Page 1 of Wicked Chains (Serpentine Academy #2)

Clouds covered the moon, casting the clearing in deep shadows. Abigail Smith's footsteps barely disturbed the fallen leaves as she made her way to the tall oak.

The wind picked up, carrying with it the smell of smoke and fear from the town. Three women had burned yesterday. None of them had been witches. The real ones knew better than to get caught.

Abigail checked the position of the stars through gaps in the oak leaves above her. The witching hour approached, and with it, the man she had betrayed.

Her dark hair fell loose around her shoulders, defiant of the strict Puritan styles, a small rebellion. The mark on her arm, freshly burned with blood and magic, throbbed with a dull ache beneath her sleeve. The Crescent Moon Coven's brand. The contract that would save her family and damn her soul.

A twig snapped. Abigail's head jerked toward the sound.

"You came alone." The voice met her before the man did. "Bold of you, considering what you've done."

Sebastian, a warlock and head of the Blood Moon Coven, stepped into the clearing. Tall and formidable, he approached Abigail, his green eyes reflecting what little light broke through the clouds. Those eyes had once looked upon her with respect. Now they held only anger.

"Sebastian." Abigail straightened her shoulders.

"The Crescent Moon sends its regards, I presume?"

"They don't know about this meeting."

"And yet you wear their mark now." Sebastian stopped in front of her, his gaze dropping to her covered arm. “Did you think I wouldn't sense it?”

"I did what was necessary."

"Necessary?" Sebastian's laugh was harsh. "Was it necessary to promise your loyalty to the Blood Moon, only to betray us at the first opportunity?"

In the distance, a night bird called and fell silent, as if even the forest creatures knew better than to interrupt what was happening.

"The witch trials were their opportunity, weren't they?" Sebastian continued. "While humans hunt their imaginary devils, the Crescent Moon hunts us, and you decided which side of the dagger you preferred to be on."

Abigail lifted her chin. "The Crescent Moon Coven is too powerful. They've infiltrated the churches, the courts. They're directing the trials, using human fear to mask their own purge."

"And instead of standing with us against them, you joined them." Sebastian's eyes hardened. "Some of my own coven were slaughtered last night. Their homes burned with them inside." He looked away. "And you knew it was coming."

"I made the only choice I could to protect my bloodline. You should have done the same." Abigail touched the mark under her sleeve. "This won't end with a few burnings. My daughters, my granddaughters, they would be hunted to extinction."

"So you sacrificed others for yours."

"We needed protection," she said simply. "A covenant that ensures my bloodline will survive, no matter what comes."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "At what cost, Abigail? The Crescent Moon Coven never gives without taking more in return."

"One witch. Every third generation, a Smith witch will be bound to serve the Crescent Moon Coven. They'll bear a bloodmark that allows the Coven to access their magic."

"Access?" His expression darkened. "They will drain her. This isn't service, Abigail, it's sacrifice."

"It's survival. My immediate family will be spared. My daughters will live to have daughters of their own. One witch from every third generation is better than no generations at all."

Sebastian's face twisted with disgust. "You condemn your own descendants to enslavement. And what of us? Of the Blood Moon Coven? Did they promise you we would be spared as well?"

The silence stretched between them. An owl hooted in the distance.

"No, they wouldn't agree to that."

"Of course not." Sebastian paced the clearing. "Because we were the only coven powerful enough to challenge them. The only ones who knew what they truly were." He spun to face her. "Did they tell you how they use the power they drain? How their unnatural years come at the cost of witches like us?"

"I know what they are,” Abigail said. "But they hold the power now. The church, the courts, the town, this country, they control it all. Even if your entire coven had fought, you would have lost."

"So you decided not even to give us the chance." Sebastian's eyes held more than anger now. "We trusted you, Abigail. I trusted you."

"And I'm sorry for that. Truly. But my daughters."

"Will live to see their children's children enslaved." Sebastian cut her off. "And the Crescent Moon Coven will grow stronger with each generation they drain. Did you think of that?"

In the distance, the church bell tolled.

"It's done," Abigail said. "Whatever you think of my choice, it's made. The contract is binding."

"So is my word." Sebastian's voice was soft now, which somehow made it more terrifying. "I swear to you, Abigail Smith, on the blood you've helped spill tonight, on the ashes of my coven, that your betrayal will not stand eternal. The Blood Moon Coven will rise again."

The third bell tolled. The witching hour.

"We will survive. We will rebuild." His green eyes bored into hers. "And one day, no matter how many centuries it takes, we will reclaim what is ours. Your bloodline's power was promised to us, not to the unholy corruption of the Crescent Moon."

Sebastian walked away, his form blending with the dark of the night, leaving Abigail standing alone in the clearing.

His last words drifted back to her from the shadows. "One day, a witch will be born with the power to undo what you've done today. And the Blood Moon Coven will be waiting."