“No, absolutely not. I have not been feeling well as of late and as a result my magic has gone haywire. Last time I tried it I had to live upside down for a day!” Raven protests.

“But I need you!” Amina presses forward, following her into the kitchen.

“I said no!”

“Please.”

“No! I am sick, and I need to rest.”

Amira closes the door behind her before she says, “Sylva has only a month to live.”

“What?”

“Yes, the doctors told me,” She wipes her tears before they’re seen. “If another member of my family is dying, it is not going to be him. It’s going to be me.”

“Amina, what kind of sick joke is that?! Sacrificial spells are dangerous!”

“It’s not a joke, Raven! If you felt unwelcomed in your own home, you would do the same thing if the only person who loved you was dying!” Amina places two leather bags on the table. “Fifteen ingots. All the money I have if you do this for me. Let me give my family the happiness they deserve, even if it’s without me in it.”

Raven softens. “Though I admire the love you hold for your mother, father, and brother I cannot let the world lose such a wonderful soul. My powers are not limited to the ones who are suffering. I can see through their eyes, deep into their minds, read their most closed in emotions. Your parents love you. They admire the woman you are becoming.”

“Yet they ignore me. They make me feel that I am a guest in my own home.”

“Grief can be the most cruel puppeteer.”

Amina scoffs. “So I’m just supposed to deal with being an outcast?”

“No,” Raven shakes her head. “Be empathetic as they have been towards you when you were going through a rough time.” She takes a mug from the cabinet and fills it with warm water. In a jar next to the stove, she takes out a tea bag, the earthy smell bringing her back to the times when she and Sylva would play outdoors.

“Now, I think it’s time you head home now. It’s getting dark. Thieves tend to wander about when the sun sets.”

Amina nodded wordlessly, stunned to silence by her friend’s words.

Back at her home, her brother sat on the couch reading. His body was frail, his bones protruding, his eyes sinking.

“Amina,” He said hoarsely. “Where were you?”

She sits next to him, letting her body sink. “I…I was,” she couldn’t come up with a clever lie. Tears forced themselves through her eyes no matter how much she held back.

It was then she decided that Raven’s advice was useless. Sylva meant the world to her. It’s been so long since he was healthy that she forgot what he looked like.

As he consoled her, she made her silent oath. She would search far and wide for any witch who could help her. Even if it meant losing her life. Because family is the only thing she had the heart to die for.

She would be the sacrificial lamb.