Page 11 of The Fated and the Damned
Her eyes flashed with warning, those wrinkled lips curling with disdain. “You have always been a thorn in my side. Defiant, crass, disrespectful. I knew you were trouble from the moment you came clawing out of that abomination’s womb. We should have let you die.”
My stomach twisted at those hateful words. Caitlin was rotten to her very poisonous core.
“I suppose you blame me for Sylvie’s return.” A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “You know her resurrection was inevitable. Neither the gods nor Fate herself could change that card. Not when they had help from an inside source.”
Caitlin stiffened momentarily before smoothing her skirts down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb, Caitlin,” I snapped. “The only way the cultists could bring Sylvie back is with spells wrought from dark magic—knowledge contained within a certain book kept in your care. Did you think I wouldn’t work it out? The banya and I had quite the enlightening chat before she sank her blade into my chest.”
Her face tightened, the lines around her lips crinkling further as those slate grey eyes narrowed. “How dare you imply that I would consort with those fanatics. A dangerous accusation against your better.”
“My better?” I scoffed. “There is nothing better about you. High Witch or no, the truth will come out, and the witches will have your head.”
Caitlin lifted her chin as she sneered, her gaze raking over my bonds. “Even if what you say is true, you won’t live long enough to tell the coven.”
The demon at her side shifted closer, the utter wrongness of its presence on this plane sending invisible bugs skittering down my arms. Oh, I had no doubts she would make good on her promise. I wriggled my wrists ever so slightly. There would be no escaping the ropes by force alone, but magic on the other hand …
I lifted my chin. “I’m curious, Caitlin. Why did you give the banya the book? Wait, forgive me, I meant to say Baba Yaga.”
Caitlin’s face twisted impossibly further. “Do not say her name in my presence. That woman is a disgrace to witchkind.” She took a calming breath, seeming to contemplate whether to answer for a moment before she sighed. “I knew there was no stopping Sylvie’s return. Long before she was resurrected, I kept a close watch on the cult’s movements. I knew they would come one day. They never stopped searching for one with the Dark Queen’s blood.”
Intrigued, I eyed her cautiously. “If you knew I was Sylvie’s descendant, why not give me to them sooner? Why not make a deal with the cultists?”
She scoffed. “If it were up to me, I’d have bartered your life for our village’s protection long ago, but I couldn’t be sure if Sylvie’s magic ran through your veins. I kept my eyes on you, but during all these years you never let it loose, that dark power. It was only when the Sándor pup arrived and Nora announced your betrothal that I knew. It takes a rare treasure indeed to catch Lord Sándor’s eye. Why else would he match his son to a peasant daughter? To aBárány?”
“My father was one of Lord Sándor’s closest friends, you ignorant twit.” I smiled coyly, unable to help myself. “I suppose it could easily have been my beauty or sharp wit. Or perhaps my exceptional performance in bed?”
She slapped my cheek hard, the skin stinging from the imprint of her withered hand. She was surprisingly strong for her age, but I wouldn’t let her see me wince. “You never knew when to keep your mouth shut. Such a disappointment. Your father would be turning in his grave if he knew what a whore he’d sired.”
“Don’t talk about my father,” I hissed, my blood heating as I stared at her defiantly and lifted my chin. “If he were alive, he’d be by my side, fighting to dethrone you.”
“But he isn’t alive, is he? Your precious daddy isn’t here to fight your battles and you’ll be joining him soon enough as food for the worms beneath my feet. I’ll even sing a song in your honour as we hold vigil. The girl who would defy death for the witches who scorned her, with only her mother and sister to weep when she is gone.”
“You would do all this to secure your position as High Witch? And when I’m gone, then what? Join the cult? Offer them more sacrifices?” I shook my head sadly. “You betray your own kind. Sending witches as sacrificial offerings to keep Sylvie preoccupied will only keep you safe for so long. When the Dark Queen is ready, she will come, and she will slaughter everyone. What will you do when the witches are burning and the village is black with the rot of her curse? What will you do when she comes for your heart?”
Caitlin turned to me slowly, her eyes dead and flat. “There is no price too high to pay for power, child, and I shall have plenty of it before that comes to pass. This coven is lost, but there are many more to rule.”
I raised a brow. “It might have escaped your notice, Caitlin, but you’re well past your prime. No coven will bow to a High Witch as old as you—not when they have their own elders in place.”
She smiled, a cold and cruel thing that didn’t reach her eyes. “For now. But I won’t be challenging them as I am, girl. I’ll have the blood of maidens running through my veins.”
My eyes followed Caitlin’s line of sight as she looked at the other witch like a piece of meat. And I supposed she was, in a way. “Dear gods. You’re going to drain her? Steal her vitality?”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m not a monster, Kitarni. It gives me no pleasure to do this to a fellow witch.”
“No,” I spat. “You’re worse than a monster, hiding behind propriety and excuses. This is sick, Caitlin. You’re deranged and no better than the cultists you despise so much.”
She slid a curved blade from a leather throng at her hip, fingering the arc of its steel as she took one step closer. Then another. “As I said, Kitarni, I’m only doing what I have to.”
I swallowed thickly as she approached, cold murder in her eyes. “Wait,” I snapped. “Just tell me one thing: why not fight for our freedom? Why not take a chance?”
She laughed. “Only gamblers bet on those odds, Kitarni, and I haven’t the resources to play with. I am not a queen, nor am I her fool. I refuse to be played like one.”
Anger roiled inside me, the beast roaring to be freed. “You’re right, Caitlin, you’re nothing but a coward. If you had any honour, you would be standing with the coven, fighting until your last breath for every witch with a drop of magic in her veins. We have the táltosok, we have our power, and when Sylvie’s army comes, we will show no quarter. And you? Your memory will die with you. The world will never know your name.”
“Pretty words, but they fall on deaf ears.Iwill be alive. That’s more than I can say for you.” She advanced until she leaned over me, the shadows flickering over her face making her appear like a demon. But I knew better. Demons were creatures bred for carnage and chaos. Caitlin was so much uglier.
The girl tied to the wall sobbed, fresh tears tracking down her cheeks as she writhed uselessly against her bonds. I looked at her and smiled. “It’ll be okay,” I whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”
