But she was undeterred. And just as she’d been able to convince Gray to leave her, now, she was already slipping in past my defenses.
“Please, Liam,” she said, her voice so soft now I had to lean in close to hear it. “I had a dream about this a long time ago, before I ever met you. You appeared as a black raven, and you showed me this moment, right here. I saw the snow falling on my face from above. You said I would know what to do when the time came.”
I could only stare, open-mouthed. Reva had never mentioned this to me, not in all our lessons and conversations.
“When I woke up the next morning,” she continued, “it was like this great sense of purpose and belonging fell over me, and I knew. I just knew.” She closed her eyes, her skin so pale she was nearly translucent. “Let me do this. For Gray. For Haley. For all of the witches who came here today. It’s truly what I want. What I was meant for.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and my own eyes blurred.
Reva sounded so much like Gray in that moment, I could only smile.
She was nearly gone now, but in these final moments, she had won me over.
“Are you certain?” I asked.
Reva smiled, and my heart melted, knowing it would be the last I would ever see it.
Gently I placed my hand over her eyes and bowed my head, whispering the incantation given to me by the Old One, the last and only power I’d been left with. The one I’d sworn I’d never use.
When she opened her eyes again, they were electric, holding the wisdom of a thousand stars, the depths of the ancient oceans, the timelessness of the entire universe.
She opened her mouth to speak, but I would never know her final thoughts. Her body convulsed, then shifted before my eyes, the sight as awesome as it was beautiful.
A sleek, white raven flapped its great wings, hovering before me for a single heartbeat.
Fresh tears glazed my eyes, and I blinked them away.
All at once, the snow ceased.
Reva disappeared.
And there, in the place where she’d lain dying, was a single white feather.
Thirty-Three
GRAY
There were no comforting words, no promises, nothing anyone could say to make this right.
Reva had been stolen from us by the very woman who’d attempted to snuff out my life when I was a baby. The woman who’d attempted to kill us all. The woman who thought she could take overourhome,ourcountry,ourworld, bending it to her will.
And now, for me, there was only darkness, powerful and all-consuming. Only hatred.
It fused with my magic, black and powerful, pushing me through the crowds of fighters in search of my sisters.
I found Haley first, and she took one look at my face and knew some serious shit was about to go down. Without a word, she followed me, and in a matter of minutes, we found Addie.
“Trinity is here,” I said, sparing them the news about Reva. They’d hear about it soon enough, but right now, I needed them to be strong. Focused.
“Where?” Addie asked, and Haley double-checked her weapons. Where seconds ago they’d been exhausted and battle-weary, my words had infused them with new life. New purpose.
Trinity was the head of the snake. And that bitch needed to go down.
I picked up on Darius’s scent, and led my sisters in the direction he’d gone, hoping that he’d already found her. Hoping that he’d kept her alive.
Minutes later, we crossed the abandoned railroad yard, and found ourselves standing in front of a small cathedral, one of the few structures that seemed to have escape the riots and battles unscathed.
“In there?” Addie asked, narrowing her eyes. “Are you sure?”
