I shake my head. Fear grips my limbs.
“They’re always here. The two boys, the tall one, and Rhone.” She spits on the ground. “She’s got them under her spell.”
Luther moves to charge forward but then the minister appears. He puts his arms out and shakes his head. “Luther, we just want to talk to Ava.”
“Rhone was her patron. Her godfather. Sheseducedhim. She seduced all of them!” The woman is almost screaming now. Someone else yells, too. Then another, and another.
“Witch! She’s a witch!”
My blood runs cold. I hold the baby closer. My heart thunders so hard I can barely hear anymore. The baby starts to cry. I shake my head. “Please, stop, you’re scaring her.”
“Get out of my house.” Luther waves his knife, but then someone charges forward. A man with white-blond hair. He grabs Luther by the throat, knocks the knife to the ground, then kicks him in the stomach so he falls to his knees.
“Put the baby down.” The minister gestures to the crib.
At first, I can’t move. Iwon’tmove. But then he meets my eyes.
“If you fight us, Ava, we’ll have to assume we’re right. If you come peacefully and talk to us, there might be a way out of this for you.”
I’m trembling from head to toe. I lower the baby into her crib. A sob wracks my chest. My ribs tighten. My lungs feel like they will explode. Two more men stride into the house and grab my arms.
As they march me away, I call, “Luther, whatever happens, take care of our baby! You takecareof our baby!”
* * *
The sun is setting.I stare at it. The light hurts my eyes. My ears are buzzing, but something breaks through. A crackling sound. I realize my legs are warm. Not just warm… hot. I look down. Flames lick my feet. They’re bare and dirty. I try to move them, but they’re tied at the ankles.
I tug my arms. They’re tied too.
Someone is screaming. I raise my eyes away from my burning feet. My chest is tight. I cough. My eyes begin to water. I blink the moisture away. A crowd is gathered in front of me. I find Tanner first. He is holding the baby. I smile at him. She looks happy in his arms. Peaceful. Next to him, Sam is trembling.
Kole and Mack are restraining Luther. He is the one who is screaming. He tries to lunge forward, but there are men with swords. They raise their weapons. One of them slashes at Luther’s shirt. He starts to bleed but doesn’t seem to notice or to care.
“You can’t do this!” He screams.
This time, the man who cut him punches him hard. He goes limp. Kole and Mack are the only things holding him up. As blood trickles down Luther’s face, he falls to his knees.
“Ava Ross has been found guilty of using dark magick,” a voice booms. Not the minister. Someone else. He’s holding a large piece of parchment and reading from it. “She bewitched five of our men. She denied her crimes. For this, she will burn.”
The crowd cheers. Someone throws something but it doesn’t reach me; it lands in the embers and sends sparks flying up in front of my face.
Heat is creeping up my legs now. Gnawing at my clothes. Licking them from my body.
Mack leaves Luther’s side and pleads with the man holding the parchment. “Please, you don’t have to do this.”
“Rhone, we have known each other a long time.” The man squeezes Mack’s arm. “I’m doing this for you, my friend.” He looks past Mack at the others. “For all of you. When the witch is gone, you will be free.”
Another scream fills my ears. It’s different this time; higher pitched, more like a wail. It reverberates through my bones. As pain threatens to crack me open, I realize it’s me. Iam the one screaming.
The last thing I see before the flames swallow me up is the faces of the five men I love. Their hearts are breaking, and mine breaks, too.
Luther calls my name.
I close my eyes. I listen to his voice.
Pain devours me.
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