Page 81 of Wrath of the Never Queen

Her hand freezes halfway to a jar of fermented reeds. It wavers, but she does not say anything.

“The people who live there…they have no one to help them. Even if we leave, there will be another woman sent to the chopping block next year. And the next. It will never end.”

Her hand drops, and I watch her shoulders sag, her back still to me.

“Someone needs to stop him.” There is renewed conviction in my voice.

Aunt Meena sighs so deeply, it feels like even her soul is tired. Eventually, she turns to me. I meet her eyes and do not look away.

“Iron will,” she says with a sad smile. She crosses the room to grasp me by the shoulders. “You stop him, Shivani, and you take everything down with him.”

Chapter 32

Ireturn to the castle with a few hours to spare before the sun comes up. As soon as I step into the tunnel, there is a shift somewhere in my body. Something I am unable to place. It takes me a long moment to realise I am, once again, cut off from my au’mana. The knowledge is painful but less sharp than before; now, I know it is not permanent. The existence of the tunnel itself has lessened the barb.

I trudge upwards in the dark, exhaustion slowly overtaking my limbs, but I press on regardless. Aunt Meena’s voice echoes in my head—another witch. The only witch I know for certain lived in the castle was Inez’s mother, Ruya. I press my lips into a thin, determined line, the image of her diary burned into my mind.

I reach the end of the tunnel as it opens into the gloom of the abandoned bedchambers. But when I step inside, a shape moves in the darkness.

I nearly yelp but stop myself in time, grabbing the edge of the bookcase. Vanya steps closer, moonlight cast across her face.

“What…” I gape, a hand on my chest to slow my thundering heart. “What are you doing here?”

She only narrows her eyes at me and crosses the space between us. I flinch, but she reaches past me instead, touching the bookcase tenderly.

“You have gained more use from this than we ever did,” she mutters, gazing at it wistfully.

“Who?”

She turns her piercing eyes on me.

“Inez told me she gave you Ruya’s diary. Have you read it?” she asks. There is the slightest crease between her brows.

“No. Not yet.” I squint at her, frowning. “Why?”

Vanya only sighs and turns away.

“You do not have long,” she tells me. “Now the king has a bride for the prince. He has no need of you.”

“Why a bride?” I ask quickly before she can leave. “Why now?”

“The king is not stupid. He is only growing older, and his son will take his place one day—he needs a queen he has control over. Swordstead will be in his debt for the money he has paid for her.”

My tongue withers in my mouth.

“I have time,” I say weakly. “Before he arrives.”

Vanya looks at me with such pity, tears well in my eyes.

“He does not need to be here to have you killed,” she says before opening the door. “Are all witches born with more honour than sense, I wonder?”

At once, my tears dry. I look at her sharply, frowning. A missing puzzle piece dangles in front of me.

“What do you know of other witches?” I ask.

Vanya’s eyes glint in the darkness, and then she is gone.

By the time I chase after her, the halls are empty. I look in both directions, but there is no Vanya or any guards. Frowning, I hurry back to my chambers to retrieve Ruya’s diary. It sits innocently in the middle of my bed, where I had left it. I clutch it to my chest, relieved, before opening it.

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