Page 144 of A Trial By Blood

I took a deep breath and shook out my hands. I’d only had two days to work on a game plan. I’d learned a lot since this whole thing started, but I was still studying. The witch I was up against would be far more advanced than me.

My coven had come to support me. Rowena had hugged me tight and told me no matter what happened today, she loved me, that they all loved me. I knew that, but the thought of letting them down was more than I could bear.

I never thought in a million years I’d be here, in this position, but against all odds, I was. The fates had obviously had other plans for me, and I was going to give it my all. No, I wasn’t magically skilled, but I was stubborn and determined. When I left this clearing, either on my own two feet or being carried off these sacred grounds, I’d know, and everyone here would know, that I’d fought with everything I had.

We were still waiting for my opponent, and when a commotion came from behind us, I knew they’d finally arrived. Ronan took my hand, holding it firmly in his, and I looked up at him.

“You’ve got this, petal. You hear me?”

“Are you trying to boss me into winning?”

He held my chin between his thumb and finger. “I don’t give a fuck about winning or losing. All I care about is you, back beside me at the end of this, your hand in mine.”

I smiled and tried not to let him see how hard I was shaking. “You got it.”

“Good.”

My opponent and her coven had moved to the opposite side of the trial grounds. It was Marianne Winter. She’d lost her trial two years ago, when all the covens and their Keepers had officially taken part. She’d been vocal about her loss at the time and her belief that her opponent had somehow cheated. Now, thanks to the uniqueness of our coven’s situation, she’d been given a second chance.

For tonight only, the mother had returned the gifts Marianne and her coven had lost. She looked at me now and smirked. I could imagine how it felt, having a large portion of her powers stripped away, because I’d felt my own magic slowly dying inside me for years. So no, Marianne wasn’t going to waste one second of the chance she’d been given today.

My sisters moved in, blocking her view of me. “Marianne has something to prove,” Wills said. “She’s desperate, which means she’ll make mistakes. As long as you remain calm, you can best her.”

“She’s confident,” I said. “She knows I’ve been sick, that my magic is largely untried, and my spelling skills…” Sucked. “Are subpar.”

“Stop it,” Iris said. “No negative self-talk. Yeah, she knows you’ve been sick, which means she’s going into this fight greatly underestimating you.”

Magnolia smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile. “Marianne Winter is an arrogant bitch. She’s not just going into this battle underestimating you, in her mind she’s already won, and that immediately puts her on the back foot. Yeah, she has something to prove, she wants all the covens here to see her as powerful, to believe her bullshit story about being cheated last time. The female also loves an audience, which means she’ll be going for flashy and dramatic.” Mags rested her hand on my shoulder, and her dark smile turned into a grin. “Bitch is gonna burn herself out before she knows what you’re doing. Stick to the game plan, no matter what she throws at you, and you can’t lose. Okay?”

I drew in a steadying breath and nodded. You can do this. I let the words repeat over and over in my mind.

“You ready, Rose?” Marianne called across the clearing. “Or do you need help onto the battlefield?”

My sisters all stiffened.

“Bitch,” Wills muttered.

Mags balled her fist, and I knew she was on the verge of losing her cool. I grabbed her hand and shook my head. “They’re just words. She’ll show everyone here who she truly is,” I said.

Magnolia nodded, but her anger didn’t diminish, and Wills and Iris were right there with our baby sister. I glanced at Mom, and she and Else looked ready to tear Marianne a new one as well.

I handed Wills my knife—no weapons were allowed during the fight. Smaller things that could be used for spelling were okay, but our main weapon had to be our magic, which made it difficult for witches like the ones in my coven, who, more often than not, used blood to spell. Thankfully, we didn’t fight to the death anymore, but “accidents” had happened in the past. Certain spells were also frowned upon, others, the covens had agreed never to use, but you never knew what would happen once you were out there and witches got desperate.

I slid off my shoes and socks; the snow freezing against my bare feet, and took a step toward the clearing. Ronan stopped me, pulled me back, and planted a hot and heavy kiss on me. My nerves instantly melted away.

“Hurry back,” he said and released me.

I walked out onto the field and the edge of the clearing shimmered, the mother’s magical barrier shooting higher, locking us in.

Marianne kept her smirk front and center as she strutted over to stand opposite me. Her coven excelled in pyro-magic. Producing and spelling with fire came easy to them, and they loved to show off their skills. Wills had faced something similar during her trial. Images of the pit at the colony filled my head, the flames licking at my skin. Everything was still so fresh from that day—the pain, the fear—and panic tried to rise up inside me.

Marianne flung her hands in the air and spun in a circle with a little dance and a giggle. Fire exploded from her fingers, the flames growing, taking shape.

My fangs punched down from my gum, and I sunk them into my lower lip, drawing blood, preparing for her attack. My magic sang, pulsing to life inside me. I let it grow and feed and intertwine with the power that had become a part of me from drinking Ronan’s blood.

Blood dripped down my chin and onto the snow, and I stepped on it, pressing my frozen bare toes through the snow, forcing my blood to touch the ground below, connecting myself to the earth, feeling it flow through me, strengthening me.

“You think blood will help you?” Marianne’s grin was nasty as she worked her flames higher. “You’re unskilled and weak. Coven Thornheart is supposed to be a big deal, but look at you.” Her expression filled with delicious glee. “I promise this will be over fast, then you can go back to bed.”