Page 98 of Bedeviled

Only now does she relax—just a little.

A gust of wind cuts through the cemetery, making a mournful noise as it sends dead leaves skittering across graves.

For several seconds the two of us stand like that, facing each other awkwardly like we’re rivals. Sybil’s lilac power is leaking out of her, but now it has its own translucent overlay—the shifter side of her magic.

“This feels weird,” I finally say. “Can I give you another hug?”

Again, one of those too-quick nods.

I cross the distance between us and pull her into my arms. Beneath my touch I swear I feel her muscles roll and shift, though perhaps that’s just her quivering form.

“I’m scared,” she whispers.

I don’t pretend to know what it is she’s scared of.

“Sssshhhh,” I say, rubbing circles into her sweaty back, “it’s going to be okay.”

She begins to cry again. “I-I pretended I wanted this,” she admits, her teeth chattering, “but I don’t know if I ever did.”

She draws in a deep, shuddering breath. “I was so desperate to escape Sophia, and I wanted to protect you so bad. I threw myself into this and told myself it was what I wanted.” She shakes her head against me. “But I don’t know. I don’t know…”

Her admission nearly breaks me.

“I’m so sorry, Sybil.” My voice is raw with my emotions. “You never should’ve had to make that choice. I’m sorry everyone failed you, and I’m sorry for my part in all of this⁠—”

“Shut up,” she says, pulling out of my embrace. “That’s the one thing I wouldn’t change.” She finds my hands and squeezes them. “I love you, Selene. You truly are my sister in every way but blood. I only admitted any of this because I’m tired of keeping the truth to myself.

“And I fucking miss you and all the rest of those batshit crazy witches who live in our house. Shifters are so orderly and aware of the pack hierarchy that’s imposed on everyone. Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe in that compound.”

With each rise of her voice, I sense her muscles rolling and shifting. The shudders that I assumed were from her emotions now seem to simply accompany them.

“Okay, so shifter life is a little rough,” I say, tucking several loose strands of her dark hair behind her ears. “Is that why you’re here on campus rather than with Sawyer and the rest of the lycans?” I ask.

This whole situation feels wrong. I swear to the Goddess, if Sawyer broke her heart, I will eat his for breakfast and harvest the rest of his organs for spells.

Sybil nods, then shakes her head. “I needed space. There were too many lycans watching me, and Sawyer was getting weirdly territorial, which was hot but also unnerving, and I felt so cut off from the coven, like I had lost the part of myself that matters.”

My friend glances down at her body. “Goddess, it feels like there are bugs under my skin.” She scratches at her arm as she speaks. “And my magic…” She closes in on herself once more. “I-I don’t know. And right when my symptoms are at their worst, Merlin will fly away.”

Her owl shrieks again from that nearby crypt, as if he has things to say about that.

Wetness gathers at the corners of her eyes.

“So you slipped away when no one was looking?” I ask, trying to follow this disjointed conversation.

She nods. “I placed a few spells so they couldn’t follow my scent.” Sybil scrubs her face. “I just wanted a moment to myself.”

So in a panic she fled shifter territory to get here.

Hell’s spells.

“Sybil, you are and will always be a witch. Nothing will ever change that. And I’m sure once your first Sacred Seven is over, you’ll get to come back to the coven.”

I mean, I assume that’s true. I don’t actually know how long it takes a newly turned shifter to adjust to their powers, nor how volatile they can be in the meantime.

“But I’ll always have to leave during the Sacred Seven,” Sybil says, confirming that my assumptions were at least partially correct. “I won’t get to do any of the coven’s full moon rituals.”

It’s like the loss is hitting her all at once. Her face crumples, and her shoulders curl inward.