Page 54 of When Storms Ruin

“You’re telling me that Donika has createdvampires?” Tess asked, shaking her head back and forth. “Great, that’sexactlywhat we need.”

“Not vampires, not exactly,” Zion answered, running a hand against the scruff on his cheek.

He and Liss had been almost inseparable since his return, and it had me thinking they were much closer back at The Stone Palace than I originally thought.

“If they’re not vampires then why would they need fangs?” Tess asked.

“They feed, but it isn’t blood they feed on. Not alone, at least. It’s magic. The Noctani were designed to suck the blood out of you, thus siphoning your magic as well,” he replied, his eyes downcast. “We cannot let them get near Diana, under any circumstances.”

The thought of a Noctani sinking their teeth into me and sucking the magic out of me had my stomach doing a flip, the herbs sitting in my stomach like a weight.

“Wait a second—” I started, placing the mug on the nightstand and moving to my feet. “Did you say siphon?”

Zion nodded, watching me cross the room with a furrowed brow.

“When we were searching through the grimoire to find out if Donika and I were magically linked, I came across a siphoning spell.”

I pulled the dresser away from the wall and slipped the leather-bound grimoire free, placing it on the floor before me as I knelt and flipped through it.

I was relieved when Liss found the spell in the Kotova grimoire to confirm we weren’t magically linked. The reason she haunted my dreams was no more than familial connection. All it had taken was a few drops of my blood and the spell to determine I wasn’t magically linked to anyone…thankfully. But in our search of the grimoire we hadn’t found the spell Donika would be so desperate to get her hands on. The spell Tyr was willing to risk everything to transcribe for her.

“Here.” I pointed to the page before me, skimming the words. “This must be the spell Donika was desperate to get her hands on! The reason she wanted the grimoire in the first place. She wants to siphon magic.”

“But she never got the grimoire, how could she have the siphoning spell?” Tess asked, peering at the spell over my shoulder.

“She must have found a work around with her blood magic. The dark creatures she created must serve her purpose. She couldn’t get her hands on this siphoning spell, so instead she created the Noctani,” Zion explained. “Clever girl.”

I shot him a glare that had him shrinking back in his chair.

“This spell is dark magic,” I said, reading the words over and over again. “This type of magic allows you to steal a witch’s power, leaving them mortal. Did Tyr transcribe enough of the spell that Donika was able to replicate it?” My eyes met Zion’s, panicked.

Donika might not have needed this spell after all, she had found a way to siphon magic, although indirectly.

“But whose magic does she want to siphon? Isn’t she supposed to be the most powerful witch in the entire realm?” Tess asked.

I turned to her, the answer already in her eyes despite having asked the question. It wasmymagic she wanted. If Donika could siphon my storm magic and leave me mortal, there would be no stopping her.

The realization dawned on Zion at the same time, and he abruptly stood.

“We have to bring this back to the council. Your safety is more paramount than ever. We cannot let Donika’s Noctanianywherenear you.”

“We need to figure out a way to stop them.” I bit my lip, thinking about the other spells in the grimoire.

What other spell could help us to take down the Noctani before Donika set them loose in this war?

“When Nik and Puck return, update them on our new theory. I am going to debrief Liss and Isaac. This could change things. We may need to move you to the mortal realm, where Donika can’t reach you,” Zion said as he moved towards the door.

“I will not run.” My words were sharp, and Zion turned to meet my gaze.

I wasn’t sure what he found there, but he reluctantly nodded before letting himself out.

“Let me see,” Tess said, leaning across me to get a better look at the siphoning spell. The grimoire snapped shut, a cloud of dust wafting into her hair. “I will never get used to that.”

I laughed, murmuring the opened spell and letting Tess see it from over my shoulder again. I wondered if the grimoire would recognize Donika, and if it would react similarly, despite her Kotova blood. Could it also sense the darkness roiling within her?

We needed to confront Tyr about how much of this spell he was able to transcribe for her. I had come to think of the townhouse as a home away from home, and I hoped we wouldn’t have to move again. Fletcher and his men hadn’tfound us yet, which meant the wards were doing their job. Since I broke the wards around the training field, I hadn’t been outside other than moving from one safe house to another.

“How will we beat her Noctani if they are going to suck the magic right out of us?” Tess mused, moving to rest her back against the footboard of the bed.

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