Page 77 of Their Blood Rite

Dorian and Shaw leave.

I get to work on cleaning up.

‘You know…’ Archie says with that damned smile. ‘If you wanna clean in the nude, I’m totally cool with that.’

I scoff. Loudly.

‘In your dreams, dog boy.’

With my back turned, I smile, enjoying his gentle chuckle.

It took a good couple of hours to get their kitchen back to what I think it was before. But judging by the inches of dust, I don’t think it’s ever been cleaned. I didn’t mind. It kept me busy, and it was nice to be able to control something for a while. To see a task and complete it. I try not to think of what they’ll find at the coven. I wonder how many survived. Who died. Is Cole still alive? Did they find my father?

And what will Shaw and Dorian do? They seemed pissed when they found out about the trigger. Part of me wishes I went with them.

Only a tiny part.

These feelings of vengeance are strong. They’re overpowering. I’m not used to it and can’t help but wonder if the blood magic is responsible. But then I remember what the fuckers did, and I think my feelings toward my old earth coven are more than justified.

Every scrap of food I could save has been stored away for later. Who knows when I’ll get a meal like that again. Archie got bored and left after half an hour or so, saying he wanted to stretchhis legs. He reminded me to behave, but not too much. Because where would the fun be in that?

I reach out for the Kedar snake. She slithers around my wrist, and we head out to explore.

When my bare feet touch the earth, and the cool air fills my lungs, I can’t contain the bliss-filled sigh I let out.

Space and sky and trees. Perfect.

Wriggling my toes, I revel in the damp soil, and without hesitation, I head towards the treeline of the dense woods.

The woodlands are ancient. The trees are some of the biggest I have ever seen, with gnarled roots that twist and bend deep beneath the soil and high around their trunks. The canopy above is lush and wonderfully green. The forest back home isn’t a patch on this. Strange, I think. Considering how we’re an Earth Coven. The sanctity and life of nature are our pride and pleasure to maintain. After all, we are nothing without the power of the earth. Just as water witches are nothing without the sea, and air witches are nothing without a breeze.

I wonder again about what is happening back home. If Dorian and Shaw are there right now. Of what they are doing.

‘Stop it,’ I hiss, scorning myself.

My old coven may as well be dead. I sure as hell am to them. And I certainly will be if they ever get their hands on me again.

I stop when I hear a sad little bleat. I follow the sound and see a small fawn lying on its side. Its leg is badly damaged. When it shifts, a huge gash on its side becomes visible. I retch when organs slither out.

‘You poor little thing,’ I comfort, kneeling at its side. ‘Something took a chunk out of you, didn’t it?’

Its sad little cries break my heart. It’s not uncommon to see injured and dying animals in the forests. I’ve seen countless. It happens, but it doesn’t get any easier.

This fawn will never recover. Its death will take a few hours.

My hand rests on the wound, and as soon as I feel its warm blood, I gasp and pull away. The instant connection to the blood has my heart pounding and a strength coursing through me with dizzying force. Instant power. Unmistakable and so fucking tempting. My palm hovers over the bleeding creature. The pull is intense. Unlike anything I could ever hope to compare it to. The closer I get, the more it calls. The more it promises.

Power. Magic. Strength.

The closer I go, my fingers flex in need. In want.

My hand stops, trembling with desperation to feel that warm blood. To take that power. It’s mine. Mine and no one else's. I’m owed it. I own it!

No.

My palm rests on the soil, and I close my eyes, feeling the connection to the earth's magic moving like a stream below. It ebbs and flows. Ripples of energy and strength. Roots and vines grow over my palm, wrapping around my wrist and tightening. My other hand rests on the fawn.

And I channel that power. I become a link between the two. The magic I take from the earth is used to heal the fawn. It’s a drain. It makes me ache, and every passing second is exhausting.

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