I choked, but she didn’t relent, and finally I was forced to swallow the foul tasting concoction.
She dropped my head once more.
I stared at the dirt under me, painfully aware of the liquid burning its way down my throat. It burned me from the inside and I closed my eyes against the pain, refusing to cry out.
“You can tell Colette that her magic is bound,” the woman commented airily.
A door opened letting very little light into the room, then slammed shut.
Finally I managed to lift my head, thrilled that I was no longer trapped by magic, and waited for my head to stop screaming.
Where was I?
The woman from my house leaned against a low table, the charm still in her hands while she watched me. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said, a half smirk on her face. “It’s not my fault you’re here. I’m just the delivery girl.” Still, she brandished her magical contraption at me very pointedly.
She had to be a hexer. It was pretty obvious, by the way she used that charm to focus on and immobilize me, and the way she was able to knock me out with it as well.
The only way hexes worked was if the witch had something of their victim’s. A hairbrush, a toothbrush, even a scarf of mine would work. But that meant that they’d been watching me.
That they’d been planning this.
I tried calling my magic to me, wary of the outcome, and gasped at the sudden headache that bloomed behind my eyes.
Her smile widened. “You’re not very smart, are you?”
I swallowed back bile, fighting not to throw up. I couldn’t even touch my magic without wanting to vomit.
The door opened once more and I glanced up, unsurprised to see the coven leader, Colette, saunter in like she owned the place. Then again, she most likely did.
I was, however, shocked by her companion.
“You,” I breathed, unable to give it the venom it deserved.
Lucia Garza smiled her very sweet smile and followed Colette into the room. “Hello, silly witch,” she teased, running her fingers through my hair and making me jerk away from her in revulsion. “I was surprised when Colette told me it had been so easy to bring you here. Are you truly so weak without Cian and his lovers?”
“Go fuck yourself,” I hissed.
She smiled, then slapped me.
My face whipped to the side at the strength in her hand. When I looked back to her, I could feel the hot pain in my lip and blood trickled, hot and bitter, over my tongue. I pressed my lips together, refusing to cry out though my ears rang sharply.
Colette watched, but didn’t speak.
“You should be grateful. You should be thanking me, not insulting me,” the vampire said, circling the chair.
“For what?” I spat around my split lip.
“For this,” she spread her arms wide like we were somewhere other than a cell. “For listening to Colette.”
My eyes turned on the older witch. She didn’t have the grace to look ashamed.
“You don’t belong near those creatures,” Colette said. “You are much too valuable to die with Cian.”
My stomach tightened. “You don’t know me, and I am not part of your coven–“
“Once Lucia is finished, you can leave,” Colette went on. “It isn’t our intent to hurt you. We’re helping you, Georgette.”
Only my mother got to call me that.
“You told Cian you believed him! That you would rather him king than Gavin,” I spat the name and Lucia’s eyes narrowed. “What has he done to make you change your mind, Colette?”
“She wised up,” Lucia interjected. “Your new friend is strong, but he is not loved. Do you think the other vampires will fight for him?” she laughed. “He cannot even see through my illusions, nor my brother’s power. Without allies, he is nothing.”
“He will die,” Colette explained. “I bargained with Lucia so that he would not take you with him.”
“That was not your choice to make!” I protested. “Let me go!”
“We are saving your life,” she went on patiently. “Whether or not you see that is not my concern. You are a Levasseur summoner; not a common hedge witch to throw your life away for short-lived infatuation-” Surprise flitted over my face and she smiled coldly. “I understand, Georgette. You’re new here and they seduced you to their cause.”
“You’re wrong-“
“A week,” Lucia interrupted. “He will be dead in a week. Can you keep her leashed until then? If I see her outside of this cell, I will kill her.”
“You won’t,” Colette promised.
“You really think that?” My hands curled behind me. “A week is a very long time to think you can keep me here.”
The vampiress grinned. “I don’t care either way,” she admitted. “Either you’re here, and you live, so long as you don’t pose a threat to me when I rule, or you come out to play and you die.”
“And what are you getting out of this?” I demanded of her. “You don’t strike me as very benevolent.”
“Magic,” the vampire shrugged. “The witches will help me stay one step ahead of Cian. They’ll protect me from his dog. Afterwards, I will let them go about their lives.” Her eyes went to Colette, who was nodding.
“As you say, Lucia.”
“Then I will take my leave.” The vampire ran her hand through my hair like I was some kind of pet. I wanted to tear off her fingers one by one. “Remember what I said about her,” she cautioned the coven leader. Without another word, she left; her high heels clicking against the dirty stone floor.
When she was gone, I looked back to Colette. “Let me go,” I pleaded. “I can’t stop you from helping her, but you cannot make this choice for me.”
Colette walked to the low table where the other witch still stood.
My eyes caught
