Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“Mama,” Lucy whimpers on the couch and scrunches her face in grief. “Don’t go again.”
“Oh, honey,” Hilda says and brushes her knuckles down Lucy’s cheek. “Wake up, darling. Come on now.”
Lucy’s eyes flutter open. Much to my relief, they’re no longer white and filmy, but they’re full of so much sadness it tears at my heart.
“She’s gone,” she whispers.
“Did you dream about your mother’s death again?” Astrid asks softly.
“No.” Lucy shakes her head in despair. “She’s gone. It took her soul this time, and it made me watch.”
We’re stunned into silence as Lucy hangs her head in her hands and begins to weep.
“We’re not safe,” she says. “We’ll never be safe.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lucy
“Tell me what you saw,” Jonas says as he kneels in front of me, wrapping his big, warm hands around mine. His palms are so warm, so soothing against my freezing skin. “Talk to us, Luciana.”
“It showed me everything.” My voice sounds like it’s coming from a tunnel. “Taunting my mom, confusing her. She was so scared that something would happen to you two.”
I glance up at the aunts and frown when I see them crying.
And Breena and Lorelei are here. When did they get here?
“So, she hid a lot from you because she was convinced that telling you too much would put you at risk.” I swallow hard, dreading what I’m about to tell them next.
“What else?” Jonas’s voice is gentle, but his eyes are intently focused on mine. I can see the worry and torment in his gaze and just want to hug him close and reassure him that I’m okay.
But I’m not entirely sure that’s true.
“She was terrified,” I continue. “And she tried everything she could think of to keep it at bay. But it was no use. It showed me every step, every moment of terror. And after it caught her—”
I shake my head, and Jonas sits next to me, rubbing my back and kissing my temple, sharing his strength with me. “Take your time.”
I nod, brush at a tear, and continue. “It was pure torture for her. It was not an easy death at all. Not only was there physical pain, but it also promised her that it would come for me next, and explained in minute detail all the things it would put me through. She cried and begged for mercy for me, and it fucking laughed at her. And then, it killed her. She hung in her own living room until I found her the next morning.”
“You found her?” Jonas asks me.
“I did.” I glance at the other four women and feel their love for me coming at me in waves. “She fought and loved us all with everything she had—until the very end.”
“Oh, baby, she still does,” Astrid reminds me.
“I have a question.” Jonas frowns. “You all have death wards. How did it kill her? It’s obviously not mortal.”
“The girls got the tattoos against their mothers’ wishes,” Hilda says, eyeing her daughter. “We didn’t think it was appropriate. Not the tattoo itself, necessarily, but the ward. A witch should be able to use and alter any spell they cast. They should be able to change their mind. But the tattoos are permanent.”
“We got them anyway,” Lorelei says with a wink.
“The moms have different wards,” Breena adds. “They have it woven into their hair each year on the summer solstice.”
“It made my mom cut hers out.” I press my lips together. “It told her that if she did, it would spare me. It was a lie, of course.”
“I’m so sorry you had to see all of that,” Breena says.
“That’s not all I saw,” I continue. “Tonight, in my house, it made me destroy everything. Everything in the shop is ruined. My kitchen is obliterated.”
I feel my chest heave, and I bury my face in Nera’s fur.
“It made me kick Nera.”
I’m okay, Nera says and nuzzles against my neck. I know you love me.
“Oh, honey.” Lorelei sits on my other side.
“And then my mom was there. Lorelei, you told me that she was staying in the house to watch over things. She was there. It showed her to me. She was fighting it, and then it killed her again. But this time, it was her soul. She’s gone.”
The last few words come out on a sob as I close my eyes, still leaning on Nera. I weep.
“She’s not gone,” Astrid insists.
“She is. I saw it happen. I’m just so angry.”
“Lucy,” Jonas says. “Open your eyes, sweetheart. She’s not gone.”
I lift my head. Standing right before me as if she were skin and bone is my mom. She smiles softly, her eyes churning with emotion.
I jump up and try to wrap my arms around her in a hug, but I pass right through her.
“I guess I got a little excited.”
I turn to find Mom laughing, along with the others.