Page 59 of The Crow Games

“I didn’t bring harm to our coven,” Emma shouted.

“That’s not what I asked,” Ruchel fired back, hands balled into fists. “You can tell me to my face you didn’t bring harm if you believed what you were doing was right. Answer me directly or get the fuck out of my sight! Did you tamper with the wax you put in Maven’s ears or not?”

“She’s fine now!” Emma said. She knotted her witch’s hat angrily, twisting it between her hands. “Let it go!”

“Ruchel—” I started.

“Not now, duck,” Nola said from the bar. “She’s on a tear. It’s her duty as high witch, so let her handle it.”

It may have been her duty, but I didn’t want my coven to fall apart any more than Asher did. We needed them. Secrets had caused this mess, but how did I undo all that now? Wouldn’t confirming I was lying all along just make everything so much worse?

I set down my plate on the bar, and Nola helped herself to it, tossing a burgundy grape into her mouth and chewing it loudly. She settled in on her stool to enjoy the show.

“Wait, Emma,” I begged. “I have a question.”

“Now’s not the best time,” she said through gritted teeth.

Liesel curled up in her cushioned chair, watching the exchange with big eyes, her knees hugged to her chest. Blue sat beside her, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It’s relevant,” I said. “If I scratch at the wax when it’s in my ears, could that let the shade in?”

I could feel Ruchel’s ochre gaze searching my face. The hair on the back of my neck rose under the intensity of her scrutiny, and I lowered my lashes. My words were deceptive, but by phrasing it as a question, it wasn’t directly a lie. Or so I hoped. I was weary of all the lies.

Emma turned to me, scowling. And then her brow softened, realization dawning. “Yes,” she said gently, accepting the lifeline I’d just tossed to her. “Scratching at it could let them in.”

“Well, damnit, ducky,” Nola said, mouth full of fruit, her tongue turned burgundy from the grapes. “She told us not to fuss with it once it was in there. Why’d you go and do that?”

I shrugged my shoulders, then took back my plate before she could eat all of it. “I’ll be fine next time. Won’t I, Emma?” I aimed the question like a dart right at the green witch.

Nola snatched more of my grapes with her long arm.

Emma’s lips pursed. “Yes. You’ll be fine next time.”

Ruchel’s hands loosened from their fists. The tension in the car dropped, and the conversation switched to trial three strategy. Later, I went after another plate of breakfast—Nola had eaten most of my last one—and Ruchel followed me.

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” she asked once we were alone, leaning her hip against the table by the entrance to the car.

I finished swallowing a slice of iced pear. “Of course I don’t think that.”

“Why’d you let Emma off the hook?” She folded her arms over her chest.

I took a seat in the nearby chair. The food was helping, but I wasn’t at full strength yet. My joints ached and my legs felt soupy. “She’s suspicious because she thinks I’m lying to everyone . . . but Iamlying to everyone. How do we punish her for being right? Emma just wants her sister safe. She’ll come around.”

Ruchel sighed at the ceiling. “Fine, but if you end up needing a wheelbarrow today, I’m making her build it and do all the pushing.”

I didn’t argue.

The bell chimed three times, and the Schatten let us off at the ebonized platform. The city streets stretched behind Wulfram, as pristine as it had been my first day here. The damaged buildings had been repaired, the stores restocked, broken windows replaced. An arena reset.

I could hear the rumble of nearby beasts, the growl and the thunder of their heavy feet on the pavers. My stomach plummeted. I readied my revolver.

The clock struck the first hour, and the gates parted. Prisoners rushed the entrance. I was in no fit state for moving quickly, so Nola and Ruchel kept me between them. We marched for the tower at a steady pace.

Eyes wide and head swiveling, I watched for the first onslaught of beasts, but a gathering of shadows appeared on a nearby roof. A foggy mist formed, so dark and dreadful, a patch of cosmic darkness as big as a house and as threatening as a hurricane. It cast a shade across the streets, blanketing us all. The prisoners raced ahead, pushing between us. Under the cover of that death aura, not a single garm left their hiding place.

I let out a breath, the relief so great it raised my spirits. Ruchel guided us down cobblestone side paths that were less populated. I made it a solid hour before I was winded and needed a rest. My pace slowed further after that, but Nola reassured me we were still on track.

We made it to a water garden that had gone nearly dry, and we refilled our supplies with what remained. When Ruchel suggested a wheelbarrow be fashioned, Emma was willing, but I felt confident I had more steps in me. I wanted to get as far as I could before I put my coven out.

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