Page 7 of Spring's Descent
“That’s the one. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I’m pretty sure they’re fucking.”
“Eww.” Lark wrinkled her nose as the two of us moved from the ensuite to the couch. The plush cushions were bleached by the sun, the rich yellow fading into a pale cream, and the whole thing was permanently sloped in the middle, but it was a safe place Lark and I had to shed the masks we were forced to wear.
According to Mother, my room was small compared to what was normal for the next leader of the Earth Coven. She talked often about the luxuries we were missing being out here in the woods rather than our rightful place in The Crystal City. I only wished it could leave my mother and this shitty coven behind.
“Let me get this straight,” Lark continued as I sank into my side of the couch. “Your mother is sleeping with Cyrus but expects you to marry him anyway?”
My stomach churned, but I nodded. “I can’t do it, Lark. Even if they weren’t, I can’t bind my soul to a man like him.”
“Hold on.” She turned toward the door, retrieving a bottle of wine from her bag hanging on a peg by the door before returning to my side. She had on her servant gown, the forest green a few shades darker than my eyes. Lark was forced to wear it every day—a beacon among the coven that she betrayed us, but it only seemed to compliment her umber curls. “I think we might need something stronger than tea tonight.”
A smile tilted the edges of my lips as I saw the vintage label. “Even if I had a bottle of this daily for the rest of my life, I couldn’t go through with marrying him.”
“I get it, Rae, but you know Demeter has a way of getting what she wants.” The cushions dipped under Lark’s curvy figure as she sat next to me. Lark’s body was just like her powers: Seduction. Persuasion. Compulsion—none of which were powers from the Earth Coven. She hardly ever used her magic, but occasionally, when the moon was high, Lark would play.
We were told her types of gifts came from The Underworld, that anyone capable of such magic should be banished from the Realm of the Living immediately, but I wondered if all magic didn’t come from Hecate herself.
“Demeter will deny having a relationship with him. Nobody else will understand why you won’t marry Cyrus, especially since you’ve only had flickers of power.”
“I don’t care if anyone else gets it, Lark. Despite being the High Matriarch, Mother can’t force me to bond.”
Popping off the cork, Lark held the bottle out for me, the warm spices reaching across the space between us. “This conversation requires a drink.”
I took it, the glass cool against my lips as I drank. I didn’t want there tobea conversation. This was my decision. My choice. Even if it meant taking my chances with meeting Thanatos sooner rather than later.
But Lark was my friend, the only person to have shown me kindness in this life—beside Ruby. Ruby and I had been close as children in The Crystal City, our families having grown up together. At the time, Ruby’s mother was in line to be High Matriarch before The Dark Faction destroyed everything.
Ruby was six years older than me, her magic showing signs even when we were children. She’d been the first person to hidewith me when Mother was angry. She would create a distraction long enough for me to run or she would hold me when the tears wouldn’t stop. She’d even stepped in front of me once, Mother’s hand splitting her lip instead of mine.
I would never forget the fear in Ruby’s eyes as she wiped away the blood. It was the first time I realized most parents didn’t hit their children.
She promised she would save me, that we would tell her mother, and everything would be okay. But then The Dark Faction attacked. The two of us escaped the massacre, forced to bow to Demeter’s whims in this new hell. I thought that was the worst of it until… until her awakening. She was one of the first claimed by Hecate. One of the first sacrificed to offset the death magic ravaging our world.
“Marriage could help,” Lark said as I lifted the bottle to my lips again.
I coughed, choking down another gulp as I wiped the mess away from my lips with the back of my hand. “You can’t be serious?—”
“Not with Cyrus,” Lark amended, snatching the bottle from my hands and taking her own sip. “Obviously. He’s probably one of those guys who thinks he’s great at sex, but the entire time he’s been rubbing your left fold while thinking it’s your clit.”
I snorted a laugh as she continued.
“But the marriage part. That would give you a boost in power and increase your chances of surviving. Even Willow is set to marry a witch from the Green Coven next week, the night before her awakening.”
“Why? Her powers have shown since she was thirteen.”
“She wants to have the best chance at surviving, and Demeter made it pretty clear marrying green witches is the only way to do that.” Lark sighed as I grimaced. “I don’t like it either, Rae.My point is, that it’s normal for witches to wed before their awakening. Expected even. Marriage is better than death.”
Not entirely sure I agreed with that statement, I watched the dark liquid lap at the sides as I swirled the glass bottle. Itcouldgive me an edge if the person who I linked my life with was powerful.
Handing the bottle over, I reached for the tea. A bitter scent reached me, causing me to wrinkle my nose.Not the chamomile I’d been expecting. This was my monthly tonic to prevent pregnancy, and while it always made me sleepy, I felt drained after. Not rested. Lark reported no such issues with her tonic. I would have to choke it down eventually, but I’d wait until I was turning in for the night.
“There was another attack.” Lark glanced to the wooden door, listening for signs of others. We were on the third floor—the top level of the tallest building in the little town our coven had crafted in The Black Forest. A glance toward the narrow windows showed nothing but branches and the night sky, meaning everyone should be asleep by now, but our lack of caution had earned Lark a few beatings in the past. “I overheard the kitchen staff. An entire village consumed by the darkness in the east near Green Coven territory.”
“Gods,” I breathed, my stomach twisting. “The Dark Faction?”
“Who else? Based on the number of deaths, witches think The Hound of Hell was there, slaughtering mortal souls to add to Hades’s realm.” She shook her head. “I only bring it up to point out that it isn’t just the covens who are affected by the Dark Faction. The entire Realm of the Living is suffering. We need every witch possible to fight this. Maybe marriage wouldn’t be so bad if it meant you got to live.”
“No,” I said after a long moment. “The only person I trust with my life is you. Everyone else here would fuck me over the first chance they got.”