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Nadine eyed her curiously. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to Nina Loren, would you? She teaches Incantations, Moonology, and Astrology at Miriam College.”
The corners of Autumn’s lips twitched, like she was trying to hold back her emotions. “Nina Loren is my mother.”
“Your mother is a very kind woman,” Nadine remarked.
Autumn nodded. “Yes. She’s the kindest.”
Autumn contemplated us a moment longer, then said, “Come. There is something I want you to have.”
She turned toward the cottage, and Nadine shot me a wary expression. I wasn’t scared, though. Autumn had been protecting me all this time. I didn’t think she would hurt us now. I took Nadine’s hand, and we followed Autumn into the cottage. It was a small one-bedroom home, with a wood stove burning in the corner and a small kitchen open to the living room.
“Please, sit.” Autumn gestured to the kitchen table.
Nadine and I sat beside each other. Autumn turned to a bookcase and pulled out an old leather-bound book.
“This book is called the Reaper Records,” she said as she sat across from us. “I obtained it before Edgar died. It is meant to be passed down from one reaper to the next.”
That’s why there weren’t any records to be found inside the coven, I realized. Because the records had been here with Autumn this whole time.
“I’ve been researching the reapers for years, validating and expanding on the records of all the women like me whose reaper powers were forgotten,” Autumn said. “I have learned much about our powers along the way.”
She placed the book on the table in front of me, and I flipped it open. Pages of handwritten notes detailed all the reapers who had ever lived, including information about their family lineage, their spouses and children—if they ever had them—and other significant details. She even had several pages dedicated to me.
Before I could read what she’d gathered on me, she flipped the pages to a passage near the end. “One of the most powerful lessons you will learn is right here on this page.”
I stared down at a spell titled Anima Destructor. It detailed the process of how to use reaper energy to pull a soul out of a body. Autumn described it like wrapping a magical rope around someone’s neck and yanking the noose tight. It sounded like hanging a soul—the metaphorical snap of their neck being the literal breaking of their spirit.
Disgust returned to my gut. “The title of this spell translates as Soul Destroyer. You really want to teach me how to destroy souls like you do?”
Autumn leaned back in her chair. “If you were truly scared of what I’ve done, you’d be long gone by now, back inside the safety of your wards. I don’t scare either one of you. You’re merely intrigued by me.”
“You don’t want to change, do you?” I asked.
“I’ve already made up my mind,” she replied. “You can’t stop me from doing what I need to do, but one day, you may understand.”
“I understand that what you’re doing is an abuse of your magic,” I sneered. “Perhaps I should bring an end to it.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t have it in you.”
“Don’t I?” I growled. “How many souls have you destroyed?”
“What do you care about a couple of Executors?” Autumn asked.
“They made bad choices, but they’re still part of the coven.” My answer faltered on my tongue. Why did I care about men who wanted nothing more than to see my family and me burn at the stake? Maybe because I believed they could still be saved, even if it wasn’t in this lifetime.
“These situations are not so black and white,” Autumn stated calmly.
“You keep saying that,” I snarled. “How many more will suffer your wrath?”
I waved my hand through the air, and my magic curled around her neck. I felt the rope she talked about, and I squeezed, threatening to pull the noose at any moment. My magic curled around her neck several more times, squeezing so tightly I could feel the cold touch of death enter the room.
Autumn’s spine straightened, but she didn’t protest. It was like she wanted things to end this way. I didn’t yank back just yet, but I could sense her soul edging out of her body ever so slightly. I felt it on the edge of destruction.
“Lucas,” Nadine warned.
A smile spread across Autumn’s face. “You and I are not so different, I see.”
I felt the blood drain from my face, and I dropped my hand. My magic around her neck fell away. She didn’t want to die. She only wanted to push me to see how far I’d go.
