Page 79 of Premonition of Peace

“Thathagjust destroyed the library without a second thought,” I said. “And you’re bleeding.” It was slight, but a red slash stretched from the arch of her eyebrow to her hairline. A thin trickle of blood ran from it.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s everything,” Ann snapped back. “We’re invincible here. The loci is made for us. Shapedbyus. It’s a physical manifestation of our psyche. It can’t be hurt, and neither can we. You aren’t supposed tobleed. The Morrigan’s soul entering must have changed that.”

We all stared at one another, the quiet truth hanging over us.

Morgan Le Fay’s voice rose from within the house once more, breaking the silence. “Ohlittle witch, you can’t hide forever.”

A chill ran through me, starting at the base of my spine and working its way up. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. She was right, of course. Hiding would only work for so long. If the sound of things exploding was anything to go by, she’d level the house before long and there would be nowhere left to run or hide.

“She’s not wrong,” I said quietly. “We have to face her.”

Peace made a face. “Are we strong enough?”

“It’s six against one,” The Warden pointed out.

“Be better if it was eight.”

My neck cracked from how hard my head whipped around to stare at Bad Nat.

“Rage is unpredictable,” I started.

Bad Nat shook her head, an almost pitying look in her eye. “Rage is one of us. So is Little. If this place dies, we all die with it.”

I inhaled sharply. “What if she just makes it worse?”

Bad Nat threw her arms wide, motioning to the greenhouse around us. “I hate the be the bearer of bad news, but how much fucking worse can it get?”

“She’s got a point,” Ann said quietly.

“What?”

Ann pinched the bridge of her nose. “Don’t make me say it twice.”

I turned to The Warden. “What do you think?”

“She never should have been locked up to begin with,” my strength answered.

I flinched at the accusation. “We were in agreement?—”

“You would have done it regardless of what we said. You weren’t ready to hear the truth.” She added, blunt but not cutting. There was a gentle edge to her voice as she said it. Sympathy. Pity.

I turned to Caretaker and Peace last. “Is that true?”

Caretaker tilted her head, eyes softening as she said, “You were in a bad place.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

She took a deep breath. “My purpose is to take care of us. All of us. Rage and Little are part of that.” She stared at me, unseeing for a moment as pain flashed through her features. It would have been undetectable to anyone else, but this was me. I saw it in the tightening of her jaw, the purse of her lips, and the tiny hunch between her brows. “I had to neglect them for the betterment of the whole.”

Speechless. I looked at Peace.

If there was anyone that was against Rage, it was always her. They were the antithesis of each other.

Peace sighed. “I agreed with you. I thought it’s what we needed to move on . . .”

“But?” I ground out.

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