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Instead, I cleared my throat and took a step back, my skin hot and my heart still racing. “I—I need to see the wolf totem.”

His brows knitted together, but he nodded, striding to the armoire and withdrawing the gold trinket. I was already reaching for the raven totem on the table. When Alaric handed me the other one, I placed them side-by-side, frowning as I compared the two.

The wolf totem thrummed with power. The gold was shinier, the metal heavier in my palm. It didn’t smell like witch magic, though. It had the earthy scent of Wolven magic. I pressed my fingers against the engraving of the wolf, closing my eyes as I drew on my power.

An image flashed in my mind like a bolt of lightning: a forest, with two trees several feet apart. A shimmering, translucent film hovered in the air between them.

My eyes flew open, and I withdrew my hand with a gasp.

“What is it?” Alaric asked, his voice laced with alarm.

“Hans’s research,” I said breathlessly, gesturing to the book in Alaric’s hands. He handed it to me, and I flipped through it, frantically scanning the pages until something caught my eye. My heart lurched as I read the passage aloud: “The magic of the portal is too powerful to sustain itself without a totem to bind it. In order for the enchantment to endure, another power source must be used.”

I glanced up at Alaric with a smile. “Don’t you see? This is it!”

Alaric was frowning at the two totems. “But why? What does this have to do with Gorem?”

“I didn’t piece it together until I thought of that note from Elvira. She’d said the portal cannot be disassembled with magic. That was why Gorem was working with her. He was trying to get her to deactivate the portal!” I gestured to the wolf totem. “She was holding this on the day she died. She was looking for a way to unbind the enchantment linking it to the portal.”

Alaric ran his hand over the raven totem. “And only the wolf one is enchanted. So, either Hans or someone in his family linked the portal to only one tribe. That’s why only Wolven Mages can cross over.”

I nodded eagerly and held up the wolf totem. “I’ll bet if I can work with this a bit longer, I can unlock the spell that was used and mimic it on the other three totems.”

Alaric’s eyebrows lifted. “You think you can connect the portal to all four?”

“Maybe. I’m not quite as comfortable with Wolven magic as I am with witch magic, but between me and Sasha, I’ll bet we can figure it out.”

Alaric nodded. “I need to find the other two totems. They are most likely with the chiefs.” He groaned, closing his eyes for a moment. “I doubt Ramathos will hand his over so easily. But Chief Cartier might.” He turned to leave, then faltered and glanced at me. “Is it all right if I leave you here?”

“Yes, of course.” I was already studying the wolf totem, running my hands along the cool metal edges. “Just be careful.”

“I will.” Alaric leaned in and kissed my forehead before he left the room.

I chewed on my lower lip as I inspected the totem. Its magic called to me, beckoning me closer. It reminded me of the magic of the portal. Sentient. Probing. Curious. Like it had a mind of its own and wanted to know me.

“What do you think, Sasha?” I asked. “Do you recognize this magic?”

“I’ve only seen the totem once before, but it emanates the same power as my magic.”

“I wonder if I could craft a spell using Wolven magic and witch magic.”

“No, that won’t work. The totem repels witch magic.”

I frowned. “How do you know that?”

“Because I saw it happen with Elvira and Geraldine.”

I froze, my insides roiling with unease. My pulse quickened as I asked, “You saw it happen? When?”

Sasha was silent for a long moment. Then, she said softly, “When Elvira was killed.”

I blinked rapidly, my gaze fixed on the totem without really seeing it. My heart thrashed in my chest, and my breaths were sharp and shallow. “What are you talking about? You saw my father kill her?”

A pause. Then⁠—

“No, Cerise. He wasn’t there at all. It was me. I killed your grandmother.”

Forty-Two