“Things are good,” Naomi said. “Well, as good as they can be.”

Early the next morning, Naomi was on the phone with her aunt, curled up in the window seat of the study. The rising sun lit the early morning sky with a rainbow of color. Taking it in, she silently uttered a spell. Infia elera. The window slid open, and she relished in the sensation of the brisk morning air on her skin.

“How’s that vampire treating you?”

Kat’s tone was teasing, and Naomi smiled. Kat had initially disapproved of her relationship with a vampire, but she’d come around when she saw the depth of Alaric and Naomi’s feelings for each other.

“Wonderful.” Heat filled her body at the memory of their lovemaking the day before. When they’d emerged from their room after several hours had passed, flushed and breathless, Elias had given them a knowing wink.

“How are things in Seattle?” she asked. Kat had been with their group when they searched for the first Incantation Stone. She’d returned to Seattle only a couple of weeks ago, and Naomi already missed her.

“Same old, same old. No magic, vampires, or secret supernatural wars,” Kat said, with an exaggerated sigh. “I almost fell asleep at the last teachers’ meeting. I think a part of me misses the excitement.”

“You’ll just have to live vicariously through me,” Naomi teased. “My induction ceremony into the Alliance is tonight.”

“Already?” Kat asked, her tone shifting to one of wariness. Kat had tried to dissuade her from joining the Alliance before she returned to the States; Naomi knew she still wasn’t happy with her decision. “Congratulations, I suppose,” she continued, grudgingly. “And not to sound like a broken record, but will you promise to be careful?”

“I will, of course I will,” Naomi said.

“Good,” Kat said, expelling a breath, “but I still worry. At least you have an intimidating vampire as a boyfriend. Tell him I say hello.”

“I will,” Naomi promised, smiling.

After hanging up, she found Alaric and Madalena in the drawing room. Madalena was pulling ceremonial robes out of a box.

“What’s that?” Naomi asked, entering the room.

“Your ceremonial robes. Everyone wears these when they’re inducted into the Alliance.”

Naomi took the robes from Madalena, examining them. They were long and dark, made of silk fabric, and words in the ancient language were woven into the fabric with golden threads. She studied them, trying to decipher the words. She had learned a little of the ancient language through her study of spells, but linguistics had never been a strong suit of hers.

“The words say, ‘Creatures of blood and magic, united to fight against darkness,’” Madalena said. “I think it’s a bit didactic and cheesy, but no one else has complained.”

Naomi grinned, glancing up at Alaric.

“How was your induction ceremony?” she asked.

“Brief. Uneventful. I recited the words of the Oath and that was it.”

“As was mine,” Madalena added. “You’ll do fine. I know it doesn’t seem like it . . . but they are glad you’re joining.”

Naomi wasn’t so sure about that, but she nodded.

“You don’t have to do this if you’re too nervous,” Alaric said, after Madalena left them alone. Concern filled his blue eyes as they met hers. “We can postpone it, or—“

“Alaric . . .”

“I’m not just saying that because I’m worried—even though I am,” he admitted, with a rueful smile. “You’ve been on edge since meeting with the leaders. If you need more time to—“

“I may be nervous, but there’s no point in postponing my induction. The leaders may not win any personality awards anytime soon, but we’re all on the same side.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, her lips lingering on his cool skin, before making herself stepping back. Their brief contact had sent a jolt of desire through her. “I should get prepared for tonight.”

Alaric still looked uncertain, but he left her alone.

Naomi shrugged into the ceremonial robes, taking a breath. During tonight’s ceremony, she’d have to recite from memory the wordy Oath that all members took, committing herself to the Alliance’s cause. After taking the Oath, she’d then have to perform a complex Binding spell that sealed her vow, which was required of all witches who joined the Alliance.

A surge of uncertainty flowed through her at the thought of performing the spell in front of a crowd. She reminded herself that she had performed much stronger magic during the confrontation with the Order in Greece.

But this didn’t quell her unease, and her nerves were still on edge when it was time to leave for the ceremony. During the brief drive to the Alliance’s headquarters, she struggled to keep her thoughts focused on the words of the spell she’d soon have to utter. Alaric’s presence at her side was calming, and when he murmured reassuring words in her ear, she met his eyes to give him a tremulous smile.

Once inside the large home that served as the Alliance’s headquarters, Alaric, Madalena and the others trailed behind Naomi as she entered the same ceremonial room where the leaders had questioned her the day before.

Naomi halted, her adrenaline spiking. Unlike yesterday, at least fifty vampires and witches now filled the room to the brim. They’d been talking amongst themselves, but as soon as she entered, they all fell silent.

Naomi’s face heated as they surveyed her; she felt as if she were on display. She wondered if they thought Descendants were beautiful and powerful looking creatures; Naomi looked like an ordinary human as far as she was concerned.

Zahara stepped forward with a polite but distant smile, gesturing for Naomi to approach a circular group of stones that were arranged in the center of the room. Naomi obliged, kneeling in the center of the stones.

“We are all gathered to witness Naomi Feldman’s induction into the Alliance,” Zahara said, her gaze sweeping over the gathered witches and vampires. “There will be absolute silence until the conclusion of the ceremony.” Zahara turned back to face Naomi, giving her a nod.

Naomi’s heartbeat thundered in her ears. Though she’d worked alongside the Alliance for weeks now, she still felt as if she were on the threshold of something novel. There would be no turning back; Madalena had told her that the penalty for violating the Oath was death, too much was at stake. Her life could never go back to being what it was.

But she could never go back to her previous ignorance, nor could she pretend that magic or this whole other world didn’t exist. She looked up, meeting Alaric’s eyes across the room. His jaw was tight, his body rigid, but love and reassurance filled his eyes as he looked at her. Working with the Alliance would help destroy the Order, a group that wanted to kill creatures like Alaric, the vampire she loved. They had to be stopped.

A rush of renewed determination flowed through her, and she closed her eyes.

“I vow to protect creatures of blood and magic, vampire and witch. I vow to obey the laws inscribed by the Alliance.”

She repeated the Oath in English and the ancient language before opening her eyes. Zahara gave her another nod, this one of approval, gesturing for her to continue.

Naomi lifted her arms, silently reciting the Binding spell that would seal her vow. Ierina calieri. She waited, holding her breath. But she didn’t feel the telltale signs of her magic working; the current of electricity, the sense of heightened awareness. She felt . . . nothing.

Cold humiliation flooded her. Zahara and the other leaders looked both disappointed and perturbed while the other members pinned her with looks of suspicion. Though no one spoke, she could guess their thoughts: Is she really a Descendant? She’s the one who destroyed the Incantation Stone?

Forcing herself to calm down, she lowered her gaze to the stone floor. She silently repeated the spell. Ierina calieri.

This time, her magic stirred beneath her skin, coming to life. Encouraged, she repeated the spell, until its force lifted her body from the floor, until she hovered in mid-air.

Shards of pain began to stab at her palms like needles. She looked down. Madalena told her this would happen, but it was still startling to see; the spell had carved miniature jagged wounds into the flesh of her palms, sealing the Oath with blood and magic.

The room around her dimmed and blurred. Her lips were moving, but she couldn’t understand the words she spoke, it was as if the spell had taken control of her; her body shook as its force roiled throughout her.

Her lips soon stopped moving, and the sensation of her magic faded to a low hum. The wounds in her palm sealed shut on their own, and her body settled back to the ground.

It took a moment for her to catch her breath, and when she looked up . . . everyone was looking at her in horror. Even Alaric.

“W—what happened?” she asked, startled.

Zahara approached her, fury tightening her expression.

“Why would you say those things?” she demanded. “Why?!”

“I—I spoke the words of the Binding spell,” Naomi said, blinking at her in confusion.

“No,” Madalena said, stepping forward, her expression infused with worry. “At first you were. And then they changed.”

“To what? What did I say?”

There was a long silence. It was Alaric who broke it. He stepped forward, his tone grim. “You said, ‘Death to all inferiors, humans and Blood Beasts. Witches will have their rightful place.’”