I cast a glance over his shoulder toward where we had left Rhys. To my horror, he had begun following us. He was so focused on the two of us that he didn’t notice a green ball of fire fly toward him from his left—from Mona’s palms, I could only assume—until the very last minute, when he flattened himself on the ground just in time.

“Mona?” I called out. “Come!”

Caleb reached the rocks with me and I guided him to the spot where we had left Hermia. To my relief, she was still standing there waiting for us. I didn’t understand why I’d been made visible on coming into contact with Rhys, but I was grateful for it because it helped Hermia spot us faster.

She grabbed hold of us and vanished us away from the spot. We reappeared again behind the boundary, in a clearing near the woods, when Hermia left us again. I looked around to see the rest of our companions. Mona, thankfully, appeared about a minute after us, Hermia and my parents by her side.

The invisibility spell over each of us had been lifted by now, allowing me to see the state of everyone. Mona looked in the worst state, her hair a disheveled mess, with cuts and burns all over her skin. Most everyone else just looked red raw from the sand, as I was sure I was.

Mona swallowed hard and turned her gaze on Hermia. “I don’t know what that warlock is going to do now. But mark my words, sooner or later, he will find a way to break into The Sanctuary. We need to head straight for the graveyard. And you must go to all lengths to make sure that nobody disturbs us.”

Chapter 20: Rhys

I had no idea how the white witches had managed to put such a powerful spell around The Sanctuary that even I was having difficulty breaking through it. I was on the verge of returning to get reinforcements when rocks crunched in the distance. At first I thought that someone from The Sanctuary must have been spying on me. Little did I know that it would turn out to be Mona and her companions.

Mona was smart to have figured out where I was headed. I couldn’t deny that about her. Now there was not even a shadow of a doubt that she was after Magnus just as I was. I could not allow her to reach him first. I did not know what she intended to do with him, but I assumed she meant to kill him.

I launched an attack, but as had happened too many times before in the past, Mona slithered out of my grasp. She was like a mosquito I never could manage to swat. But she had been lucky too often—partly due to my own weakness for her.

Now that she was posing a direct threat to Lilith, that luck would end soon.

After losing them, I forced thoughts of the witch out of my mind and focused on reaching our castle as fast as I could. Arriving outside, I stormed through the main entrance and searched for my aunt. I found her sitting in her room at her desk, a book open on her lap, though she did not appear to be reading it.

She looked up as I entered and shot to her feet.

“Rhys? What took you so long?”

There was relief in her voice, but also anger.

“There’s been a complication. Several complications.”

“What are you saying? We cannot afford complications.”

“Magnus was not where I left him,” I said.

“Then let’s just forget about Magnus and perform the ritual without him.” She gripped my shoulder hard. “We do not need that vampire. You even admitted it yourself.”

Ignoring her comment, I asked, “Has Lilith woken yet?”

“Yes,” my aunt replied.

“Where is she?”

I was surprised when Isolde hesitated. “I… I don’t know exactly. Lilith said that she needed more time to recover before the ritual. She left this castle, but she did not tell me where she went. Honestly, I was just relieved that she was not ready to start the ritual.”

This odd behavior from Lilith was further confirmation of my suspicion of Magnus’ whereabouts.

“When will she return?” I asked.

“She left hours ago,” Isolde replied. “She did not specify when she would return, but she said that she was unlikely to be more than a day… but Rhys, let’s forget about—”

“Listen to me,” I said, my voice a growl. “I need you to gather up ten other witches. We need to leave for The Sanctuary.”

“The Sanctuary?”

“The graveyard in The Sanctuary. We both know that Lilith has a second chamber beneath her tomb there that she never allows anyone to enter. I stored Magnus in the werewolf realm, and somehow she managed to find out what I’d done and retrieve him. I believe that she’s been keeping the vampire there all along.”

Isolde’s lips parted as realization dawned on her. “That certainly would explain why Lilith spent so little time in the chamber we had constructed for her… But why would she do this?”

“Why wouldn’t she do this? We both know her love for Magnus. I don’t know how she found out I’d imprisoned him, but I’m not surprised that she took him with her. His proximity must have added to her strength. We have all been surprised at how long she has managed to last. This must be one of the reasons—she has had Magnus so close to her all these years.” I pulled up the sleeve of my shirt and began healing a wound as I spoke quickly. “Lilith only ever surfaced on our side when we needed to speak with her. And she deliberately closed off the portal connecting to the cave whenever she was in her sanctum beneath her grave. We need to reach The Sanctuary and find the vampire.”

Isolde frowned. “What you’re saying makes no sense. If Lilith wanted Magnus to take part in the ritual, she would have said by now. She clearly doesn’t want that. We can’t force her.”