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“I’m sorry,” she whispered once more against his chest, her palm over his rapid heartbeat.
Only, his coven hadn’t brought help once they found out it was her father who had wounded Jasper—they took her prisoner. Jasper then discovered a way to slaughter them with dark chants. From him, she learned the spells of his coven followed by the ones in her father’s spell book that Ada had uncovered and kept.
Sadie focused on the empty cauldron, knowing that the malevolent spirits were created because of her and Jasper, but mostly her… Not only would she and River find a way to break this spell, but they would find a way to free the spirits from these woods, to reunite them with the rest of their essence that was within the fiends. Maybe then the rage would lessen, the way that Sadie’s side was lessening Harlow’s.
She stared up at River, who was chewing on his thumbnail. “I think I know why I love horror films and stories so much now. I’ve always loved a good macabre tale, just as you did with painting.”
The lost expression left River’s face, his lips tilting up at the edges as he gave her a sly look. “We were both always a bit secretly morbid throughout our other lives. My sculptures, my paintings—it was always buried memories. Even with your collection of moths and skulls on the walls.”
“Maybe that was why we both got into moods while working. We couldn’t figure out where the creativity was coming from, and sometimes trying to piece my words or your paints together only created havoc. Yet you were better at piecing yours together. My manuscripts have always needed stitching.”
“Your stories have always been enticing. I miss the days in Salem when we would sit in the woods, and you would tell me one each night.”
“And then you would ravish me senseless?” Sadie smiled. She glanced at the cauldron once more, wishing she could add bloody tears of her own to bring about a spell. “What do you think our child would have been like if Ada hadn’t ever come?”
“Beautiful. Handsome. A bit of both?” He chuckled softly. “The one question that I wonder is if he or she would’ve turned out like us. But never would we have denied them being with the one they loved. Then there is the thought that maybe if the child was born, we might have changed.”
“You think so? Even with me?” Sadie asked, recalling her fear, fear that Jasper would be hurt. “You don’t think my fear would’ve grown fiercer to protect our child?”
“I would like to think that we would’ve overcome the fear. That maybe we could’ve stopped making families hurt the way we had been.” He studied Sadie, his hand enfolding hers. “If I try to hurt you before you wake, run to the other room, lock the door and take the blade from the crystal box.”
Sadie squeezed his hand. “I promise.”
“And I promise I will try my hardest not to harm you, to find a way to help not only you, but our child.”
Sadie scooted closer and rested her head on River’s warm shoulder, breathing in his comforting scent. “How much longer do you think I have here until I wake up?”
“Now that you’ve uncovered who you are, maybe the veil gives us more time together, or maybe it’s with each visit you make. But I don’t know the true answer.”
“It was quite a good guess.” Sadie smiled, closing her eyes and listening to their breathing. It was a soothing sound. The spirits no longer roared above them, and she prayed the fiends had remained hidden well.
Sadie thought of Ada, the sister she’d loved growing up, who had helped her bury their father’s body. They’d always protected one another. A spell that was a true hex—only the hex should’ve died with Ada, unless her soul took it with her. Something wasn’t right about this… In each life after Salem, no matter the family, no matter if they were loving or awful, she’d had a sister. Her sister was always in love with someone who had been Sadie’s friend first….
Her stomach sank, tying into a string of endless knots. “If we were hexed and reborn a few years later, why would Ada allow that? Why wouldn’t she have checked in on us in our new lives to see if we would become wicked again? In our second life, we remained in Salem. I don’t recall ever seeing her or Eben, for that matter.”
River nodded in agreement, stroking his chin. “You’re on the same thinking path I am. Continue.”
Sadie’s brow furrowed as she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. Ada had become better at magic than Harlow and Jasper with the help of their father’s spell book. Ada’s fiancé, Eben, hadn’t been a witch, but he’d known their secret since they were children, when he would work the crops with Harlow and Ada. But he had always protected their secret, would help with ingredients for Ada’s healing remedies.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “What if this death hex wasn’t only on us but also on Ada and Eben.”
“You’re almost there,” River urged.
“The spell continued to bring us back, and sometime during my twenty-third year of life, you would murder me. Except for this one.” Sadie’s heart pounded, knowing she was on to something. “And I think … I think the spell doesn’t just give us a new life. It does the same to Ada and Eben. Only the original witch can break a death hex.”
“And who would Ada and Eben be in this life?”
“Charlie and Skyler,” she whispered.
Chapter Nineteen
“Drink their essence, and I will bring you pleasure.”
Sadie balled her hands into fists, and her jaw tightened. She had to be right about Charlie and Skyler. It seemed too strange that in every life, she had only a sister and a close friend who was a male.
“I think you’re right,” River said. “It’s the same theory I have. Things are too similar. You always have a best friend who ends up with your sister. It could be a coincidence, but I think not. Not with how you and I always end up together.” It could be a coincidence, but Skyler always wore the same genuine smile, regardless of his face. And Charlie was always the overprotective sister who would do anything for her. Even place a hex upon her…
A thought crawled through Sadie’s mind, nagging at her. “Do they know? Or are they unaware like we were? Charlie hasn’t ever shown one inkling that she has an interest in spells. And I know she’s never been shopping at a place like Crow Moon—unless she’s hiding it really well.”
