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“What is this?” she asked the crowd.
Witches now gathered to sneer at my mother. Hatred burned in each of their eyes.
“A traitor! Sybil Redfern is a traitor!”
“No!” I yelled, but no one heard.
My coven—my sisters—clasped hands and chanted a deadly incantation. The Goddess fountain’s water turned crimson. Blood poured from her different forms’ lips. No one heard my sobs and screams. Silent and alone, I watched my mother die.
*
Walker
Screams woke me up.
I lurched upright and nearly hit the top of the cave. Cadence thrashed and screamed beside me. Her pale face was scrunched, as if she were in pain. Wolves gathered at the mouth of the cave.
Tears poured down Freya’s reddened face. Her hands were white-knuckled, and her nails drew blood on her palms. Endlessly, she screamed. Cadence echoed her. Birds fled from the blood curdling sound.
I maneuvered around Cadence to get between the two of them. Physical harm wasn’t what hurt them. The remnants of my anger with Freya dissipated. No one suffering like this said mean things they actually meant.
“Wake up, Cady,” I urged my sister. Lightly, I shook her arm. “C’mon, Cady-Cat. Get up.”
She whimpered but didn’t wake.
“Freya.” I brushed a curl away from her clammy forehead. “You’re safe, Freya. You need to wake up.”
“Don’t wake them,” Ryder urged me.
I hadn’t heard him approach. I glanced his way. He crouched in the mouth of the cave. He hadn’t found a shirt during the night.
“You’ll get blasted into next week when they’re this volatile.”
“I’ve woken Freya before,” I countered, “and what do you mean by they? Cadence is human.”
“Really?” Ryder rolled his eyes. “Then how are they dream-sharing?”
“You think they’re dreaming the same thing?” I asked.
“No, dipshit,” Ryder corrected, “I think your sister is broadcasting her dream to Freya. She’s a witch.”
I nearly choked.
“That’s impossible.”
He sighed. “Haven’t you learned to stop using that word?”
Simultaneously, Freya and Cadence shot up. Freya clutched my arm to steady herself, and Cadence just stared ahead with glassy, vacant eyes. Their faces were puffy and red from the force of their tears. Slowly, Freya looked at Cadence.
“You saw it too?” she asked my sister.
Cadence nodded.
“What?” Ryder urged. “What did you see?”
“We need to get to your territory,” Cadence ordered. “Let’s move out now.”
She got to her feet and walked out of the cave without another word. I did my best to mask my shock and ignore Ryder’s smug expression. Even in a time like this, he found in joy in being right.
