Page 64 of Love Summoned

I can’t bear to look at him as I push to stand and let Sloane take my hand, pulling me toward the others.

Debris falls over our heads as we rush through the tunnels.

Someone throws a potion at one point that lights the way as everything else grows darker.

I let my sister pull me along. All I can concentrate on is putting one foot in front of the other as my heart shatters in my chest, the grief threatening to pull me under.

“We’re almost there,” Celeste calls from the head of the group.

We run through what look like streets of a ghost town, one that’s been ravaged by a storm, then suspended in time.

We continue to pass demon after demon, shattering into ash, as I’m pulled left and right.

“Sisters.” We freeze when Chimere stands in the center of our path with both arms held up at her sides. The iron bands around her wrists fall to the ground. “Thank you.” She smiles as the red of her eyes shifts to a cool green.

Turning her palms up to the dark sky, a pool of white liquid seeps from the hem of her dress and trickles over the gravel toward us. We all huddle together, watching as the liquid light forms a whirlpool. Panic takes hold, and I feel myself fighting for breath as it envelops us and closes in. The last thing I remember is Sloane’s hand tightening around mine.

28

I roll over, gagging as an acrid scent assaults my senses.

“That’s it.” Someone pats my back.

I cough as my palms dig into soft earth. A cool breeze brushes over my skin, the foul smell slowly giving way to sweet florals.

“Sera.” Sloane gasps. “Are you okay?” Her hand runs soothingly up and down my back as I pry my eyes open.

We’re back in the park.

Sloane and Rowan are by my side. Nikita and Celeste stand just ahead of us and Delaney sits to the side with her head between her legs as Freddie pats her back.

“Freddie?” I rasp.

“I’m certain this earns me another love potion as a thank you.” He winks.

I chuckle but it’s quickly replaced with a wheeze as I attempt to breathe. “What happened? How did we get here?”

“Me.” Chimere steps around Celeste.

“Sloane, get her.” I stumble to my feet, almost falling back to the ground if not for my sister and Rowan holding me up.

Chimere doesn’t move. Her hands stay crossed in front of her, resting calmly against the pale pink tulle of her skirt. She looks completely different to the seer who was plastered to Catori’s side.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“She brought us back here,” Sloane answers.

“Why? She’s the one who told Catori of the resurgence of the Seven Sisters to begin with.”

“It is true,” Chimere says. “I saw you were the ones who could defeat Catori for good, that’s why I sent you the visions.”

“You sent them?” I question, demanding an answer that could attempt to justify what his defeat has cost me.

“His armies have only grown since his imprisonment. Not long after I was—” She looks down. Her hands fidgeting over each other before she clears her throat. “After I was taken by him, I had a vision of a time when his soldiers were unstoppable. So many witches and innocents lost their lives. Since the curse, he never stopped looking for a way out. It is dangerous to let vengeance fester for too long.”

“Why Hemlock?” It’s the question that has plagued me since the dreams started. “If the curse could always have been broken by Sloane or me, why did you bring me here?” We could have defeated Catori without ever meeting Nix, and then I wouldn’t have to be left with this pain.

A soft smile spreads on Chimere’s face. “My mother was one of the Seven Sisters. Catori had many seers working for him. He knew the curse could only be removed by one of Theodora’s or Cassandra’s descendants, but he didn’t know about their talisman spell, or that his defeat hinged on a daughter of Solomon and a son of Catori.”