My magic is mine to control, and I won’t let anyone hurt the people I love. With tears blurring my eyes, I meet Connor’s gaze, horrified that he’d let this happen. That he was willing to let them hurt my aunt over fucking trees.
His warm amber eyes beg me to understand, the only softness in his rigid posture, but I don’t understand at all.
“Callie,” my aunt whispers, while pulling me into her arms, her rose perfume already so familiar. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll be okay. The earth witches need more magic to repair what’s happened to the wolves’ land. I agreed to give them that magic. I’ll be right as rain after a couple of days.”
“A couple ofdays,” I screech, shaking my head vigorously. “If they need blood, let them take mind. I did it. It’s my fault.”
“No,” Mildred and Connor shout at the same time, startling me so bad that the wind dies.
Fiercely, my aunt whispers in my ear, “Never give another witch your blood.”
“Why is it okay for you, but not me?” I ask, tears thick in my voice.
“Because you are special,” she answers, tucking some of my hair behind my ears. Her eyes pierce mine, the insistence of just how special written within their depths. A warning that I should know better than to ask within the distance of so many listening ears. “I would give anything to protect you.”
Neva sighs, her wrist on her hip with the dagger still in hand. “Are we done with the theatrics? It’s blood, not her life. Goddess save me, we don’t have all day.”
The two women that were holding my aunt’s wrists gently help me up. They have kind faces and one softly murmurs, “She’ll be okay. We’ll take only what we need.”
“We can’t very well leave an empty landing strip in the middle of the forest, can we? Humans might become a bit suspicious,” the other remarks with a teasing quirk of her lips. “Now, be a good girl and gather a warm blanket for your aunt. She’ll want it when she’s finished. Our Mei can help you get one from the back of our car.”
“Mei, sweetie, can you help Callie get a blanket from the back of the van?” the first woman shouts. “It’s cold enough to freeze a tit off out here.”
“Mother!” a girl groans from the outskirts of the coven circle. “Could you not? No one says ‘freeze a tit’ during a blood sacrifice.”
There’s a round of laughter, and now I don’t know what to think. I went from terrified my aunt was going to be hurt to just really, really confused.
“She’s not going anywhere,” Neva demands, clearly trying to get things back on track. “Just as the girl said. It’s her fault we’re out here, and she must witness the repercussions of her actions. If she wasn’t a minor from another coven, it would be her blood, as it should be.”
“But she isn’t,” Mildred emphasizes with a warning in her voice. “She is a blood member of the Volkov Coven, and therefore I hold right to stand in her stead.”
I am? I mean, I knew I was a Volkov. Didn’t know that meant I was part of a coven.
“Yes, yes,” the coven leader mutters, rolling her eyes. “As you keep reminding us. Except here you are in my territory instead of your own. I’m perfectly in my right to demand—”
“Lighten up, Neva,” the second woman interrupts. “The girl roasted some trees. It could’ve been far worse, and she certainly isn’t the first witch to have magic get a bit out of control. Though, to this degree, it is impressive.”
“They’re more than trees,” snaps one of the shifters, but I can’t tell who through the crowd. “That’s our home, but why would you care? Fucking witches don’t give a—”
“Silence,” Connor roars, and both sides freeze. Even the birds are quiet.
In that moment, he looks tired. I want to go to him, but now the headshake makes sense. He’s barely holding the pack together. A witch running to him, even one that has the strength of the Call, might incite something we can’t fix. Especially since we aren’t sure of everything that the Call means.
A girl who I assume is Mei walks to the edge of the circle and motions me over, her small hands lost in the billowing sleeves of her red robe. I go to her quietly, and despite the sour look on her face, Neva says nothing.
“Your boyfriend is intense,” Mei murmurs in my ear, while she leads me away from the crowds.
“We’re just friends,” I say automatically, my mind still with my aunt.
Everything about this says‘scary cult blood magic danger,’ but Mei’s parents made it seem like it’s no big deal.I really need a dummy’s guide.
I follow Mei’s lead and don’t turn back when I hear Neva ask my aunt for the second time if she’s freely giving up her blood, and try not to wince when I hear her say, “I do.”
Shortly after, chanting begins and Mei grumbles, “Man, this was going to be my first blood sacrifice.”
I give her a hard look, and she has the decency to look at least a little sheepish.
“I swear your aunt will be fine,” she reassures as we walk down a separate dirt road where a collection of cars, trucks, and vans are parked. “My moms are the best earth witches in Oregon. Can make anything grow…or regrow in this case.”
