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She doesn’t get a chance to answer me as a loud crackle and banging sound pulls us back into the present. We quickly get dressed and go outside. Smoke and flares cloud our vision. I take hold of Rose’s hand so she can’t run towards the entrance to the coven.
Once we’re at the main gates, we climb up to the high tower so we can see beyond the wall. The smoke is already clearing on our side. My mother has a fireball conjured in one hand. “What have you done with my son?” she shouts.
“I’m right here,” I answer back.
“You’ve already taken my husband. Give me back my son.” She aims the fireball towards a tree and lets it fly high. The leaves sizzle as it reaches its target.
“I’m not a prisoner,” I shout. “You knew I was coming to find Rose.”
“These people will never accept you.”
Someone from Rose’s coven fires an arrow, and it hits a man in the chest. He drops to the floor at the side of my mother. She retaliates by unleashing destruction.
Rose reaches for a guard’s dagger and grabs my hand. She slices into my palm and my blood spills out. After returning the knife to its owner, she smears my blood over her forehead and cheeks. Taking my hand once more, she begins to chant, and a protection forcefield appears around her land. The price of her shield against my mother is my sacrifice.
“Did you know she would come?” she asks.
“No, I swear it,” I say.
“She’s right, you know,” Clary says, grabbing our attention.
“About what?” Rose asks, but I have a feeling I know what she means.
“He doesn’t belong here.” She points to me, and I fight back the urge to lash out.
“Rose belongs to me. I’ll be wherever she is,” I say matter-of-factly.
“You can’t hold this forcefield forever,” my mother shouts, throwing more of her angry magic towards us.
“Rose is so much better than you. She’s good, but you’re evil.”
I ball my free hand into a fist. If Rose wasn’t using my magic, I might have made my own fireball. Anger rips through me.
“I don’t need to listen to you and your irrelevant opinion,” I say, gritting my teeth.
“Silence,” Rose shouts, and everyone’s attention is now on her. She drops her defences and opens the gate. I follow her towards my family, but she breaks our bond by dropping the link between us. She walks with purpose, like she’s finally comfortable with her power. “Titan is free to do as he pleases,” she says once we’re all together.
“He has a duty, just like you,” my mother says.
Unlike when we first met, it’s Rose looking down her nose at my mother. “You are more than capable of leading your people. My people need me, and Titan is choosing me. He wants to be with me instead of playing games with you.”
My mother’s eye twitches with anger. “Your people are weak. It’s pathetic,” she snarls.
“At least we’re honest and kind.”
“Titan, grab the girl and let’s get out of here,” my mother says like she’s bored of this situation, but Rose isn’t someone to underestimate.
The next few seconds pass in a blur. My mother ignites a fire within the Wolfbane perimeter. Rose reaches for her neck, wrapping her arm tightly around it. When the flames burn higher, she grabs both sides of her head and snaps her spine with a quick twist of her neck. The fire stops instantly, and my mother falls to the ground.
Chapter Sixteen
ROSE
The blood on my hands is thick and dirty. I don’t want to fight a war, but I can’t see how else this will end. The people from Titan’s coven have lost their queen, and I killed their king too. Carefully, I study their movements to see if they’re going to attack.
It’s Titan who holds a knife to my throat. The enemies around me step forward as their faces tighten into looks of hate.
My coven starts to move forward too. The charge in the air is electrifying as magic appears at many witches’ fingertips.
