Page 13 of Season of the Wolf

The first time it’d been brought up was two weeks ago—following my unsuccessful attempt to escape and capture the witch. As I sat in Liam’s room that night, they exchanged thoughts outside his door. Now, tonight, they were discussing it again. Like Elise had just pointed out, bringing it up twice meant a lofty idea was slowly transitioning into a plan.

Only, I had no idea what that plan was exactly.

“We said we wouldn’t bring anyone else into this. Can’t we continue trying with Evangeline? Perhaps the stress of Liam being unresponsive will trigger her in some way,” Elise reasoned, only to have Hilda dismiss her idea the next instant.

“If anything, Evangeline is evenlesslikely to succeed while under so much pressure. Her head is foggier than ever,” she expressed. “I don’t even think she’s connecting well with her dragon at the moment.”

Elise was thoughtful before speaking. “How can you tell?”

“It’s … instinct, I suppose. Witches can sense a supernatural’s identifying shifter relatively easily. For her, it was once her dragon that presented strongly. Lately? It’s been her wolf—almost completely. If I had to guess, her dragon is mourning the loss of Liam’s, even though themanis still with us, thedragon… well, it was murdered. At least that’s howshesees it. And since Evangeline and her dragon are one … a large part of her feels like she’s lost him already.”

Both were silent before Hilda added, “So, like I said, she’s not the one.”

Elise took a step or two, maybe pacing now, but I had no way to confirm from here. “Then, if you’re right, our choices are to either give up on bringing the boys back, or bring in another witch—and run the risk of exposure.”

Several seconds passed and I was startled when Elise’s voice came back.

“What am I even saying?” she scoffed.

This time, I wassureshe paced.

“Worrying about exposure? Half our family hasalreadybeen exposed,” she reasoned. “The Sovereign knows Evangeline has returned, he’s already looking to make heads roll because of it …”

When Hilda replied, I imagined her smiling, because it could be heard in her voice. “And since when have we let the risk of death keep us from doing what’s right?”

At those words, I imagined these two causing their share of trouble within the supernatural realm’s political system. Both had stronger convictions than almost anyone I knew. Even if those convictions landed them in harm’s way. They were fearless. It shouldn’t have surprised me that, even now, they were preparing to make yet another bold move that could potentially get them in more trouble than they already stood to face.

“So, who do we have? Who can wetrust?” Elise amended.

Hilda was quick with her answer. “We can trust no one. But we’re beyond that now.”

A sheet of paper rustled below, and I wished I had x-ray vision to read it.

“I set out to prepare a list of names, but could only come up with four,” Hilda replied. “These are the most powerful, effective witches I know. And, trust me, we’ll need lots of power to fill this order.

The paper was exchanged and I waited, imagining Elise skimming Hilda’s suggestions. Another deep sigh made it clear she wasn’t thrilled aboutanyof the options.

“Ora, Elenore, Lorelai, and …Maisy?”

Elise read the last with considerably more disdain than the others, which was saying something seeing as how she nearly spat the others from her mouth.

“I know you hate them all—”

“No kidding!” Elise interrupted.

“But you cannot deny they’ve all proven their abilities over the years.”

“Yes, they absolutely have,” Elise scoffed. “One for pulling off the largest heist in world history, one for helping multiple terrorist groups pull off some of the most devastating attacks the history books have ever seen, one for causing several plagues that have successfully wiped out large chunks of the human population over the years, and one who … one who …” she paused there, unable to blurt the last offense as freely as those mentioned before.

With the credentials of the others, I had to wonder what this one did that seemed to choke Elise up.

“I never said they ranked high on the moral scale,” Hilda said calmly, an air of consolation in her tone. “I said they were effective.”

“They’re also fugitives,” Elise added. “These witches are wanted for multiple criminal acts, with such high prices on their heads you could, literally, purchase a large island and spend less.”

“Which is why three of the four may be nearly impossible to coax out of hiding,” Hilda reasoned, pausing for a long time before going on. “Which isalsowhy Maisy is, perhaps, our best option. She’s technically a fugitive, but not nearly as sought after as the others.”

A break in conversation came before the reveal of what Maisy’s wrongdoing had been. And hearing it, I understood why Elise had such a hard time getting the words out.

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