Page 91 of Midnight Reign
Smiling, I don’t reply. It’s great that he thinks that, but I know, deep in my core, that this isn’t me, as much as I’d like it to be.
As I continue drawing the runes, I can feel the magick building around us. Each completed rune adds to the power, creating a web of energy that I can see shimmering in the air.
Crimson stirs in the back of my mind, her presence a constant reminder of what’s at stake. Her essence feels different now, less antagonistic and more, I want to say, nervous, but somehow, that doesn’t feel right.
You ready for this, little bitch?
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I mutter, my hand steady as I complete another intricate symbol from Zaiah’s book.
“What was that?” Zephyr asks. My Dark Fae prince looks on edge, his purple eyes darting between the runes and the surrounding darkness.
I shake my head, focusing on the task at hand. “Nothing. Just concentrating.” I can feel Zephyr’s gaze linger on me for a moment before it flicks away, scanning the forest around us.
When I complete the final rune, the energy in the circle is buzzing. The symbols glow with an ethereal light, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. The air within the circle feels different, charged with potential. We’re standing in a bubble separate from the rest of the world, a place where the laws of reality are more flexible.
“Djinn magick,” I murmur in awe. This is how it must feel for Zaiah all the time. It’s incredibly seductive, and I eye him up in even more awe than before. “Now what?” I whisper. The power humming through the circle makes me want to speak softly, as if a loud noise might shatter the delicate balance we’ve created.
Zaiah consults the book again, his fingers tracing the lines of text as he reads. “Now, we need to place the ingredients at specific points in the circle. The Moonshade goes in the north, the phoenix ash in the south, and the sacred water in the east.”
As we position the ingredients, I can feel the energies shifting and aligning. Pieces of a cosmic puzzle fall into place. The Moonshade glows brighter as Ignatius places it at the northern point, its silvery light beating in harmony with the runes. The phoenix ash, when Corvus sets it in the south, sends up a small plume of sparks, awakening. The sacred water, as Zephyr uncorks the vial in the east, ripples and shines even though there’s no breeze to disturb it.
“Now the blood.”
We each drip a few drops of blood on the ingredients as we move around the circle.
“And the west?” Corvus asks, noticing the empty point. His voice is tense, and I can see the concern in his eyes as he looks at me.
Zaiah’s expression grows serious, his white eyes seeming to look through me rather than at me. “That’s where Adelaide will stand. She’s the final ingredient - the nexus through which all the energies will flow.”
I gulp, suddenly scared and wanting to back out. The fate of all this rests on my ability to channel and direct these cosmic forces. Ignatius places a warm hand on my lower back, his touch comforting despite my nerves that are ready to snap. “You’ve got this, Addy.”
I nod, but I can’t speak. My voice box has frozen, and my hands shake uncontrollably.
As we take our positions around the circle, I feel a sense of destiny. Everything that’s happened since I came to MistHallow - every trial, every revelation, every moment of joy and pain - has inextricably led to this moment. I look at each of my guys, these extraordinary beings who have become my world in such a short space of time. They’re my anchor, my strength.
“What do we do?” Ignatius asks.
Zaiah gives him a stare that speaks volumes. “You don’t let anything interrupt.”
“Got it,” he says after a beat.
“Everyone ready?” Zaiah asks, his eyes glowing with power. The book hovers in front of him, its pages fluttering in a non-existent breeze.
We all nod, our faces set with determination.
“Then let’s begin,” he says, turning the pages to the ritual’s incantation.
As Zaiah begins to chant in an ancient language, I feel the energies of the circle surge. The runes flare brighter, and I can see threads of light connecting each of us to the ingredients we’ve placed. It’s as if we’re at the centre of a great web of power, each strand humming with potential, but all of them leading back to me.
I close my eyes, focusing on the power building within and around me. Crimson’s presence grows stronger, her essence intertwining with mine in a way it never has before. There’s no struggle now, no fight for dominance. Instead, it feels like two halves of a whole finally coming together.
I’ve got this, sister.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
That’s up to you. Stay the course. Don’t panic.
“Panic?” If anything was going to make me panic, her telling me not to pretty much freaked me the fuck out.
