You’re going to die, Byrdie.
It was not the first time I had heard that, or even thought it out of fear, and I had survived each of those times despite that. So, I wanted to call bullshit on her claim. I wanted to argue and fight and deny.
But the truth was…
She was right.
I couldfeelit.
I felt how weak I was. Everything felt like complete torment. I felt myself shutting down. The longing to beg for Mom, Pops, or Auntie Max to come and take me grew stronger every single day. Yet, when I thought to try,hername came out instead.
Quinn…
Seeing that apparition of her was a spark. It was something to cling to, carry me forward, and keep me afloat. But now, the days had worn on. The connection was so empty and endless. It felt like the other side of our bond was just a void, an abyss that I wasn’t sure Quinn would be able to fully emerge from to save me. It seemed to stretch endlessly, expanding further into eternity beyond anything I would ever be able to reach.
I was so tired of so much.
I wanted to stay strong, to hold on until she saved me. Because Iknewshe would. I knew our story would be one where the knight would save the dragon held captive by the evil witch. I knew she would take me up in her arms and get me out of here. We would make such beautiful new memories together that would turn these into tiny scars I could maybe look at one day with a pause, trying to remember where they came from, because I was so happy that I forgot. That hope was a tiny fire in this hellish blizzard.
But it was starting to feel like it wasn’t worth all this trouble.
I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt the warm tears roll down my face. “I don’t want to die, but I already told you I don’t know where my parents’ enchantments are. I have no idea!”
Lilah tsked, shaking her head. “You just aren’t getting it.”
I could tell in her eyes that she didn’t believe me, or, if she did, it didn’t matter because she was going to get something from this regardless. Like she had said before, it was eithermy blood or the blood of someone else. Either way, she was a winner, and I was a loser. That was enough to shift my fear of death to absolute rage; my tears were hot, going from sadness and devastation to wrath. I spat at her, “What is there to get? You and your boy toy are psychos with daddy issues who refuse to deal with them through therapy, stress-baking, and video games?”
“How cute. You think this is a joke?” Lilah sucked on her teeth while nodding. “Well, how about this for chuckles? Tell me what we want to know, or I’m going to start killing your friends one by one in front of you.”
My jaw dropped. “Y-you c-can’t do that?—”
“Oh? I suppose I can show you better than I can tell you. Coopie? Can you summon the fairy for me?”
Cooper doesn’t respond. He simply pulled out his phone, typed out a text, and sent it. Then, he picked his gun back up and continued cleaning it.
“Thank you, babe!” Lilah blew a kiss to Cooper. I couldn’t begin to understand how that relationship worked, and I honestly didn’t want to know.
“Aren’t you a powerful witch-fairy? Why didn’tyousummon him?” I asked.
“So, your little Huntress Princess can sneak in here again to talk to you? I don’t think so.”
“You don’t know my girlfriend if you think she would be waiting for the chance to try the same thing twice. She’s smarter than that.”
“If she’s so smart, then why are you still here?” Lilah booped my nose. I growled while she cackled.
Suddenly, in the far left corner of the room, the air shifted. It looked like a trick of the light at first, but when I turned to look at it, the air appeared to be not only moving butthickening. It swelled before a black line opened in the center and bloomedoutward into a large oval of darkness that took up the entire corner. Grinning, Lilah stood and walked to the end of the bed to welcome our new guest.
The moment I saw him, my stomach flipped.
The memory of his last visit crashed into me instantly—his predatory stare, his condescending taunts, the way he’d spoken about Maisie’s mom like she was a toy, how he sniffed the air and said I “shouldn’t exist,” and how he’d looked at me like I was a slab of meat with a price tag.
What was Maisie’s father doing here?
Aran stepped through the darkness with all the swagger of someone who owned the place, despite this motel being leagues below his status. Tall and smug, he oozed the same cocky arrogance that I remembered all too well. He still looked like some cursed Calvin Klein model straight from a magazine with his long, black hair pulled back in a lazy bun, designer clothes tailored to flaunt every lean muscle, and that sickly, too-white smile that made my skin crawl. Ever unforgiving, the motel light hit his sharp features in a way that made him look even less human, like something trying way too hard to be charming. As soon as his eyes landed on me, he smiled. Not in a warm way, though. No, it was the kind of grin you’d see on someone pulling wings from a butterfly while they were still alive. My whole body recoiled, trying to squirm away from his gaze. Gods, he was like a corpse that wouldn’t stay buried.
When he spoke, he kept his dark eyes on me as his deep baritone dripped pretension. “Ah, do you have another scale for me already, beloved?”
“Scale?” I asked, brows furrowing with my confusion.
