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One: I’m a sitting duck with Summer so determined to take me out.
And two: she’s right about one thing—leaders don’t run and hide when things get tough.
Sweat beads on my forehead, and my breath comes in quick gasps as I test my injured foot by putting weight on it. It’s not good, but I’m losing steam and can’t keep this up much longer.
To make it through this, I have to act now.
Desperation gnaws at me, urging me to find a way to turn the tide of this battle.
“Okay, Josie. New tactic. Time to kick ass.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
JOSIE
With a dogged determination detonating inside of me, I pump myself up, building energy and courage before making my move. Here we go. As quietly as possible, I spin on my good heel and open a passage through the thick blackberry bush, ducking through and?—
A ricocheting blast catches me in the shoulder and sends me off balance. My head smacks against the rough ground. It knocks me stupid, adding about a dozen more stars into the night sky as they dance around my vision.
“You just had to prove me wrong, didn’t you?”
Gaia doesn’t respond, but I bet she’s out there somewhere laughing at my expense. Or maybe she’s saving my life by urging me to yield and call it a night because, clearly, I suck at this.
I groan as I roll onto my bruised side and prop myself up on aching limbs. I’m covered in a mix of dirt, sweat, and blood, every inch of my body begging for a break. Spitting blood into the dirt, I wipe the back of my hand over my mouth.
Suddenly, a familiar caw pierces through the noise and chaos. I look up to see Phi tucked away in the low branches of a tree that stretches into the edge of the magical barrier.
Our eyes lock, and in that moment, I consider making a bold choice. Was this her plan from the beginning? Back me into a corner so I’d have to say yes and take her as my familiar?
No. I won’t let my desperation make this decision for me.
I don’t have the luxury of mulling it over.
Breathe. Think.
Francine said we were allowed to use anything within the boundary of the arena.
What would Grand-Mère say if she knew what I was about to do?
No rules, Rune’s voice echoes in my mind.
“No rules,” I say out loud, a sense of resolve washing over me.
I’ve been living according to someone else’s wishes my entire life. Even now, I’m living by the standards Grand-Mère taught me—without following it herself.
That I’m on the same page as Sebastian Fontenot should tell me how bad of an idea this is. What I’m about to do may be the biggest fuck-up of my life, but it’s my life to fuck up.
I lock gazes with Phi. Maybe there’s already some connection between us, or maybe she can tell I’m out of options, because an unspoken understanding passes between the two of us and the raven spreads her huge wings.
She stretches her feathers to their full span before diving from the branch with a rasping call. The raven swoops low, claws extending as she comes in for a landing.
She lilts to the side and fumbles the landing, collapsing hard into the dirt and bumping against my feet as her body rolls.
When my fingers brush the silky tip of her feathers, Phi flinches, scurrying onto her feet and hopping a few steps away from me.
Jeez, she’s really in bad shape.
With my mind clouded by misdirected anger and hurt, I didn’t realize how close her magic was to fizzling out.
