Page 50 of The Witch's Pet

“A clever design, don’t you think?” Rebecca looks like she can barely contain a smile. “After all, why wouldanyonewillingly surrender to the infamous Julia Moreau? Your reputation precedes you—I made sure of it. You’re a legend for being exactly who you are. That is to say, the type of person nobody would ever surrender to. So, I guess unless you’ve managed to corrupt this young lady, you might be…stuck forever.” She lifts a shoulder, pushing her bottom lip out in mock sympathy.

My throat tightens as the full scope of her revenge becomes clear. This isn’t just about punishment, but about forcing me to reap the consequences of who I am. I’m the predator who takes what I need and discards empty shells, who’s never had to depend on anyone for survival. I’ve never had to show self-restraint or be vulnerable.

But there’s something deeper lurking beneath Rebecca’s satisfied expression.

I know what this is really about, even if she won’t say it aloud.

Charlotte. Her sister. The woman I drained completely after she fell in love with me. The woman who trusted me to feed off her night after night, until… I don’t know what happened. I lost control.

If I let myself remember, I can still feel the moment her pulse stopped. The way her fingers went slack in my hair. How her final breath tasted.

No wonder Rebecca is forcing me to make a bond with the girl I’m feeding from. After what I did to her sister, she wants me to feel the threat of loss, to feel what it’s like to be fully vulnerable.

The binding spell ensures I can’t just drain Hannah and move on. I have to live with the consequences of our intimacy. I have no choice but to protect her and keep her alive.

“So in the moments before you cursed me to sleep…” I say, recalling the fire in her eyes, the way my fingers slid into her, her hitched breaths as she clung to me with her thighs.

Rebecca’s eyes narrow and her lip curls. She knows what I’m trying to ask. “I needed to make you vulnerable so I could place the spells on you. It’s pathetic, really, how easily you fell for seduction.”

“Minx,” I snarl. Of course it wasn’t real. I was a fool to think Rebecca would want me.

Hannah clears her throat beside me, pulling my attention back. “What do you mean bysurrender?”

Rebecca waves her hand vaguely. “The word is what you make of it. Royals have used the spell to subjugate people, to force them into obedience. In the case of Julia…” She studies me, her mouth twisting as she considers. “Well, given her particular nature as a sanguine witch, perhaps the ultimate surrender would be offering one’s life entirely. Allowing her to drain you.”

“No.” The word tears from my throat.

The room goes silent except for the crackling fire. All eyes turn to me, but I only see Rebecca’s raised eyebrow, the surprise and satisfaction flickering across her features.

“The great Julia Moreau, refusing the perfect feeding opportunity?”

“If I drain her, we’ll both die,” I snap. “That’s how a binding spell works.”

“True.” Rebecca shrugs. “Well, this isn’t for me to figure out. I don’t care if and how you break it. But you wanted to know how, and I’ve just told you. Complete surrender is your only path to freedom.”

My jaw clenches. What does this mean? Am I to reduce Hannah to a hollow shell? Hope she allows me to drain her to near death?

“And if I refuse to surrender?” Hannah asks.

“Then you’ll spend the rest of your short life as Julia’s pet,” Rebecca replies. “Bound by magic you can’t escape. She’ll keep feeding from you to sustain her power, and you’ll grow weaker and more dependent with each feeding.”

A slow death. A torturous end that could take years to reach its conclusion, depending on how much control I have. I imagine her growing pale and listless, her body weakening, her hair falling out as she clings to life while still begging me to keep feeding on her.

How often would I need to feed on her? Every few days? Each time, she will weaken. Each time, I will have to choose between my survival and hers. And Rebecca knows exactly what choice I’ve always made before.

“I still think you could have gotten your revenge without dragging some poor victim into this,” Elizabeth says, sounding about as tired as someone who has been hearing about Rebecca’s grudge for an entire century.

Rebecca shoots her a glare before returning her attention to Hannah. “You could always ask Julia to end it quickly when the suffering becomes unbearable. I’m sure she’d accommodate you. She hasmuchexperience with murder.”

Hannah flinches, and rage boils in my veins. Rebecca is trying to make her fear me even more than she already does.

And it’s working. I can see the growing horror in Hannah’s eyes as she realizes exactly what kind of trap she’s in.

“Enough,” Elizabeth says, barely audible. “You’ve made your point. No need to terrorize the girl further.”

Rebecca opens her mouth, but I cut her off before she can bring up Charlotte and do more damage. Good Lord, Icannotlet Hannah find out what happened to Charlotte. “If that’s all the information you have, we’ll be off.”

I have no idea where we’ll go, but I need to get away from here and think. My insides feel like a raging fire, the smoke muddling my thoughts.