by Lila Kane
But stopping Kane is the best choice we have right now. I can’t imagine what he’ll do with full power‒especially if he’s allowed out of Shadow Hill.
I wait long after dinner to finally sit down on the bed. I want to make sure everyone’s asleep before I project myself anywhere. If Kane catches onto this, I won’t have any hope of helping the others.
Once I think everyone has gone to sleep, I project myself to Ryan’s house, landing in the hallway upstairs. It’s dark, no lights on downstairs or in the rooms. But I know which one Logan stays in and I walk quietly to the door.
It takes a minute to focus my energy enough to grip the handle, and then I step inside.
The dark figure on the bed sits up, and then releases a breath.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t.” Logan’s voice is flat. He lies down again, staring up at the ceiling.
I walk to the other side of the bed. “I needed to see you.”
He sighs, starts to say something, and then stops. “It’s late,” he answers finally.
He’s still mad at me. Okay, I can deal with mad. I understand where he’s coming from. I wouldn’t want someone I love to be hurting either. But Myra has said time and time again there’s a bigger picture here, and she’s right. Kane’s too dangerous. He has to be stopped.
And I…right now, I just need to be close to Logan. To take comfort from him.
My voice is thick with emotion when I say, “I’m sorry about Myra. I really don’t think she’ll get sick again, though.”
“You don’t know that.”
I sit on the edge of the bed, facing away from Logan and toward the window. No, I don’t know that. But with James’s help, even if she does get sick, maybe there’s something we can do.
Dropping my chin, I stare at the shadow of my hands winding together in my lap. “You were right about Kane. He’s not…he’s not a good guy.”
Logan shifts behind me. I can hear his breathing close to me, but he doesn’t touch me.
There’s a quiet sob in my voice when I say, “He killed someone today.”
Logan’s arms are around me in an instant. I start to cry in earnest. He hauls me into his arms, leaning against the headboard with me in his lap, and cradling my head against his chest.
“I’m sorry,” I say, voice breaking. “I really am, Logan‒”
“It’s okay. Willow, shh, it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. He just‒he just stabbed him and there wasn’t anything I could do. And he was so‒so calm about it. I‒”
“Willow. Hold on. Take a breath.”
But I can’t. I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate. Why didn’t I do something to try to help Mark? Why didn’t I try to stop Kane?
“I didn’t do anything. I just stood there. I didn’t‒I didn’t even try to help, and then‒”
“There wasn’t anything you could do,” Logan soothes. He runs a hand down my hair and I have so much love for him right now, my chest hurts. “Please, Willow, calm down.”
He tries to touch my cheek, but his hand goes straight through.
“Willow.” His voice is stern now. “You have to focus or you’re going to disappear. Please. Take a breath.”
I hitch a sharp breath. It trembles on my lips, but I take another and another. Logan’s hand touches one of my tears before it drips from my chin.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“No.”
He must be surprised by the answer because he doesn’t say anything. He’s used to me trying to take care of myself. To being strong. And now I’m falling apart in his arms.
“I’m here for you,” Logan says. “You need to leave the house. You need to get away from Kane.”
“Please.” I close my eyes tight and press my cheek to his bare chest. “Don’t try to change my mind. I need to be there and I need to do what I can to stop Kane so this doesn’t happen again. Please don’t try to stop me. Just…just be here for me.”
I lift my chin and his lips close over mine. The kiss is salty, drenched with heartache and fear and love and longing. I press into him, hoping my body won’t disappear, hoping I can have this moment because I don’t know what is going to happen from here on out.
“Willow.” His voice is full of pain. “Come back.”
I choke down another sob. “I can’t. Kane is suspicious. He locked me in the basement.”
Logan freezes and I curse myself for saying anything. That’s probably the last thing he needs to hear right now. And the last thing I should be telling him. It’ll make it even harder for him to accept I’m still at Kane’s house.
He moves to a sitting position, his arms still around me.
“Logan, I’m sorry. Forget I said anything‒”
“We need to get you out of there.”
“Wait, no‒” He’s already setting me aside on the bed, moving to get up. I hang onto his arm. “Hold on.”
“Willow, let go. This has already gone too far.”
I hold tighter, pretending I’m really here with him, that I’m not locked in a basement. Focusing enough that my fingers ache from my grip.
“Logan. Please wait. I’m not going to be able to stay here if I can’t focus on you.”
He pauses at the edge of the bed. I take the moment to crawl next to him, putting my arms around his shoulders. “Don’t do anything.”
“You’re asking too much,” he says, voice low.
“I came here because I need you. I need…I need you to understand how serious this is. I had to stand there and watch while Kane killed someone.” Tears burn the corners of my eyes, and I rub them, trying to wipe the image from my mind. “I can’t let him do it again.”
Logan’s arms close around me, strong and safe. He guides my head to his shoulder, and I’m soothed by his breathing, by his steadiness. “Willow…” He pauses, sounding unsure how to continue. “I don’t know if we’re making the right choice.”
I shift in his arms, but he won’t let go. Like it’s easier for him to talk to me if he doesn’t have to look into my eyes. “What?”
“It’s not just Myra. I’m worried about you, too. If you do this spell for Kane…”
I wedge my hands in between his chest and mine. “Logan. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want you away from him and I want Myra safe. Doing the spell accomplishes both those things.”
My hands flicker and Logan looks panicked.
“No, Willow‒focus.”
“I can’t. You’re telling me to do the spell.”
I try to stand but stumble when I can’t steady myself on Logan’s shoulder. I sit hard on the floor. Logan reaches for me, but his hands go through my arms.
“You’re telling me to go against what I feel is right.”
“Focus, Willow.”
“Stop telling me what to do.” I glare at him. “Your brother killed someone today. You really think I can stand by and let him do that again?”
He sits next to me on the floor. “No, I don’t. I don’t know what else to do.”
My body flickers even more, and I let it. I came here for support and now I’m just as torn as Logan.
“You’re supposed to be trusting me. You’re supposed to be doing the right thing.”
He swallows and looks away. The right thing for him is saving Myra. But the right thing for me is saving the rest of the town from Kane.
“Don’t you dare come for me,” I tell Logan, staring him straight in the eye. “You’ll ruin everything if you do, and someone else might get hurt.”
“Willow, you can’t ask me that‒”
“I’m not asking, I’m telling.” I stand and already feel my body being pulled back to my locked room at the house. “Don’t come for me. Wait for the full moon and deal with it. You have to. If you can’t support me, at least stay out of my way.”
He opens his mouth to protest, but my body fades away. The last thing I hear him say is
, “I love you” before I return to the house with tears streaming down my cheeks.
Chapter 24
It’s the day of the full moon and I’m still locked in the basement. I’ve used the time to practice my power in order to put the spell back into place, but I’m still torn up about what to do. James assures me it’s the right thing and I know this is what my mother would do, but Logan’s face haunts me.
And Myra. I don’t want her to be sick.
Doing the spell means Kane will get what he wants, and that might buy us time to figure out how to end this for good. But it also means he could hurt more people. Innocent people. And then I’ll be responsible.
When the door to the room is unbolted from the outside, I stand and wait for Kane to come in. He does, with a smile.
“How’s my Keeper of the Flame?”
“Irritated.” I’ve long since stopped trying to get along with him. He only wants me for one thing‒to do the spell. Until then, he can’t hurt me.
“It’s dinnertime,” he says, his smile vanishing. “You should eat something before doing the spell tonight. I don’t need you passing out on me.”
I fold my arms. “I’m not hungry.”
“Willow,” he bites out. “You try my patience. I might need you to do this spell, but your friends are expendable. If you don’t want to eat, then don’t eat. Just know that there are consequences if this spell doesn’t get done.”
His words rock me. I shake my head, blurting, “You said you wouldn’t hurt them.”
His eyes narrow, and then he’s got me pinned against the wall. His fingers dig into my arms and I wince. “I knew you remembered something,” Kane growls.
I whimper when he squeezes harder.
“How much do you remember?” he asks. “Answer me, damn it!”
“Everything,” I breathe. “I remember everything.”
He grips my chin with devastatingly strong fingers. “I will tear them apart‒every single one of them‒if you don’t follow through with your end of the bargain.”
Looking him straight in the eye, I say, “My end of the bargain was to come with you, not to make you into an even worse version of yourself.”
He bares his teeth, and I’m shocked to see fangs. So long and sharp, I don’t know how I haven’t seen them before. My mouth drops open.
He grins. “I’m already the worst version of myself you can imagine. Don’t make me regret keeping you alive.”
“You need me,” I whisper.
Someone clears their throat from the doorway. It’s Wes. “We got what you asked for.”
Kane straightens, gripping my arm to pull me to the door. “You’re right, Willow, I do need you. For now. But like I said, your friends are expendable.”
He gestures and Wes turns, nodding to someone. Another one of the shapeshifters steps around the corner, holding a limp body in his arms.
“Cheyenne!”
Kane holds me back. “There now, little witch.”
“You asshole!” I turn on him, trying to pull away. “You said you wouldn’t hurt anyone. I stayed here even though I remembered! You swore‒”
“She’s not hurt,” Kane says, gripping my other wrist. “Not seriously anyway.”
“Just a little silver to make her compliant,” the shapeshifter says.
“Silver? Silver!” I try to kick Kane. “I hate you!”
When he dodges another kick, I conjure the fire to my fingertips. Flames flicker from my hands and Kane jumps back.
“Willow,” Kane says calmly. “You don’t want to do that.”
“You promised,” I whisper, keeping my distance.
He eyes my hands. “And I’ll keep my promise as long as you do this spell tonight.”
But I’m not planning on doing the spell. I’m planning on fixing this‒so that Kane can’t become a vampire. Maybe ever again.
“Let her go.”
“Can’t do that.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Let her go.”
Kane takes a step closer. “I can’t do that. We need twelve for the circle, right? We need her.”
The flames dull. Kane lunges at me and grabs my wrists, yanking me so close, I can barely move. “You need to focus, Willow. Do what you need to do and no one will get hurt.”
His words sound fake to me. False. Once I do the spell, more people will get hurt, I know it.
But he’s right. I need to focus. I know what I need to do, now I just need to make him believe I’m on his side.
I let the fire go out. “Put her down, let me make sure she’s okay. Then I need James to make sure we’re set up for the spell.”
Kane holds my gaze for a long moment. I’m almost afraid he’s going to compel me. But instead, he backs up and gestures at the shapeshifter. “Put her on the bed.”
Once Cheyenne’s settled, I kneel next to her. Her head twists on the pillow and her eyelids flicker. “Willow?”
Her gaze is blurry. I take her hand, squeezing it tight. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes widen when she sees everyone standing behind me.
“It’s going to be okay,” I say, nodding at her. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
“See?” Kane asks from behind me. “Just fine. And she’ll stay that way as long as you do what you need to do.”
I swivel to face him. “It’s the full moon tonight.”
He frowns. “You’re just realizing this?”
“I mean, the werewolves.” Once the moon is full, the werewolves won’t be human anymore. And it’ll be even more dangerous.
He only smiles. “Then I guess you’d better do the spell fast. Time to go.”
They start to file out of the room as Cheyenne clasps my hand. “Willow,” she whispers.
I turn back and kneel close to her lips.
“You have to do this,” she says.
Stop Kane.
I nod, giving her hand another squeeze before following Kane out of the room. I stop at the top of the stairs, taking in the house like I’ve never been there before. Freedom.
“No time, witch,” Kane says.
My fingers spark again, and I fold my hands behind my back.
Kane looks amused. “I’m starting to like you, Willow.”
“I’m starting to hate you, Kane.”
“Can’t win them all.”
I glare at him. He ignores me and leads us outside. Wes follows as we turn to the woods on the side of the house, where we’re going to do the spell tonight.
The air is cool, the sky churning with dark clouds that mean rain. The entire sky is covered, but I know what’s behind those ominous clouds. The full moon.
When I spot James at the edge of the clearing, I’m so happy to see a friendly face, I hurry to him. He wraps one arm around my shoulder.
“Hey, he finally let you out, huh?” His attempt at humor falls short‒there’s too much anxiety in his voice, and I know how he feels. “Are you okay?”
I shrug. “Good enough.”
Kane clears his throat. “You’re going to have to focus, Willow.”
I frown. “What?”
James glances to the sky. “The weather.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The report was clear this morning. No rain in the forecast,” Kane says. “Now there’s a storm. Cool it.”
My lips part. James gives a short nod, confirming what Kane said. My stomach churns with nerves and lightning flashes in the sky, followed by a long peal of thunder.
“Willow,” Kane warns.
“Screw you, you piece of‒”
Wes steps in front of him and James grabs my arm. I stumble back, trying to get my emotions under control.
Kane nods his head at Wes. “Everything’s under control, right Willow?”
I turn away. No, it’s not under control. But I leave Kane alone. As he starts a conversation with Wes, I grab James’s arm and pull him to the edge of the perimeter.
“You have to help me,” I whisper.
�
�What?”
“Kane brought Cheyenne here to complete the circle and if I don’t fix this spell how he wants, he’s going to do something to her once it’s all over. I need to warn the others and I need‒”
“Hold on.” James reaches into his pocket for a handful of amethyst. “The werewolf is here?”
“Her name is Cheyenne, and yes!” I snatch a few crystals from his hand. “You have to help me.”
“I don’t know‒”
“I’m going to put the amethyst on the other side of the perimeter. Cover for me.”
I hurry away before he can say anything else. The amethyst buzzes with energy in my palm. James and I have already put a spell on the crystals to keep the circle safe. What Kane doesn’t know is that he needs to be more worried about what’s in the circle, not what might break through it.
I duck down at the edge of the circle, holding the amethyst tight in my hands. The wind whips at my hair and I try to relax. It’s only going to get worse if I’m nervous and then Kane will know something is wrong for sure.
After another glance at Kane, I close my eyes, bending over like I’m chanting or doing some sort of spell. The projection happens so fast, I stumble against the counter in Myra’s store. When I spin around, Ryan, Myra, and Logan are all staring at me.
It’s like a knife to my heart to see Logan after the way we left things, but I can’t deal with him now.
“Willow, what’s wrong?” he asks.
I go straight to Ryan, peering up into his eyes. “You have to listen to me, okay? They have Cheyenne‒”
“What?” Logan reaches for my arm, but his fingers won’t connect. “Willow‒”
“No time. They have Cheyenne to complete the circle but once Kane finds out I’m not doing the spell for him‒”
“You’re still not going to do it?” Logan asks, eyes dark.
Myra shoots him a glare. “No, she’s not.” She takes my hand firmly in hers, smiling when our fingers make contact. “You’re doing the right thing, Willow. And we’ll be there to help you.”
“Thank you.”
Logan starts to say something else, but I can’t stay to hear him. I’m jerked from the store and slam into my real body.
