The Witches (Book #1)

𝔖𝔱𝔲𝔫𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔙𝔦𝔠𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰

"No!" I yell, looking straight at her now. Yoomi was never one to make idle threats. I back away, and the stools stop shaking. Yoomi is Joohyuk's fiancée. Yoomi knows witchcraft. Yoomi isn't Yoomi. The idea could choke me. Why did Joohyuk never recognize her? And where is he? Did she do something to him?

Yoomi sorts spell ingredients with the self-assurance that comes through practice.

As I watch her here, in what is dearly her element, my mind struggles to make sense of this. What does it mean for my entire childhood? What does it mean for the time we've been in Manyeo? "Did you cause the rash?"

She nods.

"And you killed Kai?"

She stops breaking apart the dried leaves. "Obviously."

"Now what? You'll kill these girls and make it my fault, too?" I can't hide the hurt in my voice.

" 'Hang ' would be more accurate. And that's up to you."

I dig my nails into my hand to keep myself from having a breakdown. "I thought Joohyuk would be here."

She pauses.

I want to hurt her. I want her to feel just a fraction of what I'm feeling. "Oh, wait. He killed himself to get away from you."

Anger flashes in her eyes. She moves away from her herbs and grabs my chin with her hand. Her nails dig into my face so hard, I'm sure she'll break the skin. "I warned you once—you don't want me for an enemy."

I set my jaw and stare back at her. She releases me with a push, and I land on the floor.

"This is a business arrangement, Suzy. Don't cry. Don't beg. Don't instigate. If need be, I'll mute you."

I stand, and rub my jaw where her hand was.

Yoomi examines the sleeping Lineages. "I'm going to give you a choice." Yoomi wiggles her fingers, and the stools begin to dance, one after the other.

The girls open their eyes. Confusion, then panic, washes over them as they realize they have nooses around their necks. They desperately try to steady themselves. Hyeri screams.

Yoomi looks at me pointedly. "Which one should we hang?"

The word "we" makes me sick. I look at Soojung and immediately feel guilty about it. Wendy locks eyes with me, her fear quickly turning to accusation. When we did the clarity spell, their ancestors were telling me about their hangings. Changbin didn't stand up for them. If I have any hope of breaking this chain of accusation and hanging, I have to change that. "Me," I whisper, and the word sticks. "I choose me."

Seulgi shakes her head. "Sooji, don't."

Yoomi's expression goes dark. "You would hang for someone who threw a rock through your window with DIE written on it?"

This catches me off guard. So it was Soojung. And Yoomi knew?

"Of course, she's been punished," Vivian says, and by the way she flaunts those words I know I'm not the only one meant to hear them.

Soojung's eyes widen. "Punished? Throwing a rock does not equal killing my cousin and paralyzing my brother!" There's a hysterical edge to her voice. What did Yoomi say or do to these girls before I got here?

Yoomi flicks her wrist, and Soojung bends forward in pain. Her footing becomes wobbly as she strains against the rope In a few seconds, she will slip from the stool. My stomach turns.

"Stop! I choose me! Please stop!"

The stools settle abruptly. "Fine, Suzy. If you want to hang, then that is exactly what you'll get." Her voice is angry. I don't understand this at all. What is she after?