Page 48 of The Fearless Witch

“This was Regina’s decision. We trusted and followed our Head Witch,” I said through gritted teeth, gripping my thighs harder so I could keep my back straight and my hands busy.

“Regina is dead!” Edna fired back, her voice rising an octave until the noise grated on the last of my nerves.

“Exactly!” I slammed my hands on the table, keeping them pressed down so I wouldn’t send a spell at her. “It’s not our fault that her plan backfired! We are just trying to deal with the consequences the best we can.”

Edna’s jaw tightened as she rubbed her temples. What did she have to complain about? This was a nuisance to her, and possibly the end for me.

The dark-skinned woman beside her watched me with steely eyes, barely blinking like she didn’t want to miss any information I might subconsciously betray. She scared me even more than Edna did because she didn’t speak, didn’t react, she didn’t even appear to be breathing half of the time. If I hadn’t studied her with my magic when they arrived, I could have mistaken her for a vampire.

“There is no covering it up now,” the woman on Edna’s other side spoke, intertwining her fingers in front of her. She hadn’t introduced herself or spoken directly to me, addressing instead the others like I wasn’t worth her attention. I held back my tongue only because Paula had called her Tenzin, which made her the Head Witch of the Coven of Divine Spirit. Regina must have forgotten to include in her lessons that studying the origin of magic and the soul apparently made that person an arrogant bitch. “The whole country has its eyes on this city and while they cannot see the ward anymore, they are still curious. So we’ll need to quickly prep several more shocking news or events around the world to sweep this fuck-up under the rug.” Her eyes shot to me so fast, I thought I imagined it, but it was to Paula she spoke. “And your Coven needs to move.”

I frowned. “Move?” I asked at the same time Paula did.

“Yes, move,” Edna interjected. “This place will be crawling with hunters in no time. Unless you plan to fight them, because the ward will not stop them, you must disappear from their radar.” The sharp lines on her face rounded a fraction like she was trying to soften the blow, but her eyes remained cold and sharp. “At least for a few years, until things calm down. This is for your own protection, and the protection of witch kind.”

I opened my mouth several times in search of the right words, but in the end, all I could say was, “No.”

If they were surprised by my answer, they didn’t show it. My witches kept quiet, like they did when Regina was talking, but I could feel their eyes like pricks on my skin. I shuddered, balling my hands into fists and quickly dragging them under the table again before the others could notice.

“No?” Edna straightened in her chair, her dark eyebrows raising in derision. “You don’t have a choice, girl. You’re in a bigger mess than you can imagine and we’ll not let you put all the witches in the world in danger because you don’t want to leave home.” Her eyes shot to the old panels and the spiderwebs on the ceiling that nobody had bothered to clean. “Or maybe home is not the right word since you don’t even have a home.” Returning her eyes to me, she gave me a bone-chilling smile. “You don’t have a past or a family, and Regina’s property is in ashes. So I don’t see what’s keeping you here.”

Flashes of my parent’s faces filled my vision, of my sister and a little brother I hadn’t even met. I could almost remember their voices now, the warmth and joy that coming home used to bring me. Whatever spell Regina cast to make me forget, it was unraveling, and my memories were coming back in bits and fragments.

If I left, they’d never know about me, and the longer I waited to tell them the truth, the bigger the chance they’d never want to hear it. Or worse, they might not be alive to listen to it.

I dug my nails into my palms, slowly exhaling through my mouth while my head spun from the emotions… and another onslaught of Mathias’ endless prodding. I was getting better at ignoring the constant pain, but it was also getting harder to keep my tone even.

“No,” I repeated, more confidently this time. “This city is our home.” I looked at Paula and she nodded, the hesitation disappearing from her eyes. Taking a deep breath, I tried to focus on the woman in front of me. “The hunters aren’t… a real threat if we stand together. So instead of making us cower and run in shame, help us.” Confusion passed through Edna’s face, so before she could interrupt me, I continued. “Help us prove to everyone that the witches are powerful enough. They will leave us alone if we stand our ground here and win.” I gritted my teeth when they met my words with stony expressions, so I added, trying to sound as positive as possible. “Or at the very least, tread carefully when dealing with us. This city can be what Regina envisioned.” I forced a smile to my face, making sure there were no cracks in my mask. “A safe haven.”

“And the shifters?” Tenzin scoffed, finally looking me in the eye. “You don’t have the power to sustain this ward indefinitely. They’ll return and they will be thirsty for blood. If they unite—”

“They know that we have the strength to chase them out again, so if we pretend to…” Another jab at my mind made me wince, and this time my whole body responded to the invasion, heating up like it was ready to burn the bridge connecting me to Mathias. I forced myself to continue. “...negotiate their return, we’ll be in a position to make a deal that favors us,” I said, holding her gaze. “The time for standing on equal ground has passed. If we play our cards right… we will rule this city, ward or no ward.”

The silence that followed was so deep, it made the buzzing in my body almost deafening. Heat flooded my core while I waited for their reaction, my mind going foggy as Mathias’ annoying prodding turned into an outright banging that made me squeeze the edges of my chair.

Goddess, I couldn’t keep this up. I was going to lose it.

“This is…” Edna started, waving her hand like she was trying to pluck the right word from the air, but Paula cleared her throat before she could finish.

“I think we all need a moment to collect ourselves and think of what we have just discussed, don’t you think, ladies?” she said with an amiable smile, shooting me a glance I couldn’t quite understand. “Let us show you to your rooms where you can rest and refresh yourselves from the long journey and we can reconvene later when we’ve all assimilated this…” She licked her lips, a very convincing smile blossoming on her small mouth. “...conversation.”

Edna looked down her nose at us but rose to her feet.

“Yes, let’s,” she said in a clipped tone. “Your Head Witch looks like she could use some clarity.” She headed toward the door and the others followed, the rest of my witches hurrying to escort them. Paula and I remained behind.

“Are you alright?” she whispered after making sure they were gone. “Your eyes keep going in and out of focus. Are you sick? Is there—”

“I’m fine.” I got up on shaky feet. Paula moved with me, catching my elbow just as I swayed forward. The fire that started in my chest had now concentrated lower, much lower.

“You don’t look fine.” Her cool hand pressed on my cheek, and without meaning to, I leaned into her touch. A sharp intake of breath had me opening my eyes to find her staring at me with concern. “How long has it been since you’ve… been intimate with someone?”

I staggered back, feeling my face heat up with more than just embarrassment, but her expression remained unchanged. When she continued to wait expectantly, I sighed.

“A few months.”

“How few?” she insisted. Did she really need to know that much? That wasn’t the main issue here. The main issue was the annoying male witch that wouldn’t leave my mind alone.

“Four.”

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