D G Swank - Crown of Blood

T he witch is not to be trusted.

The eight men who had gathered in a dirty, musty room all studied me as though I were a dangerous beast, ready to pounce on them at any moment. I didnt object to the mages assessment. For one thing, he was right, and for another, my silence was making them nervous, which was exactly where I wanted them.

The Dark Set needed me, but they were uncertain of my loyalty.

A small smile lifted the corners of my lips. They had good reason to be uncertain.

Celeste has the orb, said Peter Savage, an older mage with a full head of gray hair. He was one of the most powerful glamour mages alive. But weve lost the book. We. Need. That. Book. To finish what we started. I was also fascinated by the glamour hed cast over himself in an effort to look at least twenty years younger. How old was he? Seventy? Eighty? Underneath the glamour, his thinning hair was snow white. His face was tired and wrinkled, his heavy jowls sagging, but I could see through it all, even if no one else could.

No one could hide from me.

We dont need the book, I said, my voice light and airy. Men didnt like to take women seriously if they sounded dainty, but the blue glow emanating from my outstretched palm seemed to make an impression all its own. You have me.

And I, Celeste Whelan, expression witch and one-third keeper of the Book of Sindal, was currently the most powerful being in the room, possibly the world. Most magical specialties required a sourcewhile my sister Phoebe needed to be close to the bones of our ancestors to use her ancestral magic, my eldest sister, Rowan, couldnt change the nature of an object or beingshe could only change others perception of it. I, on the other hand, could quite literally create something out of nothing. But the power demanded to be used, and it had started slipping out. Each day was a new battle. Eventually, the magic would completely consume me. Or everyone around me.

But that was a worry for another day.

The mages studied me in silence, trying to figure out what to do. I was a wrench in the Dark Sets plans. Especially since their main objective was to steal control of the magical community from the witches. What were they to do with such a powerful female ally?

I barely contained the giggle of glee rising in my throat.

Finally, Donall leveled his gaze on me. Surely you must realize that there is much more to the book than the power orb, Celeste. The orb is only one spell of hundreds. Maybe thousands. We need to find your sisters and take it back. He paused. Can you feel their presence now?

Most people in the magical community believed the Book of Sindal was mythical, but it was very real, and my family had protected it for centuries. The magic it contained was both powerful and dangerous, which was why Donall had manipulated me (or so he thought) to get his hands on it.

Hed reached out to me online, pretending he was a friend, and offered to help tame my magic. His proposed solution was, of course, to use the Book of Sindal. Hed encouraged me to feed the book my sisters blood while they slept, the sacrifice required to open it. Id already known how to open it. Id also known that it did not contain the secret to controlling my power, but Id played along, letting him think me a fool because it suited my purpose. Because my mother had assured me it was part of the gods and goddesses plan.

She would have known. In addition to her telekinetic power, she had possessed the temperamental gift of foresight. Something she had concealed from most of the people in her life.

Yet there were things she hadnt foreseen. Like Donall, Id wanted the book for myself. I had believed it was my fate to use it to destroy the Dark Set. Except now I wasnt sure. Id done everything it had asked of me, and still it had asked for more. Earlier tonight it had asked for the life of Rowans new boyfriend, and Id encouraged her to kill him. An innocent man. A human.

Frightened of what I might do and what I might become, Id chosen to leave the book behind with Rowan. Only Donall didnt need to know all of that.

How am I supposed to find my sisters after your friends severed our coven bond, Donall? I asked patiently, then gave him the sweetest of smiles.

Irritation filled Donalls eyes. I felt his power nudge at my mind for what had to be the fiftieth time, but my power blocked this attempt just as it had all the others. Cutting your coven bond was necessary, Celeste. I couldnt very well have Rowan communicating with either you or Phoebe, or I never would have gotten as much from her as I did.

Our mother had led everyone to believe that my eldest sisters power was rudimentary and basic, but in truth, Rowan was a powerful witch. Our mother had hidden it by making Rowan put up a shield to conceal her power from everyoneincluding herself. Then shed made me erase the memory from Rowans mind.

You must keep this from everyone, little Celeste, our mother had said to me after the deed was done. You must protect your sister.

Protect her from what? Id asked between sniffles. Id been a small child at the time, but Id known in my childish heart that Id betrayed my sister.

The bad men will want to use her. Mother had squatted in front of me, wiping tears from my cheeks. We are doing this to protect her.

The burden of the lie had become crushing. Id watched my sister struggle with feelings of inadequacy, knowing all along that I could make it better.

Id kept another secret from my sisters, too, one theyd probably never forgive me for concealing. Our father hadnt died of a broken heart days after our mothers fiery car accident. Instead, Xavier Whelan had been spirited away by the very force my mother had trained me to fight againstthe Dark Set. Father and I had been reunited a few hours ago, although it was hardly a happy reunion.

You didnt get anything from Rowan, you fool, my father sneered at Donall. You ruined everything.

Youre lucky youre here at all, Donall sneered back. After the complete disaster at Radcliffe.

Donall and my father had been certain Rowan would be the one to be able to read the book with her glamour magic, and while her ability had resurfaced in the end, our father hadnt convinced her to cooperate with the Dark Set.

I gave my father a small smile. I know you would have much preferred Rowan, Father, but perhaps I wont be so bad.

He started to say something then closed his mouth. Id always known that Rowan was his favoritehed made no secret of itso why did still I crave his love? I was a grown woman of twenty-three, yet I wanted my daddy to love me like I was some preteen girl.

Get over it, Celeste. You were destined to be alone. Our mother had always made sure that message was pounded into my head.

Anger and loneliness washed through me in thick waves, and the magic in my head pulsed, begging me to unleash it on the group of misogynist, power-hungry mages.