Chapter 10

  LIES NEVER LAST

  The mansion, usually steeped in a serene calm, was shaken by shouts echoing from the entrance. Gabriel and Max hurried down the stairs, convinced the Becos had returned.

  But when they reached the foyer, the scene was different. Melody was shouting furiously at Cristina, while Cristina tried in vain to calm her.

  —I thought you would understand —Cristina pleaded desperately, searching for empathy from her closest friend.

  —You’re an idiot! —Melody yelled, her eyes blazing with fury.

  —Lower your voice, they’ll hear you —Cristina whispered, casting nervous glances around.

  —Let them hear! —Melody stepped forward, confronting her—. The most sensible witch of all, Cristina Collins, did the stupidest thing imaginable.

  The tension was palpable. Gabriel decided to intervene.

  —What’s going on? —he asked, frowning.

  Melody turned on him, seething.

  —You want to know? —She pointed an accusing finger at Cristina—. Our dear friend here will tell you why the portals to Heaven don’t work.

  Gabriel looked at Cristina, confused.

  —What does she mean, Cristina? —he pressed, his tone heavy with concern.

  Cristina hesitated. She could stay silent and leave, but the guilt she had suppressed for so long finally broke through.

  —Your presence here wasn’t an accident —she confessed quickly, unable to meet Gabriel’s eyes.

  Gabriel stared at her in disbelief.

  —What?

  Melody cut in, her voice dripping with contempt.

  —Cristina broke the law —she snapped, crossing her arms—. A seer—one who isn’t even reliable—told her you were the key to finding her coven. And do you know what she did? Something no mental witch should ever do: she used her magic on an angel.

  The silence grew thick, weighed down by restrained emotions.

  Gabriel stepped forward, his gaze locked on Cristina.

  —What exactly did you do? —he asked coldly.

  Cristina took a deep breath before answering, as if every word weighed heavily on her soul.

  —I manipulated your school’s principal so he would send you here. Everyone there thinks you’re at a summer camp. When I saw you wanted to leave, I damaged the portals. They’re not beyond repair, but it bought me more time.

  She couldn’t look at him. Her voice was barely a whisper.

  Gabriel staggered back, stunned.

  —You planned everything? —His tone wavered between disbelief and rage—. The angels never trusted me. It was all a lie. I was such a fool! —Cristina reached out to him, but he recoiled sharply—. Don’t touch me! Stay away from me!

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  Gabriel stormed inside, leaving a tense silence behind him. Max stood frozen, unable to react. Cristina searched his face for a spark of understanding, but found only disappointment.

  At last, Max broke the silence.

  —One question… —he hesitated—. Was it a coincidence that he ended up assigned to me?

  Cristina didn’t answer. Her silence was answer enough.

  —Cristina… —Melody interjected, horror in her voice—. Did you have anything to do with the feelings between them?

  Max looked up, desperate.

  —Is anything I feel for Gabriel real? —he pleaded.

  Cristina lowered her gaze.

  —I don’t know…

  The weight of her shame kept her from lifting her eyes. Melody took Max by the arm with an unusually gentle gesture.

  —Come on, Max. I’ve taken care of finding a solution to all this.

  Cristina was left alone in the courtyard, surrounded by plants that seemed to devour her with their silence. Unable to bear it any longer, she left the grounds of the New Moon coven.

  Meanwhile, Laura—who had heard the commotion—came downstairs. She found Gabriel smashing vases in a fit of rage, and Melody consoling Max.

  —Hey! What’s going on? —Laura asked, trying to calm him.

  —Nothing is real! No one believed in me! I was an idiot! —Gabriel shouted, cutting himself on a shard of broken vase—. Damn it!

  Laura grabbed his arm and led him to the bathroom. As she cleaned the wound and wrapped it in a bandage, she tried to get him to talk.

  —Breathe. Now tell me what’s happening.

  Gabriel inhaled shakily, his voice full of pain.

  —Cristina planned everything. She used her magic so my school principal would send me here. I thought they trusted me, but it was all a trick.

  The words were bitter, and tears of rage soon followed. Laura tried to understand.

  —Why would she do something like that?

  Gabriel shook his head, defeated.

  —A seer told her I was the key to finding her coven. I was just an object they manipulated…

  Laura nodded slowly.

  —Breathe. I’ll be right back.

  She left the bathroom and approached Melody, who seemed to be waiting.

  —Did he tell you? —Melody asked, calmer now.

  —Yes, but it’s hard to believe. The Cristina I know wouldn’t do this.

  Melody sighed, staring at the floor.

  —I thought she had limits too. But I should’ve suspected it when she mentioned the portals. In a thousand years, none of them have ever broken. We were her pawns.

  —Does Madame Liona know? —Laura asked cautiously.

  Melody shook her head.

  —I don’t know. But I’ve been thinking… what if the attack was because of Gabriel?

  Laura frowned.

  —Gabriel?

  —Yes. An angel’s heart is a powerful source of energy. In the hands of a Beco… those lunatics would destroy the entire world for more power. I don’t want to believe it, but maybe… —Melody’s voice broke—. Maybe Cristina was responsible for the attack. Maybe it was her fault… Tory’s death.

  Amid the chaos of the revelation, a vibration rippled through the air, coming from the old necklace Max wore around his neck. The object, which had gone unnoticed until now, trembled with growing intensity, as if his anger were awakening something within it. Frightened, Max tore it off and threw it to the ground. Instantly, a lavender glow burst from the necklace, illuminating the room as though a spark of ancient magic had been unleashed.

  The light expanded, followed by a thick fog that spread rapidly, shrouding the mansion in uncertainty. Tension crackled in the air.

  —Max! —Gabriel shouted, his voice full of worry as he tried to find him through the haze.

  —Where did this fog come from? —Laura asked, her gaze darting wildly, unable to identify the source.

  —Be careful. Everyone stay alert —Melody ordered, her tone conveying more urgency than calm—. Find something to defend yourselves with.

  The fog, dense and suffocating, dissipated as suddenly as it had appeared. When visibility returned, what they saw left them frozen: Max was floating in the air, suspended as if an invisible force had torn him from the ground. His eyes, completely white and glowing, shone with an unsettling light.

  At his feet, the fragments of the necklace slowly disintegrated, turning into dust that hovered in the air before drifting toward him. Each particle was absorbed through his mouth, as if Max himself were devouring the remains of the strange object.

  Gabriel stepped forward, determined to stop whatever was happening, but Melody grabbed his arm tightly and held him back.

  —Don’t go near him —she warned, her voice low and firm, eyes fixed on Max—. We can’t interfere.

  The glow surrounding Max slowly began to fade. His body descended gently, as though an unseen hand were lowering him to the floor. When he finally touched the ground, he lay still, eyes closed, his breathing barely perceptible.

  —He’s unconscious —Gabriel said after checking him, his voice trembling but relieved.

  —What was that? —Laura asked, pale, struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

  Melody remained silent for a few seconds, processing what had happened. Finally, she pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath before speaking.

  —A blocking spell was broken… —Her voice was heavy with disbelief as she looked at them—. What entered him was his magic. Max… Max is a sorcerer.