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The Immortal tapped her head. “I can hear your thoughts, if you didn’t realize it already. They are not hiding the child.” She bobbed her head down, indicating behind Tracey’s shoulder.
Tracey turned and that knot withered and died.
Suhnah was bringing Lily to them.
“No!” She held her hand out. “Don’t. Run. Hide. Try something to save Lily.”
Suhnah stopped, still holding onto the child tightly, but The Immortal crooked a finger. She made a motioning signal to her. “Come, Suhnah. Bring me the child.” She said to Tracey as Suhnah did as she commanded, “There is no more fight. They can all sense it. They are offering a sacrifice instead for their livelihood.”
“How do you know?” Tracey couldn’t speak. Her throat was raw. “You can’t know . . .” But it was. She saw the resignation and defeat in Suhnah. The Mori vampiress was crying. Tears streamed down her face in a steady line, but she never faltered. She closed the distance until she was right in front of her child’s would-be murderer.
“No,” Tracey whimpered. She had to try and she shot forward. She reached for Lily. She was going to rip her from Suhnah’s arms and run as fast as possible. It wouldn’t be enough, but at least she had tried. At least someone had fought back, but her hand only grazed over Lily’s leg before she was yanked backwards.
“NO!” The Immortal lifted her in the air. She didn’t touch her. She merely held a hand up. The higher the hand went, the higher Tracey was in the air and she turned her hand. She released Tracey from her hold and the warrior vampire was flung to the ground, yards away. Her body broke through the crowd of Mori. They jumped aside so she wouldn’t crash into any of them and once she fell to the ground, she tasted blood in her mouth. She rolled over, coughing it out. The Mori closed the gap behind her. She was aware of this in the back of her mind, and she wasn’t paying attention to it. The need to try again, to save her niece, was the only thing forefront on her mind, but when she raised herself back up, she realized the Mori wouldn’t let her pass. They remained strong, keeping their backs to her. She tried to move past another one, but it was the same. They moved to block her. She couldn’t penetrate the circle anymore.
“Stay back.”
A hand came to her shoulder and she was lifted once again and moved backwards. A growl ripped from her throat, and she turned, ready to fight, but it wasn’t who held her in place. It was the person beside who told her to stay back.
Lucan held her in place, but her eyes fell to the human beside him and she fell back in surprise. “The witch?”
Brown waved, smiling self-consciously. She tucked her hair behind her ears and grabbed her other hand in front of her, pulling and twisting at her sleeves. “Heya. You’re Tracey. I remember you.”
It was the human witch that Davy was friends with. Tracey said, “You were left behind. Lucas—”
“Lucas put her with Mavic to train her magic.”
“Your magic was locked to you.”
Brown nodded, dropping her voice to a whisper, “It was. Mavic helped unlock it, and he’s been helping me hone it more.”
“But why . . .” She wasn’t enough. Tracey knew it would take more than one Bright witch. She turned to Lucan. “Tell me there is more. Tell me you have a plan.”
Lucas’s twin brother glared at her, his forehead wrinkling and he narrowed his eyes at her. “I would ask you to stop being insulting to me. Right now, you can stop.”
Tracey didn’t dare hope. “There’s more than her?” There had to be, or all was lost. Davy was gone. Her niece was gone. “Lucan, tell me—” She grasped onto him with desperate hands.
“Tracey, stop.” Wren ran up to them and pulled her lover’s hands away. She held them in her own and said to her, “It’s not. There’s more. I promise.” She twisted back to Lucan. “Do it. Now. We can’t wait.”
But Lucan wasn’t paying attention. Brown and a man in a robe stood beside him. Tracey guessed this was Mavic. She had never heard of the sorcerer, but he was rumored to be the second most powerful, second to Jacith. Some of her dread lifted as she recognized him and hope flickered inside of her. It was small, so small, but it was there. Tears streamed freely from her eyes now. She must’ve looked as Suhnah had, but she would never relinquish to The Immortal. Never.
She held onto Wren’s hands now. “Wren,” she gasped.
“I know.” Wren pulled her close so their bodies touched. She rested her forehead against Tracey’s. “Just hold on. Hold on.”
“It’s not done.” More tears. She gave her lover a watery smile.
“It’s not done,” Wren soothed her. One of her hands released her and wrapped around Tracey’s shoulders. She held the blonde warrior to her chest and ran her hand down her hair. “It’s not done. I promise. There’s more to come, much, much more.”
And then, a new sudden burst of wind ripped across the lands.
Lucan let out a breath. “It’s time.”
Tracey watched from the crowd. The Mori allowed her to see now, knowing she wouldn’t rush in anymore. The Immortal reached for Lily. Both mother and daughter’s faces were wet. They were crying steadily, but Lily didn’t fight. It broke Tracey’s heart. She couldn’t imagine the fear her niece was experiencing, but the little girl wore a brave front. Despite the tears, her eyes gleamed with a fierce determination and her hands were balled into tight little fists. When The Immortal pulled her into her arms, Lily didn’t wrap her legs or arms around the other. She held limp, making her body dead weight for The Immortal. A twinge of pride tunneled deep into Tracey’s chest.
She brushed her own tears away and held onto Wren’s hand tighter.
Their roles switched in that moment. Tracey was the solid one. She had
