Page 64 of Curse of Immortality
“Maybe that’s what happens when you sell your soul to a snake.”
Maeve arched an eyebrow. “Believe me, I still have my soul. And Zosia may have shunned me, but I can still control the elements and create better potions than you ever could.” Her words were sharp and her tone cold as she spoke. “Zosia is the one who wanted me to sell my soul; the things she asked of me were purely selfish and she never cared what happened to me, you, or Rose. Charles on the other hand has helped me make a name for myself and attain the life I’ve always dreamed of.”
Althea pitied her sister, who claimed to have the world at her feet but suddenly looked so small in this grand tearoom.
With her gaze on the bird, Althea pondered. “With you being shunned, you can’t enter Orenda, even if you wanted to.”
“Then it’s a good thing that I don’t want to. I guess this means I’m not an Earthen anymore.”
Althea’s head was spinning with questions. “Did Zosia cut your connection to nature because you became a Fader?”
The question made Maeve scoff. “I’m not a Fader, Althea. Maybe you should ask Zosia why she cut me off since you two are so close.”
“What even are you, Maeve? You’re not a human, Fader, or Earthen.”
Narrowing her eyes, Maeve declared, “Maybe I’m exactly what the humans so desperately want me and all other women to be. Maybe I’m a witch.”
“You’re not a witch, Maeve. Stop saying that.”
A knock sounded at the door, but the person behind it didn’t wait for an invitation before the door opened and the most intimidating man Althea had ever seen entered the room. At first glance, he looked like any other rich businessman of the sixteenth century, but his eyes carried an authority that no human could gain within a lifetime. When his gaze lingered on her, Althea felt as though he saw right through her. The first time she had met a Fader, she had been taken aback by how slow his energetic vibration had been. She had often thought of Damon, whom she had misread as a jovial, nice man. It was a good thing that Annabel had recognized him and his friend as Faders and taught Althea everything she knew. Althea understood that the slower their vibration, the older a Fader was. In her mind Althea compared it to how a tree grows wider in its trunk. Charles, however, had slow energy unlike anything she’d ever felt before. With humans their pulsation was quicker than heartbeats, but with this man, several moments passed between his energy waves.
“Hello,” he said in a curious tone as he assessed the woman by the window who was sending judgmental glances his way.
“Althea was just leaving,” Maeve said dismissively as she shot Charles a warning look.
With large eyes, Althea was ready to react to any sudden movements from the Cobra as she headed towards the door.
“Goodbye,” she said, and for a moment the sisters locked eyes before Althea left and hurried out of the building with a beating heart.
Still sitting at her desk, Maeve looked at Charles with a deep exhale. Seeing her sister again brought up feelings and memories that she’d become good at suppressing. She couldn’t be more grateful that Charles was there to help distract her from the skeletons peeking out of her closet. But suddenly Charles seemed full of questions, which only annoyed Maeve further.
“Your sister?” he asked and looked toward the door that still stood ajar.
Maeve nodded and tried to change the subject. “What are you doing here?”
He ignored her question. “What did she want?”
“None of your concern,” she said and sent him a cocky smile.
“I’m not so sure.”
“She’s made a village with Zosia that only Earthens can enter. She wanted me to join; obviously, I said no.”
“Where is this village?”
“It’s only accessible through a portal.”
Though Charles remained quiet, hundreds of thoughts spiraled behind his intelligent eyes. Though most of the public had no idea that Charles ruled the world they lived in, he had everyone, and everything wrapped in his web. The knowledge that there was an edge of the world left to conquer intrigued and excited him. Being a man of intricate plots, challenges aroused him.
“Tell her that you want to make amends and go on the quest with her, Maeve. Finding the object will be impossible, but it will give you a chance to learn everything you can about this village and how to reach it.”
“No,” Maeve replied dryly.
Charles took slow steps toward the desk where she sat and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not asking, Maeve.”
Maeve leaned back in her chair unbothered and raised her eyebrows. “Good. Because I don’t take orders from anyone.”
Maeve’s disobedience annoyed Charles, but it was also one of the things that made him like her. She wasn’t afraid of him like everyone else and though he would never think of her as an equal he liked the challenges she offered.
