A sob threatening break past my lips, but I wouldn’t let it. Everything inside of me was trembling. “How do I do that?”

  Devlinn spared Bastien another look. My husband looked like he was ready to draw steel any moment, but knew a sword wasn’t going to help me. “There was one way my granny always swore by, and it-it’s to make love in the circle. Release always pulls in dark magick.”

  The circle fell silent. Sex. The answer was sex. Somehow… I’d known. I’d known it was Bastien and the horn that would fix whatever was happening inside of me.

  “You can’t be serious,” Bastien snapped.

  Devlinn sat back on his heels and chuckled. “After watching your granny ride your papa in a chanting circle, you start to believe a thing or two about power.”

  I tried very hard not to allow that image to form in my mind. But it did anyway. And some of the anger flooded out of me. I remembered why I wanted this magick. And it wasn’t just to open a door or to be powerful. It was to pursue the future that I wanted. Where I was free of this choker, and I could have a family with Bastien.

  “Your Grace, I’ve seen it work,” Tansy was saying. “Before we quit charging our magick, it was my favorite way to help Devlinn charge his.”

  I looked pleadingly at Bastien. He stared at me like he was facing a line of invaders. As if to say there was no way he was going to make love to me inside a magick circle so I could summon Gorrath.

  “We’re running out of time,” I told him.

  “It’s too dangerous!”

  I squeezed my fists together. “This is who I am now.”

  “I can help Claire, Your Grace,” Devlinn offered, interrupting the silent argument. “If she wanted me to.”

  Panic clawed at my chest. “That is a kind offer,” I said, trying not to look at Bastien. “But what about Tansy? I could never…”

  “Claire, we became consorts for a reason,” Tansy asserted. “We’ve never been intimidated by sharing each other. I know where his heart lies.”

  Their love was so strong, so pure, so endless that it was inspiring. To be so sure of one another. To know nothing, or no one, could tear you apart. I met Bastien’s worried gaze and saw the passion and love there. I longed to touch him, to go to him. To make him see my perspective.

  “It would be important that we release at the same time,” Devlinn explained. “It’s crucial to the flow of power.”

  A murderous rage flared in Bastien’s ice blue eyes. Devlinn had no idea how close he was to being decapitated by my vampire mate. He would never allow another man to touch me, not even for this. But there seemed to be no other way. If he shut this down, I’d have to wait another month to perform the spell. And who knew what would happen in that time?

  Devlinn stood and started removing his cloak, as if preparing to enter the circle, but before he took a step closer, Bastien swung out his cane. “Close the circle. This ritual is over.”

  The anger was back. The heat was back. “No!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the clearing. Then something came bubbling up, a thought that drove me from angry to enraged. “You were willing to help Hera secure her grandmother’s magick, but you’re not willing to help me get mine?”

  Bastien’s eyes blazed.

  “This magick is sitting inside of me with no outlet. If you think it’s dangerous to call on him, it’s more dangerous for me to keep this magick caged.” Tears formed in my eyes. “I need to speak with Gorrath and get him to reestablish the line of inheritance. So I can be balanced.”

  He didn’t move. He couldn’t. And I realized this was one of those times that he needed me to give the order.

  “Leave us,” I told my friends. “Take the guards with you back to camp.”

  “Claire,” Tansy breathed. “You can’t be alone out here.”

  “My wolves will protect us. And the Duke is not without his talents.”

  Devlinn hesitated. “Your Grace?”

  There was a long pause. My arms shook with barely contained magick that was begging for a way to be unleashed. The horn began vibrating insistently, and a sudden pulse of heat throbbed between my thighs. An ache. A need. A feeling so strong I had to grit my teeth and dig my bare fingers into the dirty snow.

  My body knew what it needed. Him. And this horn. Together. And it was screaming for him to just listen to me.

  “You heard her,” Bastien said at last. “Go.”

  Chapter 17

  Interlude

  GORRATH

  Boy, does it feel good to hear Bastien finally say my name—something he’s avoided for over five hundred years.

  That’s right, sweetheart. I am Gorrath. Demon of the Underworld. A member of Damien’s High Court.

  You’re probably wondering how a demon like me and a moon witch like Bastien got tangled up in the middle of a war. Well, let’s just say it was a lapse in judgment. The war had been raging for so long, none of us knew what peace looked like. Until one night, an armistice was called. Peace talks had begun. Drinks were flowing.

  I saw him staring at me from across the fire with those baby blue eyes. I didn’t stand a chance. Not after I got him alone and had a taste. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a man with blue eyes and a big cock. I’m sure you understand.

  He was terrified we’d be caught that night and disowned by his family. I told him being yourself was always worth the risk of losing the people who claimed to love you.

  Then he sawed off my horn and banished me back to the Underworld. Sealing me there. Something he promised he wouldn’t do.

  Granted, it was less of a promise and more of a moan in my ear one night when we were alone. I don’t have to tell you how convincing his pledges of fealty are. Do I? No. He’s got you wrapped around his little finger.

  I don’t blame you. However, I do blame him.

  Chapter 18

  La Confession

  CLAIRE

  Once Tansy and Devlinn were gone and it was just the two of us, Bastien set his cane in the snow and removed his heavy fur cloak. He undressed quickly, removing piece by piece until he was down to a thin cotton undershirt and trousers.

  “Do I have permission to enter your circle?”

  I wiped what was left of the black liquid from my mouth. I couldn’t believe he was agreeing to this.

  “Words, Claire. I need your permission.”

  “Yes. Enter,” I forced myself to say.

  He lowered to his knees in front of me and undid the laces of his trousers, leaving them open. We stared at each other for a long moment, both of us breathing hard. Both of us stripped bare. Both of us willing to sacrifice our comfort, our morality, everything for each other.

  I went to tell him how much this meant to me, but Bastien held up a hand. “There’s something I need to say first.” I waited, bracing for what was to come. But he simply said, “I’m sorry.”

  I wasn’t expecting “I’m sorry.”

  He ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I’m sorry for what happened that night.”

  “I already told you that you don’t need to apologize.”

  He ignored me, barreling on. “I’m sorry I let things go too far, that I was blind to the intentions of the people around me. I’m sorry that you were the one who had to suffer.”

  The apology landed hard in my stomach. But I had a strange sense that he wasn’t talking about that night in the graveyard. He was talking about something else. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Pain flickered across his face. “I’ve been keeping a secret from you, because…” His voice broke. “Because I’m ashamed.” Bastien dipped his head, and I saw tears were brimming in his eyes. “I didn’t stumble on the idea of acceptance and tolerance. It wasn’t something that just came to me one day. It happened,” he drew in a shuddering breath, “because I-I befriended a demon.”

  My mouth fell open.

  “Yes. Long ago. Before the Choosing. When I was still a Witch of the Light. When I was just Sebastien Bassett of Amara.”

  Amara. I softened more. I knew there was a reason why he’d been chosen for me. He was born in Amara, beside the banks of the Starfall River, the place I’d loved the most in the world, where the sound of rushing water always made me feel at peace.

  “The demon—Gorrath—he and I became close. Very close.” Our eyes met. “Do you understand what I mean?”

  A flash of realization tore through my body like a bolt of lightning, making my heart race faster. “You two would… kiss? And…?”

  He nodded. “Yes. We would see each other in secret.”

  Suddenly, everything began to make sense. It wasn’t just my own want. It wasn’t just my own attraction. The demon wanted him, and there was a time when he’d wanted the demon too. It was all caged inside me.

  “It was a very long time ago. Before I was a vampire. Before I knew you existed,” he said quickly.

  “Of course,” I said. Strangely, I wasn’t jealous of the demon. Instead, I felt like I knew Bastien more.

  “The more I got to know him, the more I realized he couldn’t be trusted. Banishing him became my only choice. Especially after… my family…” he said, trailing off, but he didn’t have to finish for me to fully understand what he meant. I knew the price people were willing to pay to be accepted.

  His attention settled on the horn covered in black liquid. “I didn’t recognize it at first. Or perhaps I didn’t want to see the truth. But now I know that is one of his horns. The one I cut from his head.”

  I thought of the night I pleasured myself with it. Of the candles I’d lit. Of the shells that appeared. Of the passageways that opened. Of the feeling like something had inhabited my body. I stared at the horn now.

  I’d put a demon’s horn inside me. The same demon Bastien had once taken to his bed.

  “And you liked it.” A deep, gruff voice sounded inside my head.

  I knew it belonged to the demon.

  Now I understood why I was having such strong feelings—the anger, the want, the restlessness—they were coming from a demon who could influence sex and disease.

  “Why did you banish him?” I asked, needing to know more about this strange connection between the three of us.

  “He was gathering sacrifices, planning to do something that would’ve changed the world. He had to be stopped.”

  “You’re going to love this story. Ask him what I was planning,” the demon urged.

  Because I was curious, I indulged. “What was he planning?”

  Bastien shook his head and let his gaze settle somewhere off into the distance. “There’s an old story about Damien and Diana’s daughters.”

  That was as far as Bastien got before I turned away, facing the woods, my hand wrapping around my throat. Imogen. Her story about the goddesses, her prediction about me… dying. Was it all true?

  “Every word of it.”

  “You have to know that I have only ever loved you,” Bastien said, mistaking my horror for jealousy.

  “I know. It’s not that.”

  Twigs snapped in the distance. Bastien’s attention returned to the treeline, his vampire eyes seeing things that I couldn’t.

  My wolves, who had been pacing around the circle, growled in warning. And when they did, I knew they were out there. The werewolves. The ones Mama would’ve given anything to create. Even… her daughter.

  My hand slipped from the choker and curled into a fist.

  The power. I needed access to my power.

  Bastien shifted to sit beside me, offering his quiet strength even though I sensed his fear—for me, for us, for whatever was coming. Instead of voicing those anxieties, we simply watched the trees and shadows. He reached for my hand, fingers entwining with mine. He believed he could protect me—with his army, with his life—but in the end, none of it would matter. My death felt inevitable.

  Tears welled in my eyes. I was going to die. Mama’s spell would claim my life. I wanted to tell him everything. All of it. But if he knew that I was going to die, he would become something unrecognizable. Because as much as I had a piece of this demon inside me, so did he.

  “If you perform the ritual and give me the sacrifices I want,” the demon taunted, “I’ll reestablish the bloodline. And you can save yourself.”

  I didn’t like that this demon had grown comfortable inside my head. He sounded completely untrustworthy. I couldn’t decide if he was trying to manipulate me for his own gain or if what he was saying was true. But if I did nothing, if I took no chances, I was going to die anyway. Whether as punishment for Bastien’s past or to secure whatever future Mama envisioned for herself.

  I, however, had the agency to make the choice. Just like I had when those two staircases presented themselves to me. I could stick with what felt safe, or I could descend. I could wait for death to claim me, or try to do something to stop it. And I already knew what my choice was.

  “Claire,” Bastien said gently, “let’s go back to camp. I sent Natalia to Chastity’s Stronghold. They will open the archway from the inside. We just need to defend ourselves until then.” He set my hand on his chest, right over his silent heart. “You don’t have to become something you’re not just to save everyone. I’m sorry that this demon is trying to take out his revenge on me through you.”

  Stay safe. Take the upward staircase. Let me protect you.

  I understood what he was saying, but the more pressing question was who I needed to become to save myself. Or Sera? Or Alec, who disappeared into the woods trying to warn me. Or my friends who had selflessly followed me to fight for something bigger than my comfort. And I knew my husband understood that.

  “You gave up your life to become a vampire. To be someone strong enough to save everyone,” I told him. “Let me be strong too.”

  “Claire,” he said, covering my hand with his. “He is dangerous.”

  “All demons are dangerous,” I answered quickly. Words I’d grown up believing. But another truth also lived inside of me. “But a Dark Witch’s power isn’t inherently dangerous, no matter who she got it from. Magick only responds to the witch’s intentions. And you’ve spent a long time teaching me that I am not bad.” I touched the side of his face. “Please. Trust me.”

  My wolves howled again.

  Bastien looked at me for a long moment. “If this is what you really want, then I’ll all in.”

  Chapter 19

  L’Offrande

  CLAIRE

  Inormally wouldn’t hesitate to give my body to him, but every rustle of leaves had me on edge. I told myself it was only the trees shifting. Still, my skin prickled as if we were being watched.

  “Are you having second thoughts?” my husband asked.

  Absently, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve, imagining how horrifying I must look. No wonder he was worried. My nerves were a tangled knot, buzzing just beneath my skin. I tried to find something—anything—to break the tension, to keep myself from unraveling.

  “No,” I said grimly. “I was just wishing Devlinn and Tansy were here.” He gave me a quizzical look, and a humorless laugh escaped my lips. “So we can ask them how to do it.”

  For a moment, the absurdity of the situation hung between us. I almost wanted to laugh for real if it weren’t for the fear pressing against my ribs. Did he think I was losing my nerve? Or just losing my mind? Maybe both.

  He smiled. “Not all magick needs to be taught. Follow your intuition.”

  He was right. I needed to trust myself. I closed my eyes and regained my composure, renewing my efforts to connect with the demon. As soon as I did, one word came into my mind: Sacrifices. He wanted sacrifices to reestablish the bloodline.

  “You were close, weren’t you?” I said. “What would Gorrath want as a sacrifice?”

  He didn’t hesitate. “Blood. Always blood.”

  My head swam. Of course it was. Everything came back to blood with us. Bloodlines. Blood oaths. Blood drinking. But it wasn’t just blood that Gorrath wanted. He’d wanted desire. I picked up the horn, my mouth suddenly dry and my throat burning with the answer. By Diana, this was going to be awkward.

  “Then I think you need to bite me,” I said, forcing the words out before I could overthink them. He went very still. “While…” I gathered myself. “While…”

  I couldn’t force the rest out. I waited for him to follow the logic to its natural conclusion, but he wasn’t getting there fast enough. The horn began vibrating, and his focus narrowed on it.

  “While I use this. On myself.”

  The color in his face drained. “You’re sure?”

  I nodded shakily.

  I thought he would forbid it and rip the horn from my hand. Maybe even throw it into the woods. His throat worked up and down, and he blew out a long breath. “Alright,” he said. “If you’re sure.”

  I couldn’t believe the trust he was offering me. He’d fully committed to this. To me. To helping me become strong. “Give me your waterskin.”

  He unclasped it from his belt, and I rinsed the horn, cleaning the black liquid from it, then did the same with my hands. Bastien offered me his discarded cravat to finish the job. Once it was clean, we stared at each other for a long moment.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  I shoved the hair that was stuck to my face back. “Yes. I’m ready.”

  Very deliberately, he parted my knees and positioned himself between them. My skirt rode up to my thighs. “Go on. I’m watching.”

  Now it was on me to finish the ritual and do what needed to be done. With my eyes locked on his, I slid the horn underneath my skirt. The cold wind bit deeper than Bastien ever had as I moved it to the place that had been begging for relief. The first brush of the horn against my skin sent a jolt through my body—a gasp escaped me, back arching involuntarily.

  “Does that feel good?” Bastien asked.

  I felt slightly ashamed that something that belonged to Gorrath could do this to me, but I didn’t lie. “Yes.”