“I don’t understand,” he said. “Why?”

“Because we need to separate Magnus from Lilith.”

“But how will this help?”

“I will need either Corrine or Ibrahim to come down to help me. I can’t say exactly how we’ll pull it off now. We need to see what they are doing once we go down again. But the plan is to replace myself with Magnus so she won’t notice that he is gone.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense if I became Magnus and the two of us went down together?”

My voice caught in my throat. “Kiev, this is so dangerous.”

“All the more reason for me to become Magnus instead of you.”

I realized that Kiev’s suggestion made sense on another level. I knew the most about Lilith’s history with Magnus, more than I could possibly explain in the time we had available. It made sense for someone else to become Magnus, while I attempted to persuade him to help us. Still, I couldn’t help but feel hesitant to agree to Kiev’s proposal. The thought of leaving him down there with the witch chilled me.

“I can’t stand you going down there without me,” he said. “I hate having no idea what’s going on.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “You take this potion instead of me and we will both go down together.”

I still felt conflicted even as I poured the potion into a cup and handed it to him.

“Drink it all,” I said.

Once he’d finished drinking, he said, “Next?”

I walked over to the hair on the tabletop and picked it up.

“Open your mouth,” I said.

He did as I had requested, but before I placed the hair on his tongue, I kissed him.

“I don’t like this,” I breathed.

“We will be doing this together,” he replied, returning my kiss with passion. It seemed that was all the comfort he was going to offer me. Not that there was much more he could say.

I drew away and placed the hair on his tongue.

“Just keep it there,” I said. “Don’t swallow it.”

I placed my hands either side of his head and began uttering a chant. Once I was finished, I let go and watched him closely for the first signs of transformation. I didn’t have to wait long. His eyes were the first thing to change—they turned from green to blue. Then the rest of his facial features followed—his jaw, nose, forehead—before his limbs adjusted to Magnus’s physique. He was about the same height as Magnus and was also similar in build, so other than his face and hair, not much had changed visibly.

There was no mirror in the spell room so Kiev couldn’t see himself.

“You are Magnus now,” I said, once I was sure his transformation was complete.

He looked down at his clothes. “I’m still wearing my own clothes.”

I shook my head darkly. “You don’t need to worry about clothes.”

He frowned, then looked uncomfortable. Clearly he hadn’t thought this through.

“We will undress you once we get nearer,” I said. I did, however, reach for his hand and remove his ring, tucking it into my pocket. I hated the thought of him alone in bed with that witch, even in the form of Magnus. But we had done this now. There was no time for second thoughts.

“Undress me? Mona… once we arrive, what do I do exactly?” I could detect the nervousness in his deep voice. Something that was unusual for Kiev. He didn’t usually show much emotion.

“We need to first observe the situation as it stands and take things from there… But you’re going to have to avoid talking as much as possible.”

“I’m not touching that hag,” he said, his lip curling with disgust.

Despite the situation, I couldn’t hold back a laugh at Kiev’s reaction. He was still thinking of Lilith as a walking corpse.

“Then you may have to get creative while Magnus and I are gone.”

Chapter 23: Mona

When I arrived back in the graveyard with Kiev, everyone stared at him in shock.

“Meet Magnus,” I said grimly.

“Mona gave me a potion so I look like him,” Kiev explained. “It’s odd having two arms again…”

“So Magnus is definitely down there?” Sofia asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “He is there now with Lilith. We’re going back down now, and this time, I hope to return with the real Magnus.”

Kiev and I made our way back into the grave and stood together in the coffin. I lowered myself down through the hole I’d dug leading to the slime, and pulled him down after me, keeping a tight hold on his hand. Before we submerged, I put a spell on him and myself again so that we could survive beneath the surface without breathing.

And then we began our descent to Lilith’s sanctum—my second visit, Kiev’s first.

I didn’t let go of Kiev’s hand even for a moment as we traveled through the liquid. I could sense his tension and I was sure that he was having similar doubts as I’d had on my first journey down as we sank deeper and deeper. For me at least, it seemed to go faster this second time. Soon we were sliding through the chute and had appeared at the bottom of the clear pool of water. Kiev’s first instinct was to kick upward, but I pulled him back down. I placed my thumbs over his eyelids, tugging them gently upward to indicate that he could open them.

I held a finger to my lips, then pointed upward. “Let’s go,” I mouthed silently.