Page 59 of Heart of a Witch
I hugged my arms around him tighter, willing all my body heat to go into him. I knew a spell, but I couldn’t do it without him knowing. “S-she me…” He trailed off, then convulsed.
“No, no. Elijah!”
His body jolted against mine. Thick raindrops slicked my hair. I pushed my black strands out of the way, then wiped the water from my face. He was going to die if I didn’t do something, but if I did and he remembered any of it, I’d be putting myself and my family in danger.
There was no way he could know I was a witch.
I laid him down away from me, swallowing thickly as a lump formed. His face had drained of color, and the whites of his eyes were showing as his arms and legs jerked, his body shaking violently against the grass. Black slithered up his arm, creating pathways under his skin, branching out like veins of ink.
Ember’s face floated into my mind when I placed my hands over Elijah’s arm. Rage seared through me. His father had done that. He’d squeezed her heart in his hand as if he hadn’t destroyed everything. If Elijah died, it would be justice in one way—not the revenge we’d planned, but payback nonetheless.
Blood spurted from his lips, and he stilled. I listened carefully to his shallow breaths and looked at his discarded jacket on the grass, the one he’d given me to keep me dry instead of him.
I bit my lip, then swore. “You better not make me this regret this.”
I unsheathed my dagger and slid it across my leg, then bit back a howl as the cut ran deep. I pressed my fingers into the blood, letting the rest drop onto the ground. “Take this blood as payment,” I whispered, pressing my hand with the blood against his bite. “With this blood, take my payment. Remove the darkness in his veins and put them in mine. Allow me to share in his pain and sickness.”
I closed my eyes as the transfer spell took place. It was dark magic, one that would leave a mark in my mind, but it worked. Searing heat ran up my arm, and fang marks appeared in my skin. I collapsed back, praying Elijah would remain unconscious until Alex returned with the antidote.
It felt like flames licking against my veins, and it forced a cry from my mouth, a sound I didn’t recognize as my own. If this was only half the venom, I couldn’t imagine how much pain Elijah must’ve been in.
I shut my eyes to the gray light of the world, finding calm in the blackness. I couldn’t react. I had to stay still. I gritted my teeth so hard, I was surprised they didn’t shatter. My arm swelled, and heat prickled to my fingers. Numbness reached my shoulder, making its way to my chest. Slumber came for me, stronger than the madness splintering the corners of my mind, pulling me into nothingness.
Someone was shaking me. I opened my eyes and saw my sister. “What did you do?” Her black hair was slick around her face, her eyes wide as she looked from my face to my arm. “Take this.”
“What ab—”
“You first.” She forced the liquid down my throat until I choked. Within a minute, I felt relief. I turned my head, rolling it against the ground, watching as she force-fed the antidote to Elijah. She looked back at me once the bottle was empty. “You better hope he thinks all this blood is from the bite.” She clenched her jaw, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Why would you do this? A bloody transfer spell, sister? I know you want him alive to hurt Damian, but his life is not more important than yours.” She peeled back his eyelid, examining him. “We’re lucky he’s unconscious, but just in case, we should erase his mind.”
“No.” I managed to sit upright. “Mother did that, and she never recovered. She’s slowly dying because of it. I won’t have it happen again.”
She clicked her tongue. “I wasn’t planning on me doing it. You’re the one who messed up. You should do it.”
I ran cold. She really did have a vengeful streak, not unlike me. We were both the furthest thing from Ember, who would have sacrificed herself in a second for any of us. “He won’t remember.”
Her pointed stare promised pain. “He better not. Don’t try to kill yourself next time.” She stood and threw the bottle on the ground. “Idiot.”
My eyebrows raised. “I’ll take care of him.”
“I’m sure you will, seeing as he means more to you than your own family.”
Her words were arrows to my heart, and tears welled in my eyes. I was thankful the rain covered evidence of it. “That’s not true,” I snapped because it wasn’t. “I don’t even like him.”
“I can’t understand why else you’d save him, at the risk of revealing yourself. Of us. What if I hadn’t come back in time with the antidote? You could have died. Do you not care?” She placed her hand on her hip. “I’m going to find Buttercup before he or someone else finds her and kills her. This kingdom isn’t kind to snakes.”
Once she was out of sight, searching behind some trees, I let a tear roll down my cheek. I turned toward Elijah. Why had I saved him? I should have let him die. It was punishment enough. Now my sister hated me, and when Cas found out, he’d hate me too. Because it’s true, I risked us all. If he remembered anything, we could all find ourselves like Ember.
I had to know for certain. After a few minutes, he opened his bloodshot eyes and coughed.
The mixture of rare herbs and oils had been infused with two spells Cas had mastered.
“Victoria?” He spluttered, then slowly sat upright.
I held the dagger tight in my grip. If he said anything, I’d have no choice but to slit his throat.
“Where’s the snake?” he asked, and I loosed a sigh.
“Careful.” I climbed to his side and helped him to his feet.
