Page 91 of The Temptation of Roan Island

“I’ll scream,” she says, eyes wide, heart pounding so loud I can hear it.

“You can try,” Jafeth whispers in her ear, teeth scraping her neck.

I can see the moment the reality of her situation sinks in. “No! No. Don’t bite! It’s Solstice!”

Ah, Mrs. Potter has been holding out on us. She knows more than I thought. Considering neither of us have any love for her, a bite tonight would kill her.

Jafeth keeps his lips right at the base of her neck where it meets her shoulder. “Go ahead, kitten,” he whispers. “Tell us the truth now.”

“They’re g-getting ready. For the c-ceremony.”

Jafeth and I exchange a look.

“What ceremony?” Jafeth asks.

She swallows thickly and pinches her lips before replying. “The Solstice Ceremony.”

Fear multiplies inside me. If whatever they’re planning is anything like my father’s Solstice Ceremonies, there will be blood and casualties. I need to get to Pippa. I snatch Potter’s chin in my hand and force her to look at me. “What will they do?”

She tries to shake loose. “I told you too much already. Goddess forgive me.” A small gasp leaves her, tears making tracks down her cheeks.

“Where?” I demand. “Just tell me where, and we’ll let you go.”

“The caves.”

“What caves?” Jafeth asks.

“Under The Sanatorium,” she squirms. “Let me go. Please let me go. I haven’t hurt her. We only want to make her better. All of us, better.” She’s sobbing in earnest now. “All praise to the goddess. All praise to Mirrav. All praise to the new Mavarri.”

A sick feeling settles in my stomach, bile climbing my throat. “What have you done?”

“All praise to the goddess. All praise to Mirrav. All praise to the new Mavarri,” she chants rather than answering my question. It’s like she’s gone now, no longer paying any attention to us as she sinks into whatever manic doctrine she’s been spoonfed. I hurl her to the side. We won’t get anything else out of her.

“We need to find these caves.” I meet my brother’s gaze, and he nods.

Mrs. Potter laughs. “You’re too late. She’s the first sacrifice.”

Her laughter grows to hysterics. I grit my teeth.

“Even if you make it in time,” Mrs. Potter says, “she won’t choose you. She’ll be so out of it, she’ll happily become what we need her to be. To serve the goddess. We’ll cleanse the impure from among us. Of course the transformation wouldn’t work on her. Don’t you know what she is? She’s impure. A slu⁠—”

Before I realize what I’m doing, my teeth are in her neck, my venom pumping into her blood. She tries to scream, but I cover her mouth. Her body contorts, jerking from the poison until she goes limp. Dead in my arms. By my hand. And not because of an order my father gave. I should be shocked by my actions, and maybe later I will be, but right now, I can’t bring myself to feel an ounce of regret for killing this vile woman. “No one speaks ill of my wife and lives.”

She crumbles to the ground as I stand. When I meet Jafeth’s gaze, he gives me a devilish smile. “Let’s go get your girl.”

39

PIPPA

The white gown I wear transforms me into the bride I’ve never been. I giggle. No, that’s not right. The dress is all wrong for a wedding. It’s boxy and loose, more like a nightgown. “Am I dreaming?”

My words sound strange, like they’re coming through a tunnel. Forming them takes more effort than speaking should. I blink slowly and deliberately to clear my head. Something isn’t adding up. “Where’s Shemaiah?”

I need my groom. Another giggle parts my lips. It feels as if the world is spinning happily around me, but I’m standing too still.

A hand curls around my upper arm.

I track the appendage up to Anna, who’s holding onto me like her life depends on it.