When the Ravens Sing

Chapter 7

Nova didn't say a single word for the entire walk to the house. No matter how gentle Haider's persuasions, she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Not now. Not after everything that had happened. She couldn't bring herself to tell him she had been bit. She wouldn't. It wasn't even pride holding her back, nor her typical pettiness. Nova wasn't sure she could face his grief over her impending death. She didn't even want to face it herself. Hiding it was the only option. She couldn't let anyone find out.

She stared at her feet as they walked, catching flashes of red and the bright glistening of steel. The blood-stained blades dangled from her battered hands, a constant reminder of what she had become. Nova had not wielded them herself, but she might as well have. Right then, she was thankful for the bleating pain on her side. It was well deserved to feel even half the pain that had been inflicted onto the wolves. It made sense in a sick way that she would die the same day as them. She would welcome it when the time came. She would welcome anything that could make the sorrow and guilt fade away.

The moment Haider and Nova broke through the trees, the quiet she sought vanished. Car doors slammed closed, and they could hear the clang of knives all around her home. Brett must have called in backup when he realized his son was not where he was meant to be. At least a dozen armed men were moving in a hurry, preparing. She hoped they would not be disappointed when they realized the fight had already been fought.

Nova scanned the grounds, searching for familiar faces. If a member of her coven saw her like this, there would be no chance of hiding what had happened to her. The Gods were cruel, but she had not realized how malevolent they truly were until she saw her grandmother standing next to Brett Lester, and they were staring right at them. Nova's chest tightened, and her breathing grew shallow. Her Grandmother was the absolute last person she wanted to run into right now. There was no way she could lie her way out of this. She wouldn't be able to hide from her like this. So that gave Nova only one option.

She ran.

Gods, she knew what she must have looked like, but she didn't care. She refused to think about what the others would say, how the rumors would fly. The High Witches prodigy running from her, covered in blood no less. Only one thought rattled through her mind. 'Not here. Not yet.'

Nova gripped the blades tighter in her hands, willing herself to get to the house. She didn't have a plan; she didn't have a damn clue. All she wanted was to wash the blood away, to wash everything away. It didn't occur to her to drop the blades. The foreign weight in her hands had begun to feel like an extension of herself. A physical representation of the darkness and despair that raged within her soul.

The world around her passed in a blur. She barely registered someone calling out her name. Nova couldn't tell if it was her grandmother or Haider pleading with her to stop, to come back. Her heart thumped uncomfortably in her chest. It slammed against her ribs and threatened to burst. She hoped it would, just so she wouldn't have to face the rest of this miserable day.

The next thing she knew, she was smashing into her front door and barreling into her home. The door slammed shut behind her. Taking a moment, just a moment, to catch her breath, she leaned her back into the cool wood. Her wound screamed as she pressed her forearm into her side. Clenching her eyes against the pain, she tried to calm her ragged breathing.

Without warning, two cool hands wrapped around her wrists. Nova jolted herself upright in alarm, only to realize the hands belonged to Rose. She expected to see horror, disgust, even. All she found was warmth and worry.

"What happened?" Rose whispered, searching Nova's eyes.

Nova tried to swallow, only to realize her mouth had gone bone dry. There was no suitable answer to give, nothing to explain the true extent of the events she had partaken in. She needed more time to collect her thoughts, she just needed more time. Nova pushed past her counterpart, angling the blades away as she went.