Magnus—Kiev—was standing a few feet away from the bed, holding a sheet up against him. In front of him stood Lilith, also holding a sheet wrapped around her for modesty. And in front of her was the warlock. Rhys.

I kept myself submerged as low in the water as possible while still being able to hear their conversation. I wanted to call out to Kiev to reassure him that I was here—I could only imagine how vulnerable he must have been feeling with these two monstrously powerful witches in the same room. He was just a vampire—his only protection was his disguise, which could be removed at any moment if either of them suspected something odd about him.

But so far, it seemed that they hadn’t…

“No, Rhys,” Lilith said, glaring at the warlock. She’d planted herself protectively in front of Kiev.

“I am merely making a suggestion,” Rhys said. I could tell that he was trying his best to reel in his temper.

“And I have already given you my answer,” Lilith said, looking no less aggravated than Rhys. “You had no permission to kidnap Magnus. I had forbidden you to go near him. We will perform the ritual without Magnus. We do not need him.”

“I understand that we do not need him,” Rhys countered. “And I apologize for disobeying you. But please understand that I had your best interest at heart. You are not as strong as you used to be, even though you are in your youthful form again. Nobody knows what the strain of the ritual will do to you—remember, we have never attempted anything like this before. I merely want to improve our chances of—”

“No,” Lilith said, “I want you to leave. I never gave you permission to seek me out in my sanctum. Yet another thing you have disobeyed me in.”

Rhys’ back heaved. “As you wish,” he said. “I hope that you do not live to regret this decision.”

“I will not,” she snapped.

“Before I leave,” he said, “there is something you must be aware of. Mona is after Magnus. You must make sure that he is safe. Somehow she managed to find out about him…”

“Mona.” Lilith spoke my name as though it was a dirty word. “Fear not. I will make sure that Magnus remains protected for as long as the ritual lasts. Nothing will happen to him, and nothing will happen to me.” She looked the warlock right in the eye. “We will complete the ritual without him… So leave now. I will meet you back in the castle soon so we can begin.”

I began to panic as Rhys started moving toward the pool. I backed away from the entrance of the chute as far as I could. I held my breath as he got inside and kicked toward the hole. I hoped that he wouldn’t sense my presence in the water. Thankfully he didn’t. He disappeared through the chute.

I raised myself back to the surface to see what was happening with Kiev and Lilith. She had approached him and had begun talking to him.

“The time has come for us to part, my love.” Her voice was choked up.

Kiev looked down at her seriously through Magnus’ blue eyes.

“I will cast a spell on you,” she said, “a strong spell, and nobody will be able to lay a finger on you for five days. That will be enough time for you to get away from this place to safety. I’ve arranged for a boat on the northeast shore of The Sanctuary, which is where you are now. I’ll take you there myself.”

She moved closer to Kiev and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down and closing her lips around his. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge on seeing her passion, although technically she was kissing Magnus.

The kiss lasted for what felt like three minutes. Kiev had tensed up and was trying to ease away from her, but she kept pulling him back, kissing him harder and running her hands along his back.

When she was finally finished, she manifested a set of clothes for Kiev to change into—which I imagined that he was deeply grateful for. Then she manifested a set of clothes for herself—a long dark dress.

Once they were both wearing clothes, she gazed back at Kiev.

“One last thing,” she said. Reaching for the collar of her dress, she pulled it downward, exposing her neck. “You haven’t had fresh blood in your system for a long, long time. Drink from me now. It will give you strength.”

Kiev hesitated, but it didn’t seem like Lilith was going to let him off the hook, so he wisely did as she had requested.

He placed his hands either side of her waist and sank his fangs into her flesh. He tried to withdraw after a few seconds, but Lilith insisted that he drink more, so he did.

After what looked like ten deep gulps, she finally let him go. Kiev wiped his bloody mouth against the back of his sleeve, grimacing.

“Now,” she said. “I will cast the spell on you.”

She made him bend down before her on his knees. Grasping his head, she began muttering a chant even I could not recognize. It sounded long and complex. Whatever it was, I was grateful that she was casting it on Kiev. At least I didn’t have to be worried about him getting hurt during whatever we were up against next.

As tears began spilling down her cheeks, it dawned on me just how much she loved Magnus. She was willing to sacrifice the very cause she had devoted her life to for him. Having Magnus present at the ritual could have improved the chances of being successful, yet she had shunned Rhys’ suggestion. I never could’ve expected such emotions from her.

She kissed Kiev once more, long and hard, and then the two of them vanished.

The northeast shore. I tried to picture their destination in my mind before vanishing myself too.