Page 74 of The Witch's Pet

The grandfather clock ticks on, and the dying fire pops, its warmth fading.

Elizabeth sits in a wingback chair, and the room is so silent that the groan of material beneath her is loud. She opens the grimoire, its ancient pages crackling. “I’ve found two potential solutions to your predicament that don’t involve total surrender.”

My heart beats faster. “Really?”

“The first is a separation ritual.” She drags her finger down the page. “We would take Hannah as far away as possible while performing protective spells on both of you to help withstand the binding’s resistance. If you can endure the pain long enough, the tether will eventually snap from the strain.”

An icy sensation washes over me. “Oh. That sounds…”

I glance at Julia, remembering the agony of being separated from her when I went into the forest. The thought of deliberately subjecting ourselves to that torture—andworse—makes my stomach clench.

“Howlong would we need to stay apart?” Julia asks.

“Forever.” Elizabeth’s tone suggests she’s not optimistic about this option either. “You’ll need support from the side effects for several weeks, so you’ll both need witches to live with you until the pain subsides.”

“We’d be in pain forweeks?” I ask, my voice squeaky.

“Like I said…” She looks sternly at Julia. “These solutions are more complicated than—”

She snaps her gaze toward the parlor door, her nostrils flaring. Julia looks too, her brow pinched.

I look over my shoulder at it, seeing nothing.

Elizabeth sweeps her hand, and the door flies open to reveal Riley standing there, eyes wide, looking distinctly like someone who’s been caught eavesdropping.

She glances over her shoulder before darting inside, shutting the door behind her. “If you try the separation ritual, I’ll stay with Hannah to keep her safe,” she says shamelessly.

I don’t miss the way Julia goes rigid. She clenches her fists, and tendrils of dark magic snake from her fingers. “That’s not necessary,” she says through gritted teeth.

Riley lifts her chin defiantly. “Hannah shouldn’t have to go through that alone.”

“She won’t be alone. She’ll have the coven’s protection.”

My gaze darts between them like a tennis match. This is getting more heated by the second. Does Julia not like the idea of Riley protecting and comforting me, or…?

“I don’t want to do that, anyway.” I cross my arms and avert my gaze to the dying fire. “It sounds…”

“Excruciating,” Julia finishes.

There’s a pause. Now it’s Riley’s turn to look between us like a tennis match.

Riley steps closer to me. “But if it means you’ll be free fromher…” She shoots Julia a nasty glare. “You have to try it, right?”

Julia’s fingers stroke the air like she’s ready to blast Riley across the room.

“There is another option,” Elizabeth interjects before this can escalate. Her knowing look suggests she’s well aware of the tension crackling between us. “More complex, but less painful.”

“What is it?” I ask.

“A redirection ritual. Spells follow the Rule of Three—they can be strengthened or weakened by forming a magical triangle.” Elizabeth traces a triangle in the air with her finger. “If we can temporarily bind the two of you with a third person, the original binding becomes unstable. Think of it like distributing the magical load across multiple connection points until the stress causes all the bindings to snap.”

Julia’s eyes widen. “Of course,” she whispers.

“The ritual would require someone close to Hannah,” Elizabeth explains. “And this person would need to surrender themselves to Julia the same way Hannah did.”

I step back. “They have towhat?”

Julia stares at Elizabeth in stunned silence.