’ ability to attack as silently as Violet and Eloise can, how icy their presence, and how thick the mist wrapping the witch becomes.

I’m a spider winding prey in its web, but I don’t need venom.

As the witch’s terror feeds that darkness, an illogical need to protect Violet tangles with the dangerous threads weaving together my abilities and the shadow magic.

For years, I’ve craved and sought magic that can control others in order to protect myself, and I found this in my bond with Violet.

But I was unaware how the Blackwood magic pushes and intensifies the powerful desires.

I want this. The shadows. The ultimate protection.

I’m the hybrid’s bonded witch, prepared to kill for her.

The shadows weaken the witch’s mind and devour his own magic energy; there’s nothing left for him to fight back with. How far have I disconnected this man from his reality? Does the witch sense his heart slowing as he drops to his knees, the consumed man swaying before his face hits the tiles?

I watch with morbid curiosity as the shadows swarm like a thick cloud of silent insects around the witch.

I’m dead to reality myself, the guy’s faltering heartbeat sounding in my mind.

Momentarily, doubt slips in, but the shadows freeze the thought and pull the last of my magic energy.

Dark magic pulses from my body again, and the witch’s heart stops beating in my mind.

Something slams into me, paralyzing every muscle, and I’m spun around, then pinned to the wall. As my head hits the brick, the shadows evaporate as quickly as they appeared, leaving the room like winter. My arms glue either side of me, and I’m unable to move.

“Rowan.”

Violet’s blood-streaked face appears in front of mine, her image swimming into view as the dizziness from the smack to my head fades. Her mouth parts, and she steps back.

“What did you do?” she whispers in disgust. “That man is dead. What the fuck did you do?”

Violet . Swearing ? A migraine-like pain assaults my mind, and her spell holds me immobile. I frown, facial muscles the only ones that work.

“You told me to kill the witch.”

“I certainly did not!” Her voice rises. “I was in her head pulling out thoughts and memories hidden behind a spell. I thought you’d restrain the other witch, and Grayson would catch the one who ran.”

“You asked me,” I insist, my pulse picking up. “In my mind. Your voice.”

“ What ? I said no such thing,” she repeats stiffly. “I’m frequently accused of murder and actively avoid dead people left in public locations. Why would I ask you to kill?”

“I heard you in my mind.”

Her spell on me breaks and I stumble, steadying myself on the gurney that holds Viktor. Violet’s stares at the wisps of gray around my hands, and pales behind the red straining her cheeks.

“The shadows spoke to you, Rowan.” She pulls me toward her by the front of my jacket, and her coal black eyes fix on mine. “The shadows told you to kill!”

“No. The bond must’ve pushed me too far.”

“I wasn’t in danger!” Violet shakes me until my teeth hurt. “I am never weaker than you, Rowan.”

Bile forces itself into my mouth, and I swallow. “Tell the bond that. The need to protect took over.”

She releases my jacket and shoves me. “You could’ve subdued him with your magic. Why did you summon shadows when we agreed not to use them? Look at what you’ve done!”

She jabs a finger at the dead witch.

Fuck. I can’t look at the man on the floor, as reality seeps through the numbness.

“I didn’t summon the shadows,” I say hoarsely, dragging both hands through my hair. “The magic came to me.”

Violet takes on a deadly stillness that reminds me of Dorian, and I desperately try to pick up her thoughts or emotions. Nothing. I slide a look at the female witch unconscious on the slab—alive.

“Violet, I?—”

I hit the wall and fall again as Violet shoves me to one side. Shouting and shoes dragging across the carpet outside the room interrupt me, and Violet pushes at somebody else about to enter before she walks out.

“I tried to stop them. They’re bloody strong.”

Grayson.

Violet speaks—too quietly for me to hear—and I tremble as I haul myself back to my feet. Violet and Grayson hold a quiet conversation outside, occasionally interrupted by a muffled protest. The third witch?

“Rowan. Out here,” Violet demands, and I edge around the newly dead body into the other room.

Grayson gawks at me but says nothing. One of his arms bands around the waist of the witch who attempted to run, his other hand around the guy’s throat with sharp nails extended.

“Is Viktor in there?” Grayson asks.

“Yes. I now have the body I came to find, but also one that I did not expect,” replies Violet.

“And who the fuck are the witches? I didn’t see any walk into the building,” he continues. “Sorry if I missed them.”

Violet gestures behind me. “Potent witches. Neither of us pierced their cloaking spell.”

“You say that like you expected them,” I say.

“We all expected this,” replies Violet. “I needed to know who would come for Viktor—and where they planned to take him. The woman in that room won’t remember anything about us. Neither witch in the embalming room will.” A pointed look at me. “ This man needs to forget we were here too.”

“I can do that,” I offer.

“I think you’ve done enough, Rowan,” says Violet, not looking at me. “I’ll deal with this witch’s mind.”

“Will that work?” Grayson asks cautiously. “I’m not questioning your ability, but Whitegrove?—”

“Yes. He’ll detect the residue from my magic and question for the truth about the third party member. The man will suspect one of us killed the third witch.” Her lips thin. “And now, we have a second body I didn’t want, which is unhelpful to say the least.”

The witch in Grayson’s chokehold makes a strangled noise.

‘ What did you do? ’ Grayson mouths at me, and I look away.

Violet seizes the witch’s chin, forcing the guy to look at her.

“You and Corey fought. You’ve disagreed the entire trip about how to handle Viktor’s body.

You’re often in conflict, and he mocked you.

You retaliated, and Penelope joined in. He hurt her and ran.

Now you and Penelope will take Viktor as ordered.

” She nods at Grayson. “Let this witch go. We need to leave.”

“What do we do with the other witch’s body?” I mumble.

“Yeah. We can’t leave him here,” says Grayson.

Violet pivots to face me. “The funeral home’s furnace. How long will that take to reach the required temperature to burn a body?”

Violet closed my actions out, and she’s back to practicality.

Because Violet understands or because she’s deciding what to do with me?

The weight of what I’ve done presses on my chest, suffocating me the same as I did the witch.

The shadows left, but they linger around me.

Is this it? They’ll aways take over now?

I wanted power. I wanted protection. But not this. Not murder .

As the chaos continues around, something worse sneaks in. For a moment back there, I didn’t care what the shadows were doing to the witch.

I didn’t care if he died.