Page 12 of Speak No Evil

But my own covenbound me!

Sure, I disavowed them a decade ago... but still, my own people?

They weren’t taking any chances, I guess.

Before I even try, I already know...

I try anyway and reach for Vrahs’s magic, housed and mingling with my own.

But there’s nothing. Not a stitch of demon magic nor mine rises to meet me.

I suspect if I were the sort of witch who could feel her magic, I might have known they’d bound me sooner.

But I’m not, so this is...

A lot.

Kayla makes a pleased little chirp, drawing my gaze to her wide and pointy smile. “It took the entire coven to perform that working. You were far more powerful than we expected.”

She glides around the edge of the circle, chemise skimming the floor so it looks like she’s floating. “You almost ripped your way through the portal before we’d finished laying our trap.” She smooths the length of her hair so it lies flat over her shoulder. “And now you see the full picture, don’t you?”

Her smile goes preternaturally wide, and I don’t bother keeping the revulsion of my face.

“You’re not getting out of your duty to the coven, Jade. Not again. Not while I’m in charge.”

My fingers quake behind my back as I search within one more time, desperate for the barest trace of demon juice. Hell, I’d settle for my own magic.

But the well of power is gone, stifled behind an entire coven’s worth of magic.

Fuck.

Kayla stands straighter, addressing both me and the circle of witches around me. “Since taking your teeth—the proper punishment for abandoning your coven and duties—appears to be something you’re not all that opposed to, I suggest we begin thepermanentbinding process.”

I hardly hear what she says next, so loud is the blood rushing in my ears.

“We can’t have you continuing to hurt yourself, Jade. Clearly, magic is simply too much for you to handle.”

Her sweet, singsong voice sets my teeth on edge as she continues to condemn me.

“You’ve only made bad decisions since your awakening. So it’s a good thing you’ll still make lovely, full-blooded witches, even without access to your magic.”

She smiles at me again, and my mouth floods with saliva, preparing to puke.

So I spit on the glittering diagram in front of me.

The magic remains intact.

“All in favor?”

A chorus ofayesring out around me.

“No!” I scream, hating that Kayla knew exactly which button to push. Exactly how to break me. “Don’t take my—”

“It’s what you deserve, Jade.”

Chapter 4

RYKER