Page 28 of An Oath at Midnight

The potions in these vials would disorient anyone they came in contact with, causing hallucinations, delirium, blindness, and a constant ringing in their ears. It seriously fucked you up. It was only temporary, the effects usually lasting about thirty minutes. I’d just surrounded myself with it, which meant I’d unfortunately be getting a dose as well. The darkness around me grew heavier. I didn’t know if it was the potion or from my meeting with the mother at this point.

I just hoped it kept me safe until I woke up.

Then everything went dark again.

* * *

I didn’t know how many hours had passed, but I woke with a gasp, the horrors of my hallucinations dissipating like smoke.

That was the third time I’d used the potion.

There were several demons wandering around, their hands over their ears, staring blindly into the distance—I looked down at myself—still in one piece.

I left the clearing…it had to be hours ago, but I’d been falling in and out of consciousness and lost track of time completely.

The walk in had only taken me twenty minutes, walking out had taken me a hell of a lot longer. I stumbled to my feet as a disoriented demon crashed through the trees toward me. It was foaming at the mouth, eyes dilated, staring blindly ahead, following the sounds I was making.

With a cry of desperation and exhaustion, I stumbled to the side, spun, and slashed its throat. It didn’t stop, too lost in its own hallucination to even feel it. It swiped at me, and I spun again. Approaching from behind it, I wrenched back its head and hacked it off. The last thing I needed was it wandering out onto the road and terrifying some human driving by.

It turned to ash, and I pushed on, one shaky step at a time, toward my car.

My vision was blurring again by the time I reached it. I yanked the door open quickly and locked myself in before I passed out again.

* * *

I woke just before dawn. Orange streaked the still-dark sky, the first rays of sunlight struggling to break through the darkness. With trembling hands, I shoved the key into the ignition and started the car, then pulled out onto the road.

I’d done it, on my own.

And I’d survived.

* * *

Bram

Pulling off my shirt, I tossed it aside and sat.

I’d put this off as long as I could, but it was time. The markers were building up, I couldn’t delay it anymore.

I was a warrior of our people. This was the way our father, our grandfather, his before that, had worn their hair. This was a rite of passage, letting everyone know what I was.

A warrior and provider for my people.

Resting my elbows on my knees, I dipped my head, while Talon sectioned off a thick strip of hair down the middle and tied it back. Payne got down on his knees beside me, pulled his knife from its sheath, and began slicing away the hair at the sides. It fell to the wooden deck as Payne muttered the ancient words of our people, the vow of our warriors.

Talon stood back, leaning against the railing, watching, while Rook prepared the ink he’d be adding to my skin.

The blade was scraped against my scalp, taking it back to skin.

What would Mags think when she saw me? How would I explain it? I couldn’t. It was one more thing I couldn’t share with her. Something important that I had to keep from her.

I’d brought her here, she’d met my brothers, my people, but she didn’t know what we were at our core. I’d made sure of it.

Crows were true predators.

She knew we were deadly hunters, but she didn’t know the extent of it, because I’d never shared it with her—no, I’d actively kept it from her, afraid of what she’d think if she knew my true nature. I’d also spent a lot of years trying to suppress my desire to hunt. But after what happened in the cemetery that day, stopping that fucker from hurting Magnolia, there was no suppressing it. Not anymore.

And letting that side of myself, my dark urges, free, had felt so right.