Crap, I thought, almost groaning as I figured it out. Could I be any more stupid? I’d forgotten the collective! That’s why the curse hadn’t stuck! The Latin was right; the implementation was flawed. I’d tried to shift the curse alone, and something that far-reaching needed a collective to make it adhere! I needed a witches’ collective. I needed the strength only a group of witches could give me.

My eyes narrowed, and my chest tightened. Yeah. Like they would help me now? But it was worth a shot.

“Rachel?”

I started, almost shocked to see Pierce sitting beside me, concern in the slant of his eyes. From the beginnings of hope, I found a smile. “You have dirt on your nose,” I said, reaching to wipe it away. I hadn’t touched anyone in three days, and at the feel of his warm skin against my fingers, an unexpected welling up of tears threatened. I didn’t love him, but I could have, if things had been different.

“It will be okay,” Pierce said softly, his hand coming up to cradle mine, between us. His grip on me was solid, real, and I felt guilty that I was reaching out for his support when I knew he loved me and I didn’t love him. But I felt so alone; I couldn’t let go.

“Tomorrow the sun will rise. He’s just a demon,” Pierce said, making things worse.

A demon who held my friends hostage. Sniffing, I glanced out the window at the sun. Empty streets. The boats at the docks with their SEE THE WHALES signs flashed past. “Do I stink?” I whispered, and his grip on my hand twitched. I looked away, not needing his answer. I figured as much. With everything else that was going on, I was worried about how I smelled? But it mattered.

“I pay it no mind. You’ve been in the ever-after. I hardly notice it anymore.”

Why was he being so nice to me? I didn’t deserve it. But I needed it. Taking a breath, I softly said, “Thank you for helping me.” I looked up, encompassing Vivian and Oliver. “All of you.”

Oliver snorted. “If we could do anything, we wouldn’t have summoned you,” he said. “I’m here only to make sure you don’t run away.”

Vivian frowned at him to be quiet. “What do you need?” she asked, taking her cell phone out of an inner coat pocket. “Anything at all.”

The car turned, and the new coven pin on Pierce’s lapel caught the sun, sending little gleams of light about the car like the flashes of Jenks’s wings. I looked at Vivian’s phone as she waited for my answer. My heart clenched in pain. Her phone was so small, all black and silver with tiny little buttons that would do everything but make you a smoothie. Ivy would love it.

I closed my eyes as I tried not to cry. Damn it, demons didn’t cry, even when their friends were being held by a psychotic nutcase.