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Shame washes over Niko when I speak. I want to comfort him but now isn’t the time. Now I need to deal with my mother, Owen, and the rest of my oh-so-easily manipulated coven.
“Things are about to change around here,” I state not waiting for anyone to take the lead in this conversation. “Tomorrow, I will merge with Niko in Runic. On the next full moon, we will return here to be bound before the entire coven.”
“You can’t do this,” my mother cries out.
“I can and I will!” I cut her off. “You will be stripped. Tonight. You don’t deserve the gifts the goddess has bestowed upon you, and you certainly don’t deserve to lead this coven.”
My mother raises her hand, her magik glowing yellow as she prepares to do something stupid.
“Think before you do that, Lilith,” Merrick says and steps up beside me. “It won’t end in your favor. I will protect Cassandra to my death, the way a parent should.” I see the moment his words hit their mark and my mother lowers her hand.
“And you…” I turn to Owen as Hayden takes hold of my mother. “Run home. Tell all of Quietus, all your Warlords, that neither Alluvium nor Runic is going to stand by as you try to run amuck. If you or your kind come back here, none of us will let you off so easily.”
“You’re going to regret this,” he seethes as a cloud of darkness envelops him. “We’re going to kill you all.” His voice drifts off into the darkness as he disappears.
Silence reigns in the clearing as everyone takes a moment to acknowledge what just happened. My head still throbs but that will have to wait as I take charge of my coven for the first time.
“I need three elders to strip my mother of her magik.” I look at the members gathered before me.
“You can’t do this,” someone calls from the back.
My temper flares and I want to lose my shit. “Believe me, I want to do much more.” I shrug out of Niko’s hold. “My entire life I have been treated like a second-rate person, I have been lied to not only by my mother but my entire coven. I have been emotionally abused while you all stood by and watched. I should disband this entire coven!” I shout out my anger.
“Cassandra,” Merrick says as he pulls me into him. “Breathe, child. Actions taken out of anger rarely have good consequences.”
“I know,” I mumble before taking a deep breath and facing my coven again. “I won’t do the things I want. I will do what is best for the coven. I will merge with Niko, my mother will be stripped and excommunicated, and Arabella will lead the coven while I am in Runic. Niko and I will lead Runic and the Panala Coven as equals.”
A murmur of disquiet runs through those gathered. I couldn’t give a shit what any of them think. I’m in charge and they will fall in line, or they can fuck off.
“If you don’t want to accept the way things will be run from now on, you are most welcome to leave. Just know that if you do, you won’t be welcomed back.”
Turning, I grab Niko’s hand and pull him into the forest. I don’t know where the hell I’m going, but I do know I need to get away from this bullshit.
Chapter Sixteen
Niko
Cassandra drags me into the forest with an urgency I can feel all the way to my bones. I want to stop her, talk to her, explain why I thought I was keeping a secret from her, but she doesn’t give me a chance, she just keeps walking. Now, I know the regret the Oracle spoke of.
It feels like we are walking in circles for the longest time before Cassandra stops abruptly and faces me.
“Fuck!” she shouts into the night sky running her hands through her disheveled hair.
It’s then I notice the lump on her forehead, coated in dried blood.
“You’re hurt…” I take her face in my hands, tilting her head, trying to get a better look.
“It’s fine,” she mumbles.
“It’s not. You got hurt. I swore I would keep you safe.”
Emotions I’m not used to rush through me. I’m disappointed in myself. I feel ashamed for lying to her. I’m worried that my lie and inability to protect her will forever alter our relationship.
“Niko.” Cassandra stares up at me. “Please stop. I don’t blame you for what happened. My mother’s insanity carries all the blame.”
“But—”
“No,” she cuts me off. “I’ve known what I was getting into since the first moment you touched my hand.” She looks a little sheepish for deceiving me. “I knew everything before you told me. Who you were, what you wanted, the prophecy. I’ve always known what I would be giving up.”
