She doesn’t answer for a while, but eventually she whispers, “Yes, I think that would be best.” She hands me the knife and takes the chalice. “You don’t have to be scared of hurting me, okay? Just do it, and do it fast.” Her voice is steady, but I can see fear in her eyes now.

I turn the knife in my hand a few times to make sure I have good control over it. “How about we count down together from five?”

She nods. “Okay.”

“Five. Four. Thr—”

Before she can register what’s happening, I quickly run the knife across her palm. She lets out a yelp, and I drop the knife in the water. I cup my hands around her palm and help pool the blood into the chalice.

“You did it,” I whisper.

“Thank you,” Hattie says, still wincing from the pain.

As her blood drips into the chalice, I slip Emmett’s ring from Hattie’s finger. Under the eerie red moonlight, I can just make out the secret compartment on the inside.

“There’s a little tab you twist to open it,” Hattie explains. “Don’t turn it too far.”

It’s finicky work, but I manage to empty the ring’s contents into the chalice before returning it to Hattie’s finger.

“It’s showtime,” she says.

She closes her eyes and starts reciting the incantations Noah taught her.

Immediately, there is a change in the atmosphere and a suffocating thickness to the air. I clutch at my chest, trying to catch my breath. A fierce gust blows in from the Pacific, splashing sea spray into my eyes. I cover my face. When I can see again, my sister is floating facedown in the water in front of me.

“Hattie? Hattie!”

In a frenzy, I wade to her, and turn her over. She looks unconscious. I grab her by the armpits and start pulling her back toward shore. The wild waves try to swallow us, but I body-block them with all my strength. Emmett runs into the water, and somehow, together, we carry Hattie’s limp body to the beach. We lay her on the sand, and I drop to my knees over her soaked, still form. I put my hand on the side of her neck, feeling for a pulse. I think it’s there….

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

This wasn’t part of the plan.

“Rye, she’s not breathing!” Emmett cries. “We need a healer!”

Never in my life have I been so helpless. I’m not a Gom! What’s the point of knowing all the words to the spells when I can’t use them to save Hattie? It feels like someone is punching my chest, over and over again, and I can’t remember how to breathe.

“Stuff it!” Emmett screams, taking out his phone. “I’m calling nine-one-one!”