Page 72

H ER HEART THUMPED IN HER CHEST .

Orion glanced at her, dressed in white silk, waiting for him on a bed.

Toven stepped forward, pulling a book from his back pocket and flipping it open.

“Translated from the Starkish,” Toven said. “I’ve checked the translation. It’s accurate.” He met his father at the portal as it hissed closed behind him. “I’ve outlined the steps. The candle, the blood, the incantation—”

Orion Hearst raised a hand, halting his son. “Let me see it, Toven.” He took the book and peered down, turning the pages. The air around Toven seemed to buzz with twisting energy.

A page turned, and Orion paused. His brow arched. Briony watched his eyes move quickly over the same passage until he lifted them to her.

The book snapped shut. Orion assessed her and said, “And if it doesn’t work?”

“It will.” Toven’s mouth was a hard line.

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll think of something else.”

But Orion wasn’t looking at his son; he was looking at her. She blinked at him, feeling the question under her skin.

If this doesn’t work, will you do this the easy way?

She swallowed and tilted her head into the tiniest of nods.

Orion’s eyes returned to the text, browsing the words, casually, as one might window-shop. He was supposed to be in Southern Camly. He was only permitted to leave for emergencies. They’d brought him in for an illicit dark ritual, and he had the nerve to act as if they had all the time in the world.

As if all of their lives weren’t at stake.

Toven’s fingers twitched. Serena’s breath stirred her hair.

Orion closed the book and handed it back to Toven. He looked at the mantel clock and turned to her. “Ready.”

“Let me see the book,” Briony said, voice too loud for the quiet room. “Let me read it first—”

“There’s no time, Miss Rosewood,” Orion said, and she could hear the finality in his voice as he crossed to the unlit candle by her bed.

“What does it do?” She turned to look up at Serena, then to Toven near the windows, watching silently.

“There’s no need to worry, dear,” Serena whispered into her ear.

Orion struck the match and the flames hissed as he lit the wick.

The only light in the room came from the two candles, casting shadows against their cheekbones.

Serena crossed her legs and guided Briony to lie with her head in her lap. She stared at the canopy as her mind raced.

Who was coming? Why were they checking her virginity? Why now?

And then all thoughts were swept from her mind as Orion Hearst climbed into her bed.

She jerked her legs, almost kicking him as his long limbs crawled like a panther to sit beside her. Serena grabbed her arms to calm her, to hold her still.

“What does this spell entail?” she repeated, her voice cracking in her dry throat.

Orion’s calm features sharpened into a smirk. “Now, now. Don’t fret, Miss Rosewood. Just lie back and think of Evermore.”

“Orion,” Serena warned.

Briony’s heartbeat strained beneath Serena’s fingers, pounding to get out of her.

And before she could ask another question, Orion was pulling a knife from his robes, his impassive mask on once more.

She gaped at the glint of the blade as he pressed one long hand firmly against her collarbone.

The knife drew a quick, shallow slice against her heart, too quick for her to wince.

Orion’s lips formed a silent prayer, wisps of Starkish brushing across her forehead.

She looked at Toven, bathed in moonlight near the windows, watching with his hand clapped over his mouth. Their eyes met.

And the candles went out.

The darkness was like a cold plunge into water. If she hadn’t had the pressure of Serena’s fingers on her wrists, she’d have shrieked.

Orion’s cool tones dripped ancient words across her face. He shifted back, hovering over her stomach and chanting.

Her limited Starkish caught words like “wolf” and “protection.”

She jerked her head over to where Toven stood in the corner, and her dizzy mind imagined she could see the whites of his eyes reflecting the darkness back at her.

There was a sharp pull in her belly, like the worst kind of menstrual cramps. She gasped, jerking. Serena held her down, and Orion raised his voice as he continued chanting.

It felt like her intestines were fighting to twist in opposing directions. She squirmed, trying to stretch her body into positions that would alleviate the cramping, but there was a wrenching low in her stomach.

She groaned, and the floor creaked near the windows.

A tight pop, as if something inside of her had been dislocated. She scrunched her eyes shut in pain, blocking out the darkness.

And then a wash of peace. Like sunlight. Her stomach relaxed.

She opened her eyes, praying that it had worked, and found Orion Hearst’s face boring over her in the candlelight.

No. Not candlelight. A ball the size of her fist hovered over her stomach. Just like the spell the nurses cast months ago, burning so white it looked blue.

It cast shadows across the pitch-black room, sparking warmth in Orion’s gray gaze.

Serena’s fingers threaded through her hair gently as every pair of eyes stared at the ball of energy, symbolizing what hadn’t yet been taken from her. She watched the light fluctuate like fairy wings were holding it afloat.

A glass jar pushed into view, scooping slowly under the orb, capturing it, and closing a lid over the top. Toven screwed the lid on, watching the light breathe. His eyes danced with its glow, and his lips parted in wonder.

He held the jar in one hand and placed a bundle of branching white flowers over her belly with the other.

He cast the Virginity Detection spell over her.

The scan hummed over her head and toes, scanning toward the center.

When the magic reached her abdomen, the four of them watched with bated breath.

The bundle didn’t catch fire the way it had when she tested positive for purity.

She didn’t know what was supposed to happen if she wasn’t a virgin. She hadn’t seen it.

No one moved. She heard Toven swallow.

“Did it work?” she whispered.

A pause. And then: “It seems so,” Serena breathed into her hair.

Orion cast the charm again, and they watched as the results were the same.

Orion stood abruptly from the bed, looking down at her, and then up to Toven. “You won’t be able to contact me if there’s an issue until tomorrow afternoon.”

The light from the glass jar in Toven’s palm cast eerie shadows across Orion’s face. He turned, slicing his hand and using the blood to make a portal out of the property. He entered the void without a backward glance.

With a wave, Serena lit the sconces low. She slid off the bed and gathered the ritual candles. “I apologize for all this fuss, Briony, dear,” she said, still not looking at her. “Get some rest. We’ll talk in the morning.” She sent Toven a stern look before leaving, the door clicking softly.

Briony took a few breaths before she jolted upright. She sat in a bed in a white gown, blood from her chest dripping on the sheets, and stared at Toven Hearst, who held her virginity in his hands.

The relief on his face dissipated, and he paled as he looked at her. He placed the jar delicately on her bedside table.

“This should stay here.” He swallowed. “Keep it safe. It would … it can catch quite a price on the black market, so it’s best to keep it hidden in your room.”

She blinked at the light, still the brightest source in the room, even with the sconces lit. She wondered if she should feel different.

“I apologize for the suddenness,” he said, shifting his weight. “I was only notified yesterday afternoon. And the spell required my father, and I wasn’t even sure if I could—”

“Why would it matter to Mallow if I was still a virgin?” she asked.

Toven pressed his lips together. “Liam tipped me off that Canning requested an audience with Mallow. I suspect it has something to do with getting revenge for outlawing his elixir.”

Briony stared down at her bare feet. “But again … why would Mallow care? The pressure was on from your friends to be intimate with me, but surely not from Mallow.”

Toven closed his eyes and seemed to take a fortifying breath. “Mallow has made clear to me that she supports any way in which to harvest the most power from you,” he said carefully.

Briony’s heart dropped. Sacral Magic.

Suddenly, Briony remembered when she’d been brought before Mallow the first time.

Have fun with her, Toven. I look forward to how powerful you’ll become once bonded to her .

That was moments after Mallow had learned that Briony had feelings for Toven—moments after she learned that Toven might not even need to entice Briony to—

Briony felt sick. She couldn’t believe there was a woman in the world who would wish such a thing on another woman.

But she refocused on the problem at hand.

“I want to see your research,” Briony said. “I want to read up on the spell.”

He nodded, eyes distant but directed at the jar. “Of course. Tomorrow, after they—”

She scowled. “Now. I’m awake. You’re awake.” She stumbled out of bed, the long silk nightdress twisting around her legs in an awkward constriction. Unraveling it brought her close to him.

He glanced quickly down to the cut on her chest. She wondered if he thought about the last time she was in a nightgown with blood trailing down her chest.

He swallowed. “You should get your rest.”

“Give me the book,” she demanded.

He was always keeping information from her, especially if it pertained to her directly. Irritation sharpened and bubbled in her chest.

But this time something must have been different. He extended the book to her, watching as she grabbed it and flipped to the marked pages.

It was still in Starkish.

She cast a translation spell and took deep breaths, focusing on the words as they arranged themselves. It was done. There was nothing she could do to change what had happened or how it had happened. She just needed the specifics.