Page 138 of Pirate Witch

Nilsa’s scream shuts off sharply, along with the ringing and all other sound in the room.

I dare a peek and watch in wonder as Reva’s body seems to suck all the light in the room back into itself. The High Priestess falls back into the water with a splash, her eyes rolling back into her head. She convulses, seizing in the water for a second or two before the tether of light connecting her to the Moon snaps completely.

The darkness which overtakes the room is immediate. Stealing all of our senses once again. Even the light of the Goddess in the sky above seems dimmer.

In my chest, the mating bond blazes with light for a second, before retreating into the background once more. I barely dare to breathe as I check on it, only to sigh in relief as I see it’s returned to its normal brilliance. Nilsa is securely tethered to my soul once more; although her end of the bond is quiet, it feels more like she’s sleeping.

Does that mean it worked?

I crawl forward, blindly reaching out for the pool. I bash into someone—Rysen by his scent—and together we pull one another to our feet.

Somehow, Elsie is still standing, almost completely untouched by what happened. The Solar rushes past us towards the pool, only to stop at the very edge, unwilling to break the taboo of a Solar touching the Moon-blessed water where Reva and Nilsa are floating.

Fortunately, she doesn’t have to. Reva comes back to herself with a gasp and flails for the edge of the stone. Niklaus grips her hand and pulls her out of the pool. Reva takes a second to recover before she seems to remember why she was in the water in the first place. She shrugs off Elsie and wades back into the water, grabbing Nilsa by the arm and pulling her to the shore as well.

All six of us hover over the witches as they examine our mate. She’s breathing, which is more of a relief than I care to admit, and the red glow from her sigils has faded completely, leaving them black once more. But the ones at the top, which form the Sun half of the glyph that consumes most of her lower back, haven’t disappeared.

“There’s no power in the mark of the Sun,” Elsie confirms after a few seconds. “I think… I think it worked.”

Then why hasn’t she woken up?

“Rest and food,” Elsie continues. “She’s been in a suspended state for so long she’s bound to be weak. Rysen, your blood may work now.”

The vampire doesn’t hesitate. He scores his wrist with his fangs and holds it to Nilsa’s mouth.

The red droplets fall between her lips, staining her face with colour.

A heartbeat passes where nothing happens. Then her throat moves. She swallows once, then a second time.

Finally, blessedly, she opens her eyes.

Unlike before, when she woke like a hellcat, thrashing and clawing at us, she looks sleepy and confused.

“Why am I naked?” she mumbles, staring at Reva with confusion. “Where am I?”

“Nilsa, what do you remember?” Elsie prompts, running her hands across our mate’s temples with glowing light. “Think hard. I know your head is killing you, but this is important.”

Nilsa blinks for a few minutes, before her sight finally seems to focus.

Her mouth opens, as if she intends to answer Elsie’s question, but she sees me first. She tries to push out of Reva’s grip, but her arms are too weak after two weeks without movement, so I go to her instead.

Her fragile body is scarily light, and I gather her into my arms like she’s made of spun glass rather than flesh and bone. Her face presses into the gap between my neck and shoulder, and before long, her whole frame starts to shake.

For a moment, I’m struck dumb with shock. It takes me a few seconds to summon the sense to glamour us and allow her to process her feelings in private. To the others, it seems like we’re just sharing a relieved embrace, but behind the magic, her shields are completely gone. Her emotions bare and bleeding.

Her breath shudders as she drags in ragged gasps of air.

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “You did it. It’s over.”

“Are you sure? I can’t remember all of it… Why can’t I remember…?”

“They found the body,” I reassure her. “Catherine is dead.”

ChapterForty-Six

NILSA

However much I fight to recall what happened during the fight with the Eagle and the Alchemist, some of the memories simply refuse to surface. Whenever I think about it, my head is consumed by a searing pain so intense I almost pass out. It seems as if, when the Moon purged the Sun’s power from my body, she took away my memories of using it too.