Sacrifier (verb) to sacrifice

The wolves didn't take kindly to my hands being bound, but they seemed to understand that I was voluntarily being taken prisoner.

I surveyed the graveyard and all those who were in it as my back pressed into the freezing granite statue behind me.

The purple light of dawn was rising in the distance. A cold, clear morning that promised to be my last.

Fear of what came next was there, but it was overshadowed by the sickness that had settled over me.

As hard as I fought against the effects of my phobia of blood, they were here.

Cold sweat dripping down the side of my face. A rush of dizziness. Disorientation.

The sight of blood was bad enough, but the smell was inescapable. It lingered all around me. Coming from the wound on Bastien's neck, the gash on my brow, and the jaws of the wolves at my side.

I spied a lifeless body lying in a pool of it.

The world around me spun, and I fought hard against the dizziness.

The sight of the dead body reminded me of that bloody river and the absolute carnage. I had the sense that those floating in the river were my people. My family.

But that didn't make any sense.

Yes, the Proctor coven had seen loss, but I'd never witnessed anything like that. I had no idea if it was a real memory or just something I read about in a book.

Although, where this memory came from didn't matter.

It's not like I would have the time to investigate.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and tried to take small sips of air in through my mouth as I cast my gaze toward Hera.

And Bastien.

I fought through another crashing wave of dizziness to look at him, and when I did, what I saw horrified me.

If vampires could die, then he was dying.

She still held her short athame to his throat, but the gesture was more for my horror than his. Everything about him was still frozen, except for the warm drips that ran down his neck.

The bloodstone I wore seemed to tug me forward. Begging me to go to him.

But that wasn't my fate.

A lump formed in my throat when I thought about all the things I'd never get to learn about him or all the questions I'd never get to ask.

I didn't have time to grieve the loss of that future. Bastien needed to leave as soon as possible in order to feed. With each passing second, he looked more gaunt. More pale. More...unlike himself.

I needed him strong enough to ride to his castle where he could meet with Natalia and Tyson and Okeri and avenge what was about to happen here.

Which meant I needed to end this quickly.

Mustering my courage, I forced myself to meet Hera's eyes.

"You have me," I told her. "Now release him."

Silence.

Then, a small laugh that sent a shiver through me.

My heart pounded out a furious rhythm that seemed to say, Live, Live, Live, like some cruel joke.

She glanced at the spider on her shoulder, like they were sharing some private joke.

"How could a girl as foolish as you be the worthiest witch in this graveyard?" she wondered aloud. Her head canted to one side.

Foolish?

No.

For maybe the first time in my life, something inside of me pushed back against the accusation that I wasn't very smart.

My actions were practical and, I hoped, would make my family proud. This was what they wanted from me—to find a way to stop the darkness.

I may not have discovered the location of all the demonic relics like they wanted, but my death would set in motion the security Sera deserved.

Rolling my shoulders back, I said, "Doing the right thing isn't foolish. Now let him go!"

Another pause. Another heated silence.

All of a sudden, I started feeling very foolish because I realized what was happening. Bastien was under a spell. My hands were bound. She had no responsibility to fulfill her promise to me.

"Sweetling," Hera cooed, "why would I let the vampire go?"

My gaze darted to Bastien, and even though the sight of him broke my heart into a million tiny pieces and the red drips of blood falling down his neck made me want to swoon, I couldn't look away.

I'd become very fond of his face. And...I'd failed him.

And now, because I was so foolish, my family would suffer. Sera—sweet, wild Sera—would suffer.

Because I wasn't the witch anyone needed me to be, I was too weak.

Live. Live. Live.

The beat of my heart was frantic and adamant. Begging me not to give up.

I had nothing left to barter with except...

"The High Prince will avenge this treason."

I didn't know Prince Marius very well, but I knew he loved his brother. It was likely the reason he showed him mercy when he'd believed Bastien had broken the law and tasted my blood before a contract was made.

But this—he would not abide.

However, the witch seemed unconcerned.

"That's the thing you don't understand about these creatures. Sure, once upon a time they were members of great covens. But now, they've grown soft and lazy.  They aren't our immortal guardians. Castles and wine and parties. That's all they care about."

So I was right. They were once witches. Bastien had been a witch. And now more than ever, I believed that he'd spent his immortal life trying not to show favoritism.

Because that's the man that he was.

And all along the way, he'd been trying to show me that dark witches weren't all bad.

Present company excluded.

"I can't speak of the others, but that's not true about this prince."

Hera patted the side of Bastien's face with the flat side of her blade, leaving a red trail across his cheek.

I breathed in. And out. Swallowing down the dizziness.

"Oh yes," she continued. "This one loves war. Fearless. Deadly. Except, of course, when he's stuck in a full body bind. But that doesn't make him better than the others. No. It just makes him...different."

And she was was right. He was different.

But that didn't matter to her.

"You won't be able to cover this up," I told her as desperation started to rise. "And those soft, lazy vampires will come for you and your family."

"Well, if the High Prince comes to call, we'll just say we haven't seen dear Prince Bastien in some time."

I smirked.

"The others knew we were coming. Bastien's council. They'll tell the truth. You won't get away with this."

She considered me carefully.

"That's a good point. Well, perhaps I'll tell the High Prince that Bastien had his throat ripped out by a wolf that only seemed to obey the commands of his new sanguine partner."

She eyed the two giant wolves sitting nearby. "We, as his loyal subjects, took justice into our own hands. As they say, dead vampires tell no tales." She cut a glare at me. Red eyes blazing. "And neither do dead witches."

My hope was cut like the string of a trap.

This was it. I was going to die. And it was all in vain. I wasn't going to save anyone.

Hera gestured to someone behind me, and I was roughly grabbed by the warm fur lined hat covering my head. They fisted their hand into my hair. My neck strained as my head was pulled back to open my throat. The lace collar around my neck biting into my flesh.

Diana, please, help me. Please.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain. Clenching my jaw as I waited for what came after her blade.

"What is this?" Hera asked. Her voice edging on disappointed.

Others started talking at once. Muttering questions. The low hum of voices filling the early morning.

I waited for the kiss of cold steel that didn't come.

Instead, the hat I was wearing was yanked off, and a section of my hair was grabbed.

A strangled noise left my throat as I was yanked sideways.

Gasps followed.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, and I saw what the commotion was about.

My hair had returned to the same silver lilac color it had been when we left Chateau Rose. All traces of bright red were gone.

I was sure I looked just as bewildered as those around me.

What did that mean? Was I no longer a dark witch? Had the power fled my body?

At first, the thought gave me some comfort. Maybe I wasn't the dark thing that I feared I'd become. Maybe darkness didn't belong in my body.

But then I had another thought...

If that was the case, then why did all magick refuse me? Light and dark?

I was so confused by these warring emotions, but I wasn't the only one. The witches closed in around me, all staring at me from different angles, trying to understand what had caused the change.

"What happened? Did she lose the magick?" Hera shouted in question, but no one answered.

She let go of Bastien, and he fell to the ground in a thump. His frozen form still held in the position he was in when the spell was cast.

Move. Run. Do something. Anything. Please.

I repeated the words over and over again in my head like a prayer as tears collected in my eyes.

Just live.

Hera pushed me to the front of the crowd and snatched me by the hair, ripping it nearly out of my head as she studied the color. I screeched out in pain, which only seemed to goad her on.

"What is this magick?" she asked me. Red eyes narrowed, and lips pulled back over her teeth. "Did you do something to protect the magick? Did you spellbind yourself?"

Spellbind? What was a spellbind?

"I didn't do anything!" I told her.

Someone shouted, "Liar!"

The hysteria rose.

My gaze circled their faces, ready to argue with whoever thought I wasn't telling the truth when I caught sight of the witch with the white raven—the one who had defended me. She was crouched behind a gravestone, with her bird perched atop her shoulder, and pointing her wand my way.

She lifted a finger to her lips, as if to tell me not to react.

I had no idea what she intended to do, but I had to trust her. I had no other choice. Bastien was dying.

Swallowing hard, I watched her twist her wrist and mutter some silent spell.

But...nothing happened.

I was hoping Hera would burst into flames or she'd break my binds, but...nothing.

For a moment, I doubted my decision, but as soon as the thought entered my brain, it was shoved aside by another.

A feeling that I was underwater and safe and far away from here. The only thing I wanted to do was swim to him.

Then I heard it. My name. Faintly. Calling to me.

"Claire."

👀👀👀👀

Okay, so any theories on the ❤️ to 💜 transformation or the memory?

I know some of you were super sad to see Claire's classic color disappear, and it was so hard not to reassure you it would come back and keep this part a secret!

But what does it all mean?!