Page 15 of Ivy & Bone

Polina and the other witch both started exclaiming at once, their words unintelligible.

Prudence raised her hand to silence them. “I bound him to me in order to bring Mona back. It’s done, and I won’t undo it. So don’t bother arguing about it.”

Polina’s face turned bone-white, and the other witch stiffened, her mouth falling open. “How could you do this?” the taller woman whispered.

Cyrus rolled his eyes. They were wasting precious time with this pointless argument.

“How could I not?” Prudence shouted. Anger filled her gaze, even as her eyes shone with tears. “I can’t just let her go, Sybil. I can’t.”

“Look at what you’ve done!” Polina cried, waving a hand at the spirits still raging down the road. “Have you learned nothing from the last time?”

Cyrus’s eyes narrowed. Last time? This had happened before? His mind spun with the possibilities . . . How long had this coven possessed the Book of Eyes?

“We’re prepared this time,” Prudence said. “You’ve warded the house. The coven is safe if they stay here. I will go with Cyrus to retrieve the book and end this. And Mona will come back.”

Uncertainty and longing stirred in Polina’s eyes. But the other witch—Sybil—drew closer, her expression guarded. “But you won’t.”

It wasn’t a question.

Even Cyrus stilled at those words. Though Prudence hadn’t seemed concerned for her own safety in the Underworld, she had never explicitly stated she planned to remain there.

“Prudence,” Polina murmured, her mouth trembling. Tears streamed down her face.

Prudence’s jaw went taut as she met her mother’s gaze. “Did you see her?” Her voice was a choked whisper. “Did you see Mona?”

Polina’s mouth opened as a tear trickled down her cheek. She inhaled sharply. “Yes.”

Prudence closed her eyes for a moment, her expression stricken with a mixture of agony and relief. “Then you know. You know this needs to happen.”

Polina didn’t argue, and Prudence nodded once as if this had settled it. She snatched Cyrus’s wrist and tugged him to the ground next to her. “Faidon. Now.”

Cyrus groaned and shuffled through her maps, grateful the magic ingrained in him allowed him to read all mortal languages. At least one thing his father had infused in him was helpful. Curse him and his love for all things human . . .

“Here,” Cyrus said at last, recognizing the sloping peaks of the Askir Mountains. He tried to ignore the way his chest tumbled in recognition. Even on a map, the tiny village of Faidon still called to him. “It’s not labeled, but Faidon is right here by these mountains.”

“You’re sure?” Prudence asked.

Cyrus scoffed. “Yes. You know I cannot lie.”

“Well, you could be mistaken,” Prudence grumbled, rolling up the map and tucking it into her skirt. “Mama, I’ll need coins.”

“I’ll fetch them,” Sybil said before disappearing.

Polina suddenly stood in front of Cyrus, raising the steaming bowl. “Drink.”

Cyrus’s head reared back as that same sickeningly sweet scent assaulted his nostrils. “I will do no such thing!”

“If you intend to travel anywhere with my daughter, you’ll drink this.”

“For all I know, it’s poisoned.”

Polina rolled her eyes, suddenly looking so much like her daughter that Cyrus couldn’t help but stare. “Do you take me for a fool? If you die, these spirits remain. As foolish as Prudence has been”—she cut a scathing look at her daughter—”she is correct. We still need you in order to end this.”

Cyrus peered into the bowl where a blood-red liquid churned of its own volition. “What is that?”

“Pomegranate tea, mingled with some other binding ingredients. It will prevent you from harming or abandoning Prudence. At least until you reach your destination.” Her eyes darkened at the words, and Cyrus knew she still hadn’t accepted that her daughter was about to be lost forever.

“I already made a blood bargain with her earlier,” Cyrus argued. “I can’t hurt her.”

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