Everything that had brought us closer. As close as sisters.
I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Haley tossed a dried rosebud at me, pegging me between the eyes. “If I’d known I was your big sister back then, I probably would’ve skipped thepracticallypart and gone straight to kicking your ass, so consider that your free pass.”
“Oh, you want some of this?” I teased, spreading my arms. “Take your best shot, girl.”
“Hmm. Hard pass. You weren’t a super-powered bloodsucker back then.” She grabbed a clean cutting board and knife from the drying rack next to the sink, then handed them to me, her eyes twinkling with laughter. “Now wash up and get to work. Bloodsucker or not, there’s no such thing as a free lunch around here, Desario, and you’ve been laying around for days.”
“Yes ma’am.” I knotted my hair in a loose bun and washed my hands, excited to roll up my sleeves and dig in. It felt good to be doing something tangible, something other than practicing violence, or worse—executing it. After everything that had happened with the guys last night, a few hours of peaceful herbcraft with my sisters sounded like just what the doctor ordered.
“So, what are we working on today?” I asked brightly, joining them at the counter. “Healing potions? Protective charms? Dinner?”
Addie held up a vial markedhemlock.“The fine art of poison-making.”
I laughed. So much for a day of peaceful herbcraft.
“Sounds like a party.” I rubbed my hands together and grinned. “Where do I start?”
Eleven
GRAY
“Crafting the perfect poison is both an art and a science.” Verona, who’d been supervising all the activity in the kitchen, set an armload of clean vials and jars on the counter before us, then handed me a sheet of instructions.
I scanned it carefully, memorizing the ingredients, measurements, and specific incantations necessary for crafting the deadly poisons our witches would be carrying into battle, just in case.
Not everyone had built-in offensive powers. But we’d make damn sure they weren’t left defenseless, either.
I closed my eyes, took a moment to set my intention for this deadly work, then grabbed the kitchen knife and a bottle of what looked like tiny twigs, ready to chop.
Everyone in the lodge was working on something—poisons, spells, protective charms, healing potions, combat training, weapons inspection and inventory, meal planning, cleaning, mending, weatherizing the windows and doors against the insane winter. Half the guys were on guard duty with Elena’s men on the beach and in the woods, Liam was working with Reva on her shadow traveling practice, and the rest had gone out with Elena on another grocery run which, according to Haley, was starting to become a real challenge. A handful of local stores were doing their best to stay open and stocked through the storms, but they were having trouble getting supplies delivered. Most of the major roadways into the Cape and surrounding communities had been intermittently shut down, leaving the National Guard and emergency services to pick up the slack.
If things had gotten that bad here in the Cape, I could only imagine what they were experiencing in Blackmoon Bay—ground zero for the entire disaster.
It took me a few minutes to get into the groove, but once I did, the work became easy, almost meditative. My sisters and I got our own little assembly line going, with me chopping, Haley measuring and mixing, and Addie portioning everything into bottles.
Everywhere I looked, people were in motion. Bodies moved. Hearts beat. Blood flowed, warm and sweet and seductive.
I couldn’t say the presence of so many people didn’t faze me, but I meant what I’d told Haley: no one in this house was in any danger from me. The times I felt the hunger welling up, I just stepped outside for some air, or took the hounds for a romp in the snow, or grabbed some blood from the stash Emilio had brought back for me.
It got the job done, just enough to take the edge off. But it wasn’t satisfying. Not in the least. Drinking donor blood was a choice I madeeverytime, and I was only a few days in.
Darius had been doing this for centuries.
Darius…
I hadn’t spoken with him since our argument last night. I’d gone straight to bed after we’d arrived at the lodge, and last I heard, he was out patrolling the beach tonight.
I missed him. I needed to see him, to let him know I was okay. That I understood what he’d done and why, even if the image of Liam still haunted me…
Desperate for a distraction, I turned to Addie and blurted out, “So what’s your superpower, sis?”
Haley cracked up. “Nice, Gray. Way to ease into it.”
“Well, we’re all witches, right? Magic isn’t exactly a four-letter word around here.”
Haley shot me a smug glare, and even though my magic didn’t come with mind-reading powers, in that moment I could read her thoughts like a book.
