The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(112)

I’m going to make some noise to surprise the wraith into letting go of you. Be ready to run. Nessa’s eyes were wide with fear and resolute courage.

Blue shook her head slightly, trying to convey with her expression that Nessa should get out of there before the wraith realized the princess she wanted dead was standing on the porch.

Nessa’s jaw set stubbornly, and Blue’s stomach dropped. The princess was going to do what she planned, and Blue couldn’t stop her. Couldn’t stop the wraith from taking her, either. All she could do was hope to grab the wraith’s attention for herself while she figured out how to make it want to bite her.

I’ll find something to throw at it, and then we’ll both run.

Neither of them could outrun the wraith, and Blue was the only one Marielle wanted to keep alive. Nessa crept past the open doorway, searching the far end of the porch for something to use against the wraith, and Blue looked at the women, who were still shouting at each other. She had no plan, no list of possibilities to try, and no time to do anything but improvise.

Before either sister could be distracted from their argument by the sound of Nessa on the porch, Blue took a step toward Riva, yanking on the wraith’s arm like she wanted her freedom. The women’s eyes snapped to hers, and Blue started talking as fast as she could.

“Dinah . . . I mean, Marielle has been taking street kids from Falaise de la Mer and feeding them to the wraith for years. Did you know about that? Was that an acceptable cost to saving your sister from the consequences of her actions?”

Riva looked stricken. “I wondered, but there was no proof—”

“There was plenty of proof if you’d simply gone to the Wilds instead of hiding away here in your cottage while she continued to hurt innocents.” Blue’s voice rose. “You knew she was still in the city. You knew she was wicked—”

“I cut the wicked part out of her!” Riva cried, her cheeks flushing.

“There is no part of her that isn’t wicked!” Blue lunged toward Riva, but the wraith’s grip held her back. “She killed my papa. My friend Ana. Countless children. I stepped on their bones! I saw the carnage. And then she pulled the king’s body from the sea and brought him back to life just enough to send him to the castle to kill his children. And all of that happened because you decided to separate part of her from her magic instead of letting her be caged like she deserved.”

“This is charming. It really is.” Marielle moved toward Riva. “I do love seeing someone hate you nearly as much as I do, sister dear. But I’m afraid I have people to kill and a throne to take, so it’s time for you to go ahead and die.”

Riva’s wand swished, and a jet of pale yellow light flashed from its tip. Marielle laughed as flames caught on her cloak and spread. With a wave of her hand, the flames coiled themselves around her arm, a snake of fire with its head pointed at Riva.

“Blue, a drop of blood if you please.” The wraith’s fingers curled into claws around Blue’s arm. “I think we’ll see what happens when we bond fire to a witch.”

Blue laughed, a little forced, a little desperate, her mind racing to come up with a way to keep Marielle from using her blood. “I thought you were the invincible, all-powerful blood wraith. And yet you can’t even kill a harmless little witch without my help.”

The wraith’s black eyes turned toward Blue, and it gnashed its teeth at her. “I can kill anyone without help. Including every single little street brat you hold so dear. Shall I start with them next? Or would you rather I make a visit to your grandmother’s cottage first?”

Movement flashed out of the corner of Blue’s eye, and she turned just as Riva collided with her, breaking the wraith’s hold on her. The witch stood between Blue and her sister, her wand raised, her voice trembling as she said, “Run, child.”

Another pale light shot from the wand and exploded into a hail of spiders that crawled over the wraith’s skin and poured down her nose, ears, and mouth. The wraith threw the fire snake at Riva as it staggered back, choking on spiders.

The fire hit Riva, wrapped around her, and ate into her skin. Blue whirled and ran onto the porch, where she’d last seen Nessa, but the weathered gray boards were empty. Frantically, Blue scanned the garden, but it was silent and still. She turned back to the cottage as Riva doused herself with a water pitcher. The wraith stood tall, her skin shuddering as she opened her mouth and wailed, a terrible gust of air that flew out of her, filled with spiders and magic.

Blue was thrown off the porch and onto a bed of lavender. Scrambling to her feet, she hissed, “Nessa? Nessa!”

The garden was silent.

“I should have just let you die!” Riva’s voice rose.

Blue crept up the steps again, her heart in her throat as she came to the doorway. Riva crouched, her back to the door, her skin seared and her hair smoking. Her trembling hand clutched her wand. Marielle faced her, both hands raised, magic shimmering between her outstretched palms like a translucent storm of power. And behind Marielle, a narrow wooden chair clutched in her hands, was Nessa.

“That’s always been your problem, sister. You could never stomach doing what needed to be done.” Marielle locked eyes with her sister.

Riva muttered something, and the tip of her wand glowed.

Blue rushed through the door, aiming for the wraith, as Nessa swung the chair over her head like an ax, slamming it into Marielle’s back.