Liana flinched and turned her gaze to Hendrik. He stood motionless like a puppet, waiting for the witch to pull his strings.
“He waited for you. Every day. In the dark. Until I took all his fears away and made him forget you ever existed.” She leaned closer and her voice dropped to a husky rasp. “I’m going to do the same to you. And the children? Who knows…maybe I’ll eat them.”
“You’re disgusting,” Liana snapped.
The witch’s lips curled revealing a set of rotting teeth. She turned to Hendrik. “Fetch the children, bring them here. The three of them together should be enough.”
“No!” Liana shouted, putting herself between her brother and the hallway leading to the cages. “I won’t use them to transfer the magic.”
“It’s your choice. If you won’t use the children, I’ll make you use your brother. Are you really going to sacrifice him after everything you put him through?”
Liana wavered, trying to find a way to stall for time. But there wasn’t any time left. I had to set my plan into motion. As far as plans went, this one had a high risk of going south. It was why I hadn’t mentioned it to Liana before we left. I’d promised her I would get her and Hendrik out of here, no matter the cost, and while we’d also made a deal that we would be leaving this forest together, I might have to break it.
I stepped from the shadows. “Use me.”
The witch jerked her head in my direction, a snarl forming on her lips. “How did he get in here? I told you to come alone!” Sparks of magic spat from her fingers, and I felt my muscles seize as her spell took hold of my body.
Liana moved in front of me and held up her hands. “He must have followed me here. I didn’t know.”
The witch released her spell, and I cocked my head, keeping an eye on the magic sizzling in the her hands a few feet away. “If you ask me, this works out in your favor. You heard her. She won’t use the children. Instead, Liana can use me to amplify the magic, and you get to keep Hendrik under your spell. Why lose him when you can just get rid of me?”
“Bowen, no!” Liana whirled. She stared at me with horror etched across her features. Her eyes pleaded with me, telling me with their silent intensity this wasn’t part of the plan. But she had to realize there was no plan beyond getting her out by any means possible. And I did have an idea…I just couldn’t give too much away. The problem was my idea didn’t exactly end with me walking out of there.
This was definitely one of those win, lose situations.
The witch scraped one of her nails across her jawline, giving the idea some thought. Her flinty eyes narrowed. “All right. Hendrik, disarm him.” She grabbed the medallion from its jeweled box and placed it on the table, where the symbols glittered in the candlelight. “Transfer the magic, and I’ll spare the children’s lives. Hendrik stays with me, and you go back into the cell. But whatever happens to him”—her menacing gaze shifted toward me—“is all part of the process. Do it now. I’ve waited long enough.”
Hendrik crossed the room as if in a trance. He reached for the crossbow slung over my shoulder, then the knife I had sheathed. I let him pat me down, finding the ankle weapon. Collecting them all, he walked back toward the witch.
Tears glistened in Liana’s eyes, and she shook her head as I approached.
“No—I can’t do it. I won’t.” She staggered back a step, nearly bumping the table.
“You have to. Look at me.” I cupped the back of her neck, tilting her head till her gaze connected with mine. Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss against the side of her temple and whispered, “Remember what Tessa said. What you give, you can take.” I lingered for a second, breathing in her scent, feeling the softness of her hair against my skin. My mouth grazed her ear. “Take it all.”
When I pulled back, a flicker of understanding crossed her features, and she gave a subtle nod.
I grabbed her hand, locking our fingers together.
“Remember you promised me you wouldn’t die?” she said.
“You either.”
Liana hesitated, staring at the gleaming medallion. The witch snarled and slashed her hand through the air. A gust of heated air stormed through the room, rattling the window panes.
“Do it now!”
With a sharp inhale, Liana closed her fist around the medallion. The jolt of magic stole the breath from my lungs. I tried to keep my eyes open, tried to keep her face in my vision, but the magic magnified, growing stronger and stronger between us until I squeezed my eyes shut as fiery pain seared through my body.
Chapter 26
Liana
Take it all.
Bowen’s voice echoed in my mind. I knew what he wanted me to do; I was just afraid it wouldn’t work, and most of all, I was afraid the magic would kill him. The fact he’d appeared in the parlor gave me strength, knowing he’d already gotten Annie and Ethan out. But now we were racing so fast toward this ending, it took everything inside of me not to collapse to the floor in terrified sobs.
Not that I could. Bowen’s grip was so tight around my hand there was no getting free.
