Page 89 of The Demon's Spell

Dear Goddess, they were going to make me die a horrible, painful death.

“If there ever was a time to use a truth serum, it is now,” Margaret said, before grabbing me by the hair and yanking my head back.

I couldn’t move. My whole body was rendered immobile by Lilian’s magic. Claudia grabbed my jaw and forced my mouth open, and Margaret poured the potion past my lips. I tried not to swallow it, and the liquid gurgled in my throat.

“Swallow!” Claudia snapped. She put her hand over my mouth and nose, forcing me to swallow.

The potion burned my nose, and my eyes watered. I felt my whole body sag as the magic took hold of me.

Margaret smirked proudly. “Now tell us, Nadine. Did you poison the wine and try to kill us?”

My throat felt like fire was rising inside of it as the magic forced an answer out of me. “No,” I said honestly.

I didn’t realize I’d said it until I heard my own voice. The potion would make me tell the truth, whether I wanted to or not. Technically, I hadn’t tried to kill them, and I barely squeaked by with a half-truth.

Margaret’s nostrils flared. She had fully intended on catching me in a lie and executing me for it. “If it wasn’t her, then who? No one but her had access to the wine.”

Claudia gasped. “The wine came from my house. I had a glass earlier this week with a business partner, William Connor.”

“We must question him at once!” Lilian barked. “Nadine is free to go… for the time being.”

She released her hold on me, and I ran out of the room as fast as I could, my throat still burning.

I was still trembling when I got back to the school. I marched straight to Headmistress Verla’s office and entered without knocking. She sat at her desk, reading a large textbook under the light of her lamp.

Her features paled when she saw me, and she leapt to her feet. “Nadine, what happened? Did it work?”

“No, it didn’t work!” I snapped. “Hector’s dead! The priestesses got suspicious, and they made him drink the wine. You told me the potion would take their powers, not kill them! Was it true? Is it even possible? Do we even have the power to mimic the Waning, and if we did, how long would it last? Tell me the truth!”

I had to believe Verla had good intentions, but I feared the worst. Had she lied to me because she knew I wouldn’t be part of an assassination attempt? Or had it all been an accident?

Verla placed her hand over her heart and staggered back into her chair, collapsing against the frame. She looked as shocked as I was to hear that the potion didn’t work the way we intended. “It should’ve worked. We put your power to siphon magic inside the potion. It should’ve stripped them of their powers!”

“What if I’m not that powerful?” I wasn’t sure the potion was even possible. “Tell me, Headmistress. Did we screw up, or was this your plan all along?”

Verla’s hands trembled. “I had no intention of brewing a poison. If I wanted to brew a poison, I wouldn’t have needed your help. I truthfully didn’t know how potent the potion would be, but I don’t see how we could’ve ruined it to this degree—”

“Did William have something to do with it? His name came up suspect at the meeting,” I demanded.

She gasped and threw her hand over her mouth. “He slipped the potion into the wine bottle at his meeting earlier this week, as was our plan. He must’ve seen an opportunity and switched it out.”

“We can’t let this happen,” I insisted. “This is a betrayal of our trust. We agreed on a plan, and he went against it! We can’t trust him to be part of The Coven’s Shield anymore.”

“I agree,” Verla said as she grabbed her coat. Odin jumped out of his cat tower to follow her. “I will go speak to him.”

“I’m coming with you.”

She held up her hand to stop me. “Not until I speak with him first. It may not be safe for you. We don’t know how deep this betrayal runs. What if he intended to poison all the priestesses, including you, Nadine? Go back to your dorm and wait until I get back.”

“But Headmistress—”

“You need to stay safe,” she pressed, and she grabbed my arm tightly. “Don’t make me ward my office and lock you in here, because I swear to the Goddess, I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”

Verla wasn’t giving me a choice. She was genuinely scared I was in grave danger, and she forced me to return to my dorm room.

I didn’t sleep that night. I lay awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering if Verla would manage to speak with William in time.

At dawn, I heard the sound of a cat scratching at my door. I opened it, and saw Odin. I followed him down to Verla’s office. She had returned and appeared thoroughly exhausted…