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.Cassidy was doing the same.She was sacrificing Thomas for—She froze.Blood.She stared at her hands as she felt the breath catching in her lungs.Blood.Suddenly, she turned to Travis and tried to ignore her pounding heart.“You promised me that you don’t lie, so I need you to answer a question for me.Where did you get the blood from?”Suddenly, Travis was deathly still, and even Nash gasped.Thomas just stood there, unflinching and silent.Cassidy persisted.“When I first met Thomas, he told me that he couldn’t come forward in time because it took blood magic.His entire life is all about duty to the Black Rose.I saw him walk away from his dying foster father, whom I know he loved, just to protect it, but despite everything, he refused to use blood magic.So I’m asking you, Travis, where did you get the blood from? D-did you kill someone?”For a moment Travis clenched his jaw, making him look, ironically enough, like his brother for the first time.Then he slowly nodded his head.“Oui, I have killed men before.But Cass, you don’t understand how much it hurts.The pain.I-I need to fix it.”Cassidy dropped to her knees, horror pounding in her ears, blocking everything out.“How many?”“I.I don’t know how many.But this doesn’t change anything.I am still me.I’ve never lied to you, and I’m not lying now.The Black Rose can help people.You must believe me.Its essence can save.It can heal.It can transform.”“The worst thing is that I do believe you,” she said in a soft voice.“But I also know that you did lie to me once.”“Never.”“Yes, you told me that you didn’t have a choice.That you were born a demon.But you did have a choice, Travis.You and Thomas both had a choice.And yours was to take a path where he couldn’t follow.”“What?” Travis’s voice was hollow.“I know all about making choices.I can spend more time trying to pick a pair of shoes than most people take to buy a house or plan a vacation.But I also know that you need to live by your choices.”“Are you saying that you’re not going to give it to me?” Travis asked, color leaching from his face.Cassidy felt a sickness in the hollow of her stomach.If she turned her back on Travis, she was turning her back on her father.But was her father’s life worth someone else’s blood? Would her hands ever be clean if she did this? Tears poured down her face.Pick me, me, me, the voice continued to whisper as the tattoo on her arm hummed with energy.She didn’t need Nash to tell her that solstice was almost here.“I’m saying that it shouldn’t have to be this hard,” she sobbed.“No.” Travis raced forward, but this time it wasn’t Thomas who hauled him back, it was some kind of invisible force, and he fell into a heap on the ground.“Hey.” Nash widened his eyes.“It worked.I was experimenting with a ritual to make sure that Cassidy was safe while she was performing it.”“Cassidy, no.” Travis jumped to his feet, and this time he raced toward Nash.“I don’t want to hurt him, but I will if you don’t give me the Black Rose.Can’t you understand how much I need it?”“Nash!” Cassidy screamed.She scrambled to her feet to race out of the circle, but before she could, the owl launched itself at Travis with such ferocity that he fell backward.He let out a shout of pain as some kind of invisible rope seemed to be holding him back.An instant later Thomas reappeared, his fierce, unwavering face pale but determined.“The Brotherhood is using their magic to hold him.Not blood magic, earth magic.You can continue with the ritual—” Then he paused and bowed his head before her.“And you can choose as you will.”Hysteria rose up in her chest, while Celeste, who was still lying down, eyes closed and a smile on her face, was oblivious to all the drama.The irony was that she probably would’ve loved it.The pink rays of the sun spread out across the clearing as Cassidy repeated the ritual Nash had taught her, prompted by the grimoire, which was glowing like a beacon thanks to Travis’s presence.Then she watched as a sliver of pure white energy rose up from Celeste’s body and formed a perfectly shaped rose.Cassidy’s hysteria was replaced by euphoria as the essence enveloped her in its majesty.Everyone gasped, even Travis, who was still tethered to the ground by unseen binding.The tattoo on her arm tingled in recognition, reminding her of her father.Not dying in a coma, but as he normally was.Happy, hopeful, strong.Then Nash tapped his watch to let her know it was almost time for her to decide.She stared at the shimmering essence that was blossoming up around Celeste’s body.How could it look so pure when it had caused so much pain? It had killed people.Divided brothers.Then she froze.If Cassidy released it to either brother, it would start all over again.And even if she wasn’t the one fighting demons, someone else would be.Perhaps someone else would become a vessel and his or her life would be in danger.It was too much.She didn’t want Travis to be in constant pain.Or Thomas to be bound by his duty.But most of all, she didn’t want her father to die.And yet if she chose any of them, someone else would suffer.She just wanted it to stop.Me.The familiar voice called out to her.Pick me, me, me.Her tattoo pulsed on her arm, but this time, instead of blocking it out, she let the voice wash over her again and again until she finally heard it.Of course! It didn’t belong to Travis or Thomas.It belonged to someone else.Actually, it belonged to something else.It belonged to the Black Rose itself
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