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“Yes. Right now.” I looked at the book in my hands. “I want to look at the pages under the moonlight.”
He paused. “But there’s so little left. Tomorrow is the new moon.”
I inhaled. “I know,” I whispered, wishing I’d caught on earlier. “But I have to try.” If it were too late, at least I’d have less than twenty-four hours to beat myself up over it. I grimaced at my own sense of dark humor, but Fenris nodded, rolling out of our cot to pull on some clothes. I did the same.
In a matter of minutes, we were walking briskly through the jungle. Our footsteps sounded loud in the otherwise sleeping forest. Despite the quiet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, and I suspected it wasn’t just the nocturnal creatures or the vampires Fenris had guard the camp on night shift.
Fenris said nothing, but I could sense his unease through our bond as he led me further into the jungle. “What are we looking for?” he asked after several minutes, glancing over his shoulder at me.
I sighed, holding the book closer. Part of me was even embarrassed to admit this.What if it doesn’t work out?I took another breath.But what if it does? This is all I’ve got to work on.
“In my dream, I was casting a spell,” I began. “It was a strange dream. I didn’t recognize what I was doing, but I couldn’t stop. It was like being a passenger in my own body.” I paused and shook my head, realizing those weren’t the important details. “I didn’t actually recognize the spell I was casting, but I was holding my grimoire open.”
Fenris frowned as he looked ahead again. “And you think this will help?”
I gave a weak shrug. “I have a hunch,” I sighed, and that was all I had. “But this makes the most sense when I think about what my mother said in the dream. Nothing else has…fit. I just want to read the grimoire under the stars. It may click then.”
“I see,” Fenris said. He whirled around suddenly and scooped me up in his arms in the space of a breath. It was all I could do not to yelp, clapping my hand over my mouth to keep from alerting anyone else in the thick brush.
Holding me against his chest, he dashed through the dense foliage, doing his best to shield me from stray limbs before the forest suddenly gave way to the sharp, steep angles of the hillsides surrounding the ancient temple. As we reached the pinnacle, he set me down. “Is this enough starlight?” he asked, glancing around.
I shrugged. Truthfully, his guess was as good as mine. “It’s clearer than anywhere else,” I said, forcing myself to sound hopeful. As I looked up, I smiled, marveling at how clear the sky was—and how many stars I could see. If I weren’t on the precipice of a battle, I could have easily spent all night up here, just admiring the view.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to settle my nerves, but my fingers still trembled as I opened the cover of the Handmaiden grimoire. At first, nothing looked any different. The first few pages looked just like they had in the light of day, or when I’d read them under the lamp in the library on sleepless nights. My heart raced as I flicked through pages, looking foranythingthat’d changed, anything at all—
A flash of silver caught my eye, and my heart skipped a beat. Then it skipped several beats as I hurried back and nearly missed the page. I realized these were the pages that were blank,the ones I’d assumed were for me or other future Handmaiden witches to add their own notes.
But they weren’t blank at all.
This spell is meant only for those of the Handmaiden lineage,the flowing script detailed.While this grimoire’s already protected from prying eyes, we’ve ensured an extra layer of protection for the most potent of spells. You’ll have realized by now that to read this spell, you must be under the Pleiades constellation.
I kept reading the page, realizing the witch was detailing how to craft this celestial ink and add any other spells that could only read by starlight. As interesting as that was, it wouldn’t help me right now. I kept flipping pages, trying to find the next place, but only finding blanks.
Sure enough, silver ink was present there as well. This handwriting was less elegant but perfectly legible.
“Did you find it?” Fenris asked, peering over my shoulder.
“Yes,” I said, unable to believe I’d solved the riddle. “There are spells written here in some magic ink. My mother must have been referring to one of these.”
My eyes fell on a spell, and my heart stopped as I choked on my own breath.To Rise After Death,the title said.This spell is integral to crowning a new Lunar Lord should the need arise. This will allow his rebirth in the Moon Temple should he meet a mortal demise.
I traced my hands over the page.Does this…does this spell only apply to a Lunar Lord, or can I cast it on myself, too?My pulse roared in my ears as I scanned the page, looking for any limitations on who it’d been cast on, when I realized there was a note off to the side in Enora’s handwriting.
I keep seeing this spell in my dreams, but I do not know why. I cannot cast it alone, but there are none of my sisters leftto aid me.If you find this, we are meant to meet—but I do not suspect this is the case. I fear I am alone.
My heart dropped to my feet.I need a second Handmaiden witch?As far as anyone knew, I was the last one. I took a deep breath.I can find a way for Morgan or Val to help me. Or Delila. She’s truly powerful.
I scanned the text again, realizing this complex spell combined a lot of elements. It needed the total solar eclipse, and the magic could only work with the innate power of the ancient Moon Temple. Of course, just like the binding ritual, this had to be done in a short period of time—that was simply the nature of an eclipse. I swallowed.
The Handmaiden leading the spell must spill their blood within the temple at the apex of the total solar eclipse to complete the spell and grant the Lunar Lord the ability to return from death. If the location is wrong, he will not rise. If the apex of the eclipse is missed, the Handmaiden may well lose their own life.
I bit my lip, reading over the spell again.But what if I only want to come back from death once?I wouldn’t need as much magic, and the spell wouldn’t need to be eternal. If I could just find a way to survive death once, Ishouldbecome the Lunar Bride and tied to Fenris’s life force. I wouldn’t need this protection.
“What is it?” Fenris asked.
I cleared my throat, realizing I’d stopped in the middle of a sentence when I’d stumbled across this spell. “There’s an old spell in here, related to the Lunar Lord, but if I alter it a bit, I think I can—” I gasped, clapping a hand over my mouth.I can’t believe I nearly told him!Telling him I’d found a way to get around the death mark was still too close to the truth. I couldn’t risk setting it off, not when we were this close to the total solar eclipse, not when I was so close to finding a way to survive.
I took a deep breath. “I think I found something,” I said instead, offering a small smile.
