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She’s either delusional, or she truly thinks she and Lilian can reverse the unity bonds and walk away. Not without Josie’s cooperation and the sunstone dagger.
And what’s Lilian’s end game? I don’t believe for a minute that she hid away for twenty-five years, waiting for an opportunity to free the Moon Witches.
She was their high priestess. She should’ve been their front line of defense against Egan and his brutes.
She wouldn’t have stood alone. There are other wolf packs who treat their Unity Witches with respect. Guidry for one. Hell, his mate Emilie Broussard is the high priestess for Moon Witches and has worked tirelessly to bring Egan to heel.
For all the good it’s done.
The point is, Lilian could’ve made alliances with them and shown the community what she’s made of. Then again…I suppose by her hiding, she’s done that too.
Footsteps in the next room precede the opening of the door. Lilian Beauchamp flicks on the overhead light and I wince at the searing pain as my eyes adjust.
“Hello, again, Lilian. I’d like to say it’s nice to see you, but it’s not.”
Her defiant smile is too smug for my liking. “Welcome out of the bayou. This must be a big day for you.”
“It is. Everything I’ve waited for is within my grasp.”
“And that’s obviously about more than Summer becoming the high priestess so that you can rule from the shadows. If you wanted to rule, you wouldn’t have hidden away like a coward for the past two and a half decades.”
Lilian brushes a hand over her silver hair and pegs me with a bored smile. “I have no interest in the responsibility of being a leader, only fixing the mistakes I made when I was one. Of course, her being high priestess will have other benefits.”
“Does she realize she’s a pawn?”
Lilian saunters closer, one hand held behind her back. “She’s too blinded by her own ambitions to look past the opportunity I’ve given her.”
I snort. “You need a blood sacrifice to reenact the ritual. Two strong witches and one to die. Does Summer realize she’s Gisele Caron’s stand-in?”
Lilian throws her hand forward and I grit my teeth against the searing pain. The blade that is embedded in my ribs isn’t half as painful as the gold spikes that impaled my back when the force of her hit landed.
She yanks the blade free, and I can’t hold back the scream that escapes me when another shift has more spikes impaling my front.
My vision blurs for a moment, and the unity bond pulses with a shared ache. Does the blade’s cruel bite cut more than just me?
Can my mates feel my suffering?
Can they trace it?
Consciousness ebbs and I sway, weaker than I ever remember being since Rune turned me. I rarely take pleasure in a kill like Rune does, but when I get out of here, I will very much enjoy seeing the life fade from Lilian’s cold eyes.
With the state I’m in, my only hope of escaping this cage is that the unity bond leads Josephine, Rune, and Sebastian to me before I bleed out. Turning my focus inward, I reach out, seeking my brothers…my witch…my family.
CHAPTER THIRTY
JOSIE
The future of the New Orleans Sun Witches hangs heavily on my shoulders. I try to shake it off—giving each of my limbs a good twist and wave, but the crushing feeling only gets stronger as I descend the stairs of St. Augustine Church.
Human visitors look at the Catholic Parish and see the first church in Louisiana to be built by and for free people of color.
It’s wonderful, beautiful, and powerful.
And beneath it lies another powerful sacred spot. A section of the underground tunnels that leads to an ancient chamber of the witches.
There’s a general buzz of excitement as I pass witches and wizards scattered within the tunnels.
Today’s trial is for me, Beatris, and Summer to connect with Mother Gaia, while the Sun Witch elders watch on. Everyone else must wait in the hall for the announcement once things are done.
