His eyes darkened as he nodded. For a moment, we stared into each other’s gazes, seeing nothing but the ghosts of the siblings who had betrayed us.
We were one year away from reclaiming what was ours. Retribution would be ours. Soon, we would walk freely in the lands that had been stolen.
“It’s time to go to the babaylan,” Devon murmured, gripping my arm.
It was midnight, and the world was asleep. The portal opened easily under the moon’s gaze as he shifted into his wolf form, carrying me as he raced through the woods. The scent of blood hung thickly in the air—fresh kills from sacrifices he had made.
We stopped before the gateway. Together, we raised our eyes to the moon, its light casting a cold, silver glow.
We spoke in unison, our voices weaving into the night.
“Luna, guide us to our world. We appease you with the blood of our sacrifices.”
The portal flared open. Devon moved swiftly into the vast land where a great chateau loomed—our ancestral home, now claimed by those who had betrayed us.
Their figures were visible even from here, standing on the balcony under the moon’s glow, performing the same ritual we were about to begin. The mating ritual.
Devon set me down before the babaylan. I kept my eyes fixed upward, watching Daniel with cold fury as he performed the ritual with my soulless sister.
That would have been my fate had Devon not found the last babaylan.
We began. His lips pressed against mine, his hands tracing my body with practiced intent. His mouth trailed down my skin, igniting each touch as our tongues entwined, our bodies merging in perfect rhythm.
Then I heard it—the howl of Daniel.
I turned my gaze in time to see him lift a dagger, its blade catching the moonlight. He drove it into my sister’s heart, the silver glinting as blood poured from her chest.
Karina would survive. The mating demanded death for the resurrection to take hold. That was its purpose.
For Daniel and Karina, mating meant death. But for Devon and me, survival came with a babaylan’s magic. We only had to match their ritual perfectly, performing in unison.
Their torment kept us alive.
“Moan my name, Karylle,” Devon commanded darkly. “Make them hear us both in their minds.”
When my voice mingled with his in the mind link, Daniel’s growl filled the night.
That was their consequence. They had to die for the bond they broke. We lived by cheating on them.