I gagged and backed into the hallway before I threw up. “Luciana did this.”
“How?” Meredith peeked into the room. “She hasn’t been on campus. We would’ve known.”
It hit me then. Yvonne had said that Luciana could do a lot through the blood oath they’d all taken. That oath tied the witches together, almost like the pack bonds tied us Weres.
I shivered as cold dread ran up my spine.
I needed to talk to the other witches on campus before I said anything. If Luciana had—
The sound of Dr. Gonzales’ high heels clacking against the floor dragged me from my thoughts. Without a word, she went into the rooms and checked each witch.
The rest of us waited for her evaluation.
She zipped her messenger bag closed, settling it on her hip before starting. “My first fear was that something was wrong with the drugs I administered, but I was here an hour ago, and they didn’t look like this. There’s nothing I could give them that would do this.” A little wrinkle formed between her eyes as she thought. “My best guess is that witchcraft was used to drain their life-forces…”
She kept going on about her findings, but I tuned her out.
They’d been drained, but maybe
not of life-force…
What if Luciana had drained them of their magic? She’d drained my magic, but stopped before I died. I hadn’t had time to wonder why, but it wasn’t because she liked me. It was quite clear the opposite was true. She hated me.
So, I’d been kept alive because she still wanted something from me. With Luciana, it always went back to power.
Maybe with time, my abilities would’ve come back on their own? Then Luciana could’ve drained me again and again.
But what if she wanted as much power as she could get in one shot? She could drain someone—or lots of someones—to the point that they died.
Little dots speckled my vision as I followed that train of thought.
What was stopping her from doing the same to everyone in the coven? Not the witches who were still loyal to her, but the ones who’d left…
No. She couldn’t do that. Could she?
I started down the hall. I needed to talk to the rest of the brujas now.
“Tessa!” Dastien yelled after me. “Where are you going?”
I didn’t take the time to answer. I just started running. Fear coursed through my veins, making me run faster than I ever had before. The others ran behind me, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t slow. I had to see.
Because if Luciana had done what I feared, then—
I couldn’t even go there. I had to find out.
As soon as I hit the quad, I took a breath.
“What’s wrong?” Dastien asked. He touched my shoulder, but I wasn’t ready to explain.
Cosette’s scent hit me strongest, leading me across the quad to the cafeteria. Maybe they’d gotten hungry.
“Do you think she killed all the witches that left the coven? Could she do that?” Chris asked.
“Yes.”
I knew something was wrong. With certainty. A pit formed in my gut.
Still, I hoped I was wrong. I plowed through the cafeteria doors. They crashed into the wall with a boom. The few Cazadores froze mid-meal to stare at me in surprise or curiosity.