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“I’ll do it,” I volunteer, my voice filled with desperation. “I don’t care what the risks are.”
“What exactly is she going to do?” Kaleb asks, his tone calm but insistent.
“That… child created a parasite that has attached itself to Nolan’s soul. The reasons behind it aren’t important, but what is important is that it can’t simply be destroyed or undone. It’s living magic. It must be starved out.” My nan rests her head against mine, and a hint of her rose perfume wafts across my nose. “The coven, Carlotta, and I will create a barrier to keep the parasite from escaping, but since Callie is the only one who can see it, she’ll need to be the one to extract it from Nolan.”
“What will stop the parasite from going straight to Callie?” he questions, no longer quite so calm.
“Once she extracts it, she’ll activate another barrier surrounding her and Nolan,” she answers as she leans heavily against me.
“How about you sit down?” I suggest, worried she’s going to topple over at any moment.
She nods and lets me lead her to the stool I was just sitting on. “Just for a moment.”
Placing the grimoire on the counter, Carlotta raids the refrigerator, pulls out a carton of orange juice, and then opens multiple cabinets until she finds a cup. Pouring out a generous amount, she sets the cup in front of Mildred. “Drink that.”
I know my nan’s exhausted when she doesn’t argue. She simply picks up the cup and takes a few sips.
Retrieving a cup for herself, Carlotta pours another glass and drinks half of it. She leans against the counter and stares at me. “To perform this spell, you’ll be required to harness enough magic to lure the parasite out, but before it can sink its claws into you, you will have to raise a barrier strong enough to fend off the beast for however long it takes to starve. Magic has a will of its own that is desperate to survive. It will consume everything trapped between the two barriers and use everything at its disposal to get free. If any part of this plan falters, it could kill you and your paramour.” She takes another sip of her juice. “Or it could escape and feed on all of life itself until we stop it or collectively die.”
“I can’t stand back and let him die,” I reply, emotion tearing at my throat.
“If he dies, the parasite dies with him,” Carlotta states, her voice soft with pity. “Are you willing to risk everything to save this boy?”
“Yes,” I answer with a deep-rooted certainty. “I’ll do whatever it takes to save the people I love.”
“I told you there was no talking her out of it,” my nan comments, wrapping her hands around the cup. “If we don’t help her, she’ll just find a way to do it on her own.”
Kaleb and I trade startled looks, both of us complicit in just how right she is. One day, I will tell her about Felix… when I’m far enough away so she can’t strangle me.
“We’ll need a few days to collect everything we’ll need,” Carlotta announces with a sigh. “I suggest you get as much rest as possible. I do hope you’re as powerful as Mildred insists you are. I don’t want to lose my granddaughter when I just found you.”
Chapter 17
Callie
Connor, Sam, and Rand do a final sweep of the small clearing just beyond the Campbells’ property in their wolf forms. They rub their scents on trees and howl, chasing away any remaining wildlife. Nolan’s extended family winces over the noise, but they wisely keep any complaints to themselves. Once they are done, Mildred, Carlotta, Mei’s mother, Joyce, and the most powerful water witch the coven has pour a circle of blood mixed with various ingredients that share properties with the elements around the clearing.
As we watch from a distance, Mei places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze. “It’s going to work. You’ll see.”
I nod woodenly, focused on calming my racing heart and churning stomach. I’ve done incredible things before, but nothing like this—nothing with so much ceremony or so many witnesses. Everything I’ve done before was on instinct, but now it’s so official. What if I choke? What if I have some form of performance anxiety and kill us all in the process? Suddenly, it seems very hard to breathe.
“Whoa there,” Mei says, rubbing my back as she scans the crowd that came to either perform or observe the spell. “Deep, slow breaths. Everything is going to be okay.”
“What if I mess up?” I murmur through stolen breaths.
Taking my hand, she drags me away from the crowd, smiling brightly as she excuses us to “prepare.” She doesn’t stop until we reach the stream that runs through Nolan’s backyard, only a few feet away from where the guys and I first attempted to use my magic.
Mei plops me down on a large rock and pushes my head between my knees. “Just breathe.” While I do as she commands, she paces in front of me. “Okay. I get why you’re losing your shit, but you have to pull yourself together. You’re Callie freaking Volkov, badass super witch extraordinaire.” Her voice drops to a stage whisper. “You literally brought someone back from the dead all by yourself. This is a breeze compared to that.”
I look up at her with hopeful eyes. “You mean it?”
“Sure!” she responds with a little too much volume to be believable. When I just stare at her, she sits down next to me on the rock with a deep exhale. “Look, I don’t actually know how hard this will be, because all of this…” She motions toward the direction we came from. “It’s way beyond anything I’ve ever studied, let alone done, but I know you can pull it off. Miracle is practically your middle name.” She bumps my shoulder with hers. “Dude, you literally made the entire town forget they were frozen for like ten minutes—on accident. When you’re using that kind of power for something on purpose, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
“But that’s what I’m afraid of,” I admit, fidgeting with the bottom of my shirt. “My magic is prone to going overboard. What if it does something unexpected and screws everything up? This really isn’t something I can just undo if it doesn’t work.”
“It’s all about intent, right?” she asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “I can’t imagine you’d want anything more right now than saving Nolan’s life.”
“That’s true,” I mutter, blinking away my unshed tears of panic.
