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I narrow my eyes. “Why?”
She narrows hers. “Just give it to me, Felix.”
I clench my jaw as I stare at her for a beat, then digging into my pocket, I pull out my blade, setting it in her palm. “What do you need it for?”
She opens the blade quickly, digging the tip into her palm. I snap my hand forward, ripping the blade from her hand, but it’s too late, as a river of blood pools in her palm before running over the edge, dripping onto the grass.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snap at her.
She tilts her palm toward us. “Blood.”
“We all need to bleed,” Malik says as he opens the jug, starting to pour gasoline on the pile of debris. And now my mind’s spinning.
Hazel’s eyes flit to his, and she gives him a nod. “Sometimes four. Maybe more. I’m strong by myself, but we need everyone who was here that day. That’s me, Vera, Blaire, and Piper. That’s four, but sometimes more. I think with the four guys who share my blood, and the blood of Rowena and Beryl, we can close this once and for all.”
“Strong blood,” Levi whispers.
She turns toward him, smiling. “Very, very strong blood.”
“Let’s do this, then,” Malik says simply, dropping the empty jug to the ground. He digs into his pocket, pulling out his own knife. Opening the blade, he grabs Vera’s hand, slicing down the skin without so much as a warning. She barely flinches, though, staring at him with nothing but trust.
“Give me the blade, Felix,” Hazel orders, her bloody palm outstretched toward mine.
I sigh, not even comprehending that I’m fucking doing this. Opening the blade, still wet, the tip tinged with crimson, I press it against my own palm, breaking the skin as a pool of blood soaks around the metal.
Mixing our blood.
“Both hands,” she whispers.
I narrow my eyes as I glance at her, before grabbing the blade with my bloody hand and digging it into my other palm, breaking the skin.
Once both palms are streaked with blood, I hand it off to Atticus, who’s removing his sling from his arm. I help him, doing a quick slice down each of his palms, until blood runs from his skin to the ground, then I pass it off to Levi.
Malik’s knife makes it around the girls, and then we’re all dripping blood, standing in front of where the school used to be.
It feels dark, the air, the sky, every breath I take. Nothing feels right about this, but I think that’s why we need to do whatever it is we’re about to do.
Hazel crouches down, her lighter in hand. She reaches forward, her hand hovering over a piece of wood soaked in gasoline. “Here goes nothing.” She sparks the lighter, and the wood instantly goes up in flames. It’s almost like a domino effect, as one piece lights another, until the rubble is completely on fire again, shallow flames curling into the air.
“Fire,” Hazel says, standing back up. She outstretches her bloody hand, glancing up at me. “Blood,” she says, her wet fingers reaching toward mine. I lace our fingers together, feeling the immediate jolt. She gasps, and I know she felt whatever I did. A humming starts between us, a vibrating current that has me squeezing her hand tighter. “Air,” she breathes.
I grab Atticus’s hand with my free hand, holding it firmly.
“Earth,” Hazel says, rubbing her feet into the ground, grounding herself. “Water.” She tilts her head toward the sky, letting the light raindrops fall across her face.
“Do we say something?” Vera asks after a few beats of silence.
Hazel shakes her head, closing her eyes. “No. Justbelieve.”
Her creamy skin glows orange, and I can’t help but watch her, the freeness on her face, how fucking fearless she looks as she fights every demon that crosses her path.
Her hum is soundless, but I can feel it from her body, the strength in her blood rocking against me with each second.
“Everyone, close your eyes and believe,” Hazel commands.
I want to refuse her words. I want to fight against the witchiness that I’ve hated about her since day one. I want to fight her and everything she stands for.
But I don’t, because I know she needs this. We all need this.
