Chapter 26: Losing Ground
Why did I even for a moment think the stubborn leader of our coven would listen to me? Gone entirely was the soft side of her I'd been able to reach in the past, replaced with so much hunger for power I hardly recognized Lilibeth's damaged soul any longer.
Worse, when I tried to warn her, she immediately brought Mahalia into the conversation.
"The cat seems to think you're a danger to the coven." Lilibeth tossed back a half-glass of gin, waving the bottle in my direction where I perched on the edge of her desk. Mahalia didn't answer as her mother laughed, a bitter sound from far within her. "So tell me, Mahalia, darling. Are you?"
"Of course not, Mother," she said, staring right at me. "What a silly thing for him to say."
"Using blood magic is a crime, Mahalia," I said, though I knew doing so out loud put the entire coven at risk.