The hounds charged forward, taking point on each side of Trinity, growling in warning. Vampire strength or not, that woman wasn’t goinganywhere.
I raised my staff, pointing it at her face. “You’ve caused enough damage in your lifetime to last a thousand eternities. You’re done now. It’s over.”
“Kill me, then!” Trinity shouted, completely unraveling. “If I can’t be with my babies, then just kill me!”
Her eyes filled with fear, with hatred, with a self-loathing so endless it nearly sucked me down with her. Trinity truly wanted to die.
But I wouldn’t kill her. Wouldn’t give her that gift.
She had wronged us. She had robbed us of our childhood, of each other, of our chance to grow together and come into our powers. She had ushered in the destruction of the home I loved. She had killed and harmed people I cared about. She had masterminded a plot to eradicate most of the world’s witches and supernaturals and humans alike.
She was pure evil. A monster in the truest sense.
When I looked into her eyes, I felt nothing now. Not even a vague recognition, not even a flicker of compassion or regret.
She deserved to die.
But I could not—wouldnot give her that escape.
I set down my staff. Stripped off my sword and my daggers.
After all the blood I’d spilled tonight, I was done killing.
It was time to stand with my sisters. It was time for the four to rise.
Instinctively, we all joined hands, with Georgie on my right, her grip warm and solid inside mine, her smile broad, her eyes determined.
Sisters.
Reunited.
Rejoined.
All of us had so much catching up to do, so much to reflect on and plan for, to laugh and cry, to learn and get to know each other. But that would come later. I knew it now with a certainty that wouldn’t be broken.
For now, we had other business to finish.
As the guys helped Darius down and removed the hawthorn stakes, my sisters and I flowed into a seamless chant, our unique magics combining into a powerful spell.
“Bane of Silver, blood of fae
We call upon your aid today
The powers she’s stolen, the powers she’s schemed
Reveal what is real, and not what is seemed
Above and below, by stars, moon, and sun
We bind her eternally, as four become one.”
“What are you doing?” Trinity seethed, her eyes wide with fear and revulsion. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill each and every last one of you! The legacy is mine. It was always mine!”
Her eyes bulged from her face, blood pooling in the corners of her mouth, but my sisters and I were undeterred. We repeated the spell, chanting until our voices were hoarse, and soon other voices chimed in. The witches we’d fought with in the streets had followed the guys here, and now they all gathered behind us, lending their voices to our chorus.
Deirdre was at the front of the group, her eyes shining with pride. With love.
I looked to her and nodded, making the tiniest space in my heart for forgiveness. Not today, but someday.
