Page 71 of Their Blood Rite

Better safe than sorry. The last thing I need is to be seen with two blood kindreds.

Washed and dressed in an oversized black shirt and a pair of dark trousers I have to tie up with a belt, I stand by the bedroom door.

My choices are limited. Non-existent, really. Do I stay up here and hide?

Or do I go down there and accept this new situation? Own it. Well… as much as I can.

The chain around my neck is shorter this morning and trails down my cleavage a little. It could pass as a necklace. I’m not tethered to anything or anyone.

A light hissing sound has me standing stock still. Even more so when I look to the corner of the open window and see a snake's head slither through from outside. Its violet eyes are a violent contrast to the deep black of its head. I can’t seem to look away, held fast in its gaze.

‘Hello,’ I offer. ‘Not sure why I just said hello to a snake, but there you go.’ I step closer, admiring its deep blue body speckled with stunning purple. ‘You’re beautiful.’

I saw snakes a lot back home. Living in the forests, I’m used to spotting them slithering past me. I’ve even nabbed a few that managed to sneak into my bedroom.

Never one this beautiful, though. I’m transfixed.

I want to touch it. It’s all I can think about. Of all the snakes I have seen, I’ve never had the compulsion to hold one before.

It moves closer, hovering a few inches towards me, and I swear I can feel a connection between us. It wants to touch me just as much as I want to touch it.

I hold out my hand, giving room for it to choose.

Its tongue darts out, scenting the air.

‘You’re not poisonous, are you?’ I mutter, stepping closer.

It meets my outstretched hand, meeting my fingers and gliding up my hand and around my wrist.

‘Woah…’ As soon as it touches me, I feel a power flow between us. Its skin shimmers, and suddenly, its pattern matches my kindred markings. ‘You’re no ordinary snake, are you?’

It wraps around my wrist and between my fingers, making its way up my arm and neck. It can’t be any longer than seventeen inches long and no thicker than two of my fingers. After a wrap-around of my throat, it travels down my arm and settles.

‘Well… okay then,’ I concede.

The snake has chosen me. I may be a blood witch, but I grew up as an earth witch. And if I know anything, nature is a force unto itself. If she chooses you, be it a storm, a wolf leading you astray, or apparently, a snake slithering up your arm, you don’t argue.

I open the door to find the banshee standing there. Her orange dress hugs her curves. Every curl in her hair lies perfectly. She smiles, revealing those razor-sharp teeth, and her orange eyes glow.

‘Good morning,’ she greets, her voice smooth and seductive. Her smile falters as she looks at my clothes. ‘What on earth are you wearing?’

I look at my clothes. Well, Shaw’s clothes. His trousers and his black shirt. My feet are bare as his boots are ridiculously large.

‘Have the masters not provided you with any dresses?’

‘They did,’ I reply. ‘But they want me to wear them. So I won’t.’

Immature of me? Absolutely. But I will take any small victories I can get with them. No matter how small or petty.

With a tut, she starts fiddling with them, tucking the shirt in here, and unbuttoning it there. With another tut, she undoes myhair from the string I had it tied up with and fluffs it over my shoulders.

‘Now. That’s better,’ she sighs. ‘You are to follow me. My masters have summoned you.’

‘Summoned me?’ I have flashes of another dank room. A table of dark instruments. Blood. Pain.

‘Yes.’ She turns on her heel and starts walking. ‘They do that. Summon. So. How are you enjoying the castle?’

‘I’ll let you know when I actually see it,’ I reply as I follow her. ‘Where am I going?’

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