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“It’s not a bedtime story, Arzen. It’s real!” I tried to calm myself as the room started to smell like sulphur and fire. Darkness edged my vision and I gritted my teeth as a potent cocktail of emotions flooded my chest. They brought me to my knees, sucking all the air from my lungs and leaving me gasping. Cracks split me open and guilt swelled out from each splintered trail. My eyes burned before the familiar well of tears pushed their way up, clouding my vision further.
This kind of agony was a kind I never expected to be mine.
It was losing. Fully. Without exception. I was losing myself. Losing my breath. Losing my mind as I wondered just what was happening to her to make her — us — feel this way.
This was no bedtime story.
“Eden…” I sucked in a harsh breath as my throat tightened and swelled with emotion. These blasted emotions. Never in my life had I felt so many. “She has my key.”
Abandoning her fascination with Sarika, Arzen straightened. “What?” The wide-eyed look on her face was almost comical as she gripped the back of the couch so firmly in her grasp that it teetered back and all the women on it shrieked, holding on to one another. “You’re sure?”
I had spent hours tracing the key beneath her flesh as she slept, wondering just what it all meant as it sent tides of everything through me. It was the most magic I had ever felt beneath the tip of my finger. More powerful than anything I would have dared to believe existed.
“I’m sure.” There was no questioning it.
“So she’s seen the box?” Arzen released the couch and Eden’s friends settled. She walked around it until we stood toe to toe.
I nodded again. She had to have seen the box because I could feel she owned what hid inside. My hand covered my chest where a heart should beat below. “Yes.”
“Not to break this whole thing up, but I feel like you two should be clueing us in on what the hell is going on.” Alicia stood. The silent one in the group who was usually content in sitting back and observing stood with her hand on her hip as she stared at me with vehemence. “These witches want a key of some kind, I’m guessing it’s not a key to some mansion in hell, otherwise they would just break the fuck in. I’ve been trying my best to sit here and let you guys have your little moment, but Eden is still missing and with each second that passes we don’t know what the hell is happening to her. So maybe you two can share what you know with the class and tell us what the hell is going on and how we’re going to use this key or box or demon sister to get her back.”
“Here, here!” Olivia nodded though she shied away from Arzen’s quizzical gaze.
“I have a question.” Catalina stood with her hand slightly raised. “Is there a witch inside the statue?”
“Mhmm.” Lulu patted Catalina’s shoulder. “That bitch’s sister is in there.”
“Okay, so why don’t we just use this statue to get the other witch to come and get her?” Sarika asked. “I mean, she’s doing all this for her sister, right?”
Imani clapped her hands and stood. “Yeah! I mean, look at all of us ready to go to war with demons and witches for our girl. Clearly, this is all because of that statue so she’ll want to protect it, right?”
I wasn’t so sure. On the surface, I would believe that were true but then Eden’s role in this didn’t make sense. If her sole goal was to get Maledictia back and break her free from her brimstone prison, why would she have married me off to a mortal? Why would she have gifted me a wife and then stolen her? Everything was so cleverly crafted when she could have just broken into Arzen’s castle and stolen her sister back herself.
There had to be something more. Something I wasn’t seeing.
Imani marched over to the bookshelf and grabbed a metal sculpture of a woman’s torso. Without another word, she slammed it against Maledictia.
“Wait!” Olivia shouted.
“Stop!” Lulu stepped forward.
My heart hammered in my chest, unsure.
Imani hit the statue of the witch again. The stone cracked, revealing gossamer threads of fire. They released steam that reeked of my magic poisoned with Maledicita’s, blowing Imani’s hair back.
“This is going to be fun,” Arzen grinned.
“Imani! Are you out of your mind? We don’t know what is going to happen if you—”
She struck the statue again.
Darkness devoured me, leaving me floating in a sea of oblivion.
38
EDEN
Drip, drip, drip.
