Page 2 of Echoes of the Banshee

“Is it the ball? I’ve been practicing my dancing.” I struggle to my feet and attempt a curtsy. He reaches in and clamps heavier shackles over the ones I’m already wearing. Overkill. Where would I even go if I got out of here?

Apparently outside.

I’m blinded by the brightness of the setting sun. The last light of day slips between the new leaves, casting long shadows across the forest floor.

The mud clings to my feet, resembling a second skin. Every step bites at my bare soles, sending sharp jolts through muscles too long unused. I’ve spent months in that wretched pit, and I’d choose that darkness again over the unknown that lurks beyond the trees. Whatever waits ahead is worse. I can feel it.

“Are you lost?” I provoke goon two, hoping for answers as he jerks the chain between my wrists.

“Are you so stupid you haven’t figured it out yet?”

I study the surrounding area but it gives me no clues. The pathway opens ahead and he shoves me into the open. My eyes sweep the clearing. My coven. The people who raised me, now gathered for the show.

I’ve been home this entire time. Locked in a dungeon I didn’t even know existed.

Vivien and Anita stand side by side like vultures, cut from ice and bone. Waiting for the kill. I should be surprised. But somehow, I’m not.

Thea

A Warm Welcome

“Why?” My voice breaks on the single syllable that carries so much weight.

“Theadora,” Vivien says, her voice cloying. “How kind of you to join us. For once, you get to be the center of attention.”

My knees hit the ground hard as the guard shoves me. A hand clamps around my jaw, yanking my face upward.

Gideon holds a potion, muddy green, thick and glinting in the low light. They hold me still as they force it to my lips.

“I’ve waited ten years for this,” Gideon murmurs, his smile triumphant. “Open up.”

I fight. I choke. But he keeps pouring until there’s no choice. Drink or drown.

The potion scorches down my throat.

Gideon’s smile widens as he straightens, eyes gleaming.

“Why?” I bite back the tears. “What did I do wrong?”

Vivien rests her hand on my shoulder, motherly.

“Oh, sweet Adora, we’ve been preparing you for this moment. It’s because we love you.”

“Love?” The word doesn’t make sense.

“Yes, love.” Anita joins her mother, her expression carefully composed. “We would never ask this of you if it weren’t necessary. Don’t you want to save me?”

“Save you from what?” I manage to ask.

“I’m dying.” Anita looks pleadingly into my eyes. “The only way to save myself... is you.”

“Me?” I’m becoming lightheaded.

“You can save Anita,” Vivien tells me. “Isn’t that what you want? To be worth something to us?”

“Sister,” Anita says softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You have a soul shard, you can save me. Isn’t that wonderful?”

There was a time when I’d have given anything to hear her call me sister. But now all I hear is the lie.