Zodiac Aligned

7

This had to be hard for her. Her worst enemy in the same room as her? Larkin might be older than she looked, but she still was sheltered in a lot of ways. I rubbed her arm and gave her a warm smile, trying to show I was there for her. She shot me a grateful glance in response.

“Ayla should do it,” Kaden said. “She has the most experience with both witches and wolves."

“Jordan has spent more time with the Sun Witches,” I pointed out.

Kaden crossed his arms. “Yeah, but we can’t trust him.”

Jordan rolled his eyes, but then he said, "I agree, Ayla should take the lead on this."

Ethan arched an eyebrow. "I never thought I'd see the two of you agree on anything. Ayla, what do you think?"

“I’ll do it.” I chewed on my lip for a few seconds. “But I’m afraid I might forget something. If you have a question for her, feel free to jump in at any time.”

"Great. If that's settled, then I'll have her brought in so we can start." Ethan grabbed his phone and made a quick call, then turned back to us. "Be ready for anything."

We glanced warily at each other as we spread out around the room, while my heart beat faster, knowing what we were about to do. Ethan had the camera begin recording, and soon a scuffling sound could be heard down the hall, just before two burly shifters dragged Roxandra into the room. She tried resisting them, but her movements were weak and ineffective. They kept their eyes forward as they shoved her into the chair, not looking at her if they could help it. She had chains around her wrists and ankles, and they used those to attach her to the chair so she couldn't get up.

Roxandra's red robe was torn and dirty, hardly the same color it had been in the battle, and her platinum hair was greasy and dull, like she hadn’t showered in days. Her arms were covered in bite marks and bruises, courtesy of the Ophiuchus poison keeping her sedated. She also had a silver collar around her neck with phases of the moon etched into the metal. I almost felt bad for her, until I looked into her cold, colorless eyes and saw the hatred in them.

“You’re bigger fools than I thought to bring me here,” she snarled. "Let me go before my sisters destroy you all."

“The Sun Witches wouldn't dare attack the hotel with so many shifters in it,” Ethan said, without a trace of concern in his voice. "No one is coming for you."

"You've seen what we can do. Do you really think you could stop us if we tried?” She let out a laugh. It sounded hoarse, like she’d spent some time screaming before this. "Your minds are far too easy to control."

Jordan growled, stepping forward, but Ethan raised a hand. Roxandra's lips curled up into a smile as her gaze landed on Jordan, and his anger visibly grew, his hands clenched at his side, his body tense as if it was taking all of his willpower to hold himself back.

“Larkin, cast the spell,” Ethan said, as he moved in front of Jordan.

Larkin stepped forward, her movements hesitant, and Roxandra honed in on her with a predatory sneer.

“Little Moon Witch girl,” Roxandra crooned. “What do you think you’ll be able to do against me? The collar you put on me to block my powers won’t last long, and then we'll see which of the two of us is stronger, hmm?”

Larkin didn’t rise to the bait and instead began chanting softly in ancient Greek. Moonlight gathered around Roxandra, suffusing the room in a soft, luminous glow. Roxandra strained against the ropes, cursing as she felt the power of the moon touch her. She struggled a bit harder, making the chair scrape harshly against the floor, but Larkin’s spell never faltered. If anything, her spine only grew straighter and her voice became stronger as the magic worked against her enemy.

Roxandra's voice suddenly raised above Larkin’s in a desperate screech, also chanting something in ancient Greek, but it didn’t seem to have any power. Instead, the silver collar around her neck pulsed with bright white light, and Roxandra made a wounded noise and fell silent. I didn’t know if her comment about the collar possibly failing was true, but I hoped it lasted long enough to get us through this interrogation at least.

Larkin's brow furrowed in concentration, but she stood strong as the magic finished taking hold. The light pulsed brighter, and Roxandra made another sound like she was being hurt as the magic soaked into her skin. Larkin stopped chanting, and as the light faded, the room looked suddenly dull without the moonlight shining through it.

Larkin took a deep breath and turned toward me. “It worked. Roxandra will be forced to answer your questions now, and she won't be able to lie."

"Nice job," I said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. She'd stood strong as she'd cast the spell, even with Roxandra's taunting, and I was proud of her.

Larkin stepped carefully out of the way of the camera and leaned against the wall in the back of the room. I watched Ethan go to her and whisper something, which put a small smile on her face.

Now it was my turn. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. Roxandra’s eyes turned to me, so full of hate that I almost took a step back.

No. This wasn’t the time for weakness. I could do this. I needed answers, and I’d do whatever I had to do to get them. The Sun Witches had controlled and manipulated us for too long, but no more. It ended right here, right now, in this very room.

For a moment I simply took Roxandra in, studying her haggard appearance as I tried to decide which question to ask first. I had too many swirling around in my head, and they all seemed vitally important. I was finally going to get the answers I needed from the Sun Witches. But where to start?