Page 29 of Anathema

My blood turned cold. “You saw them?”

“I see everything.” The way she tipped her chin down, looking at me beneath her bushy white brows, had me backing slowly away from her. When I turned around, I tucked the egg behind my back so as not to draw Aleysia’s attention to it.

“What are you doing by those woods?” Aleysia chided, as I padded toward her. “Was it not enough to have a man’s skin tossed at your boots?”

“I was talking to The Crone Witch.”

Her face twisted to a look of pure repulsion. “The Crone Witch? The woman who eats children, Maevyth?”

I glanced over my shoulder to see the old woman yanking a cord of wood from a piled stack of them with little struggle. “Don’t tell me you’re swayed by rumor now?”

“Of course not, but don’t you find her just a little unsettling?”

“Yes, I do. I also find her intriguing because of it.”

“You’re beginning to concern me, Sister. And what in God’s eyes are you hiding behind your back?”

“It’s nothing.” I pulled it from my back, cradling it in my arms. “Just an unusual rock I found by the woods.”

“That doesn’t look like any rock I’ve ever seen. And you intend to decorate our bedroom with that thing?”

“I’ll keep it under my bed. I just thought it was interesting.” I ran my finger over the scales on the outside, the texture reminding me of an enormous acorn.

“It’s probably cursed if you found it near those woods. Better to keep it outside of the house.”

At the sound of an approaching carriage, both of us turned to see someone coming up the road.

“No,” Aleysia said beside me.

“Who is it?”

“Mr. Moros. Hurry inside. I’ll tell him you’re still ill.”

“What if he’s seen us?”

“I’ll still tell him you’re ill and can’t accept company. Now, go.”

I rushed across the yard and plowed through the cottage entrance, egg still tucked in my arm. At the top of the staircase stood Agatha, and my heart sank into my stomach.

“Good god, you look ghastly with that deformed eye. Yet, I see you’re doing well now. And how timely. Mr. Moros has arrived to check on you. Such a kind man to inquire about you these past few days. Fortunately, he wasn’t troubled by your appearance.” She hobbled her way down the staircase, and I clutched the egg tighter, offering a smile to distract her from the object.

“I heard he paid me many visits. So kind.”

She stopped alongside me, and in as subtle a movement as I could muster, I slid the egg to my side along my hip. Leaning in, she sniffed and crinkled her nose. “Heavens, you smell like a pig’s pen. Go wash yourself. Quickly. I suspect he’ll want to visit with you for a spell.”

“Yes, of course.” Lowering my gaze, I slipped past her up the staircase, and when I reached the top, she called out to me.

“And, Maevyth, he may want to examine you. A fair request given what he’s paid.”

“What do you mean, examine?”

“No need for undergarments, my dear.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ZEVANDER

Zevander strode up to the iron-embellished door of Eidolon’s keep, the ancient castle that’d belonged to his bloodline for centuries. Gargoyles perched at either side of the staircase, their wretched faces illuminated by torch sconces that blazed below them. Situated on the summit of Insidian Ridge, the black stone castle overlooked the vast darklands of Nyxteros and served as a monument of his cursed name. Whatever life had once pulsed through the veins of the stony castle had withered inside its cold, gray tomb walls.

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