Page 40 of Burning Crowns

‘Thank you for coming with me,’ she said, with a glance back at Rowena.

The fair-haired witch snorted. ‘Not like I had much of a choice. You called it a royal summons.’

‘Well, I appreciate it all the same,’ said Rose, trailing her fingers along the ancient stone walls. ‘Do you … sense any magical items down here?’

Rowena barked a laugh. ‘How exactly do you think magic works? That we can just smell it on the wind when it’s close by?’

‘Oh, I don’t know!’ said Rose, with a huff. ‘Wren implied it would be easy.’

‘I imagine the witches took their weapons with them when they left Anadawn,’ said Rowena, peering into a gap between two large stones. ‘It’s a fool’s errand, poking around here in the dark.’

‘Well, we had to at least look,’ said Rose, defensively. ‘There might have been something stashed away down here.’ She stopped at another gap in the stonework, only to quail at the giant river spider peering out of it. ‘And there still might be. We haven’t even reached the end of this tunnel.’

Rowena twirled a finger and gusted the spider back into its hole. ‘So, what’s the plan, then? Find a fancy weapon and run big bad Oonagh through with it?’

‘Yes, I suppose thatisthe general idea,’ said Rose, wrinkling her nose. Then a glint in the wall up ahead caught her eye. She rushed to inspect it. ‘Oh! Now what’s this?’ It was not a weapon, that much was clear. It was a cloudy blue gemstone, wedged in between the stones. Rose crouched to get a better look at it. ‘Do you think I can pull it out?’

‘And do what with it, exactly?’ said Rowena, peering down at it. ‘Put it in a slingshot and knock out one of Oonagh’s eyes?’ She sighed. ‘Why must we fight her anyway?’

‘Excuse me?’ said Rose, standing so quickly she nearly knocked into her.

In the stony silence, Rowena chewed on her lip. ‘I just mean, well, maybe it’s not such a bad thing that she’s back.She’s a witch like us. A queen, like you. Have you or Wren thought about what she could do for this kingdom? No offence but—’

‘I’m already offended,’ Rose interjected.

‘Maybe Oonagh is a better fit for the throne,’ Rowena went on. ‘Maybe she’s the true witch queen we’ve been waiting for.’

‘Rowena,’ said Rose, her voice steady but stern. ‘Oonagh Starcrest tried to murder her own sister. She turned on her people for power and splintered our magic into five weak strands for over a thousand years. We nearly lost this land because of her. She isnotcoming back to save this kingdom. She is coming back to bend it – and us – to her will. She is not to be trusted.’

‘Maybe she’s changed,’ said Rowena, uncertainly. ‘A thousand years or so frozen in an ice tomb can do that to a person …’

Rose shook her head. ‘She will destroy Eana. And its people.’

‘This country has a lot to answer for, Rose. Don’t forget what it did to our ancestors,’ said Rowena, with uncharacteristic seriousness. ‘As long as she protects the witches …’

‘Rowena.’ Rose glared at her. ‘Our ancestors’ anger is not our own. The time of war and bloodshed is behind us. Peace is what matters now. Forgiveness. Harmony. Only then will there be true prosperity in this kingdom. We are a united Eana now, you know that.’

Rowena stirred a gust of wind, making the everlights along the tunnel flicker higher. ‘When Banba used to talk about the witches returning to power, she never mentioned peace. She spoke about the witches taking their rightful place and turning the rivers red with the blood of all those who stood in our way.’The everlights flared, casting away the darkness. ‘We’ve hidden in the shadows long enough.’

Rose shuddered at the sudden chill in the tunnel. She knew Wren loved Banba and mourned her deeply. Rose mourned her, too, in her own way, but sometimes how the Ortha witches spoke about Banba, about her vision and her vengeance, frightened Rose. ‘Anger is a powerful force, Rowena. Sometimes it can be big enough and dark enough to cloud even the brightest horizon.’

Rowena nodded, as though in reluctant agreement.

‘Banba had her own vision for this kingdom, but you can’t carve a future out of vengeance. You can only tear it down and live in its ruins.’ Rose drew a breath, readying another uncomfortable truth that had got lost in the ire of their conversation. ‘My grandmother is no longer with us, Rowena. We don’t know truly what she would have wanted now that we’re here. And that is because Oonagh Starcrest killed her.’ She held Rowena’s gaze, fire meeting fire. ‘I urge you not to lose sight of that. Direct your anger where it belongs.’

Rowena looked away, her brow furrowed. She raked her curls away from her face, reaching for her bravado, but she couldn’t hide the pain in her expression. When she spoke again, it was not of revenge, or even Oonagh.

‘Move aside,’ she said, nudging Rose out of the way. ‘I’ll get you this gemstone you are so concerned with.’ She took a blade from her boot and deftly knocked the gemstone out of the wall. ‘Easy.’

‘Rowena,’ said Rose, urgently. ‘You are loyal to Eana, aren’t you?’

‘I’m loyal to where I came from. The place. The witches.’ Rowena rotated the gemstone in her hands, frowning at it.It was small and cloudy. Worthless. Rose was about to press her for a clearer answer – or at least a more reassuring one – when Rowena turned to face her. Her blue eyes were soft, and for once, Rose didn’t feel threatened or hated by the tempest witch. She felt … strangely understood. ‘When Oonagh Starcrest comes to Anadawn, I’ll slingshot this stupid stone at her myself. With any luck, I’ll take her eye out.’

Rose smiled. ‘I think it might require more than that.’

Rowena smiled back. ‘Let’s see what it takes, then.’

Wren

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