Page 136 of Pirate Witch
“So it’s death or madness all over again?” Val slumps onto the edge of the bed. “Goddess, we can’t make that choice for her.”
“She already said what she’d choose,” Cas replies, though he doesn’t look happy about it. “Remember when she was in the galley after she got the stupid sigils? She said she’d rather die than go mad.”
“She was angry then,” I mumble. “Can we really go on words said in the heat of the moment?”
Klaus shakes his head. “People tend to spill the truth when they’re angry, not lies.” He strokes imaginary hair out of our mate’s face. “I say we go for it. It’s what she wanted, and if she dies… I’m following her.”
“I agree,” Nos says. “In my vision, she had both sigils and lived, but she didn’t seem insane. I don’t trust Fate as far as I can throw her, but this… I have to trust this.”
Because the alternative isn’t something any of us want to consider.
“A vote,” Val mutters. “Those in favour of the witches’ plan?”
Nos raises his hand, as do Klaus and Cas. Kier is slower, and Val slower still. Even Opal, who’s been silently sitting on the top of the dresser up until now, raises a paw. Soon it’s only me left.
I glance down at her sleeping face.
In this life or the next, I’ll follow her. My hand extends into the air.
Reva and Elsie exchange a grim look. “We can’t act until the full moon,” Reva continues. “And we’ll need to get her to the Lunar temple here in Cawshome, which is a problem because it’s been…”
“Almost completely destroyed,” Elsie finishes with a grimace. “Catherine and her thugs played up the anti-witch sentiment until the general public vandalised the temples and pulled down the statues. All we need is the Sacred Pool, but that’s—”
“I’m a fucking powerful mage,” Val cuts her off. “I’ll clean your stupid pool.”
“If we start repairing temples, Amelia will think we’re accepting her offer,” Reva mutters to Elsie.
The Solar shrugs. “Are you going to spew the same ‘we’re not ready’ bullshit that Sophie did? Because I bet she wasn’t ready when she ascended too. We can save our friend, and all we have to do is accept the destiny we’ve been given.”
Reva grimaces. “I’m just saying, we need to be prepared for when she—”
“We were born to become High Priestesses,” Elsie retorts. “This is just moving up the timeline slightly.”
The older witch shakes her head. “I wasn’t saying I objected! Of course we’re going to do it. I’m just saying, we need to be prepared for the future. The High Priestesses of Cawshome are traditionally the most powerful and respected in the world. People are going to talk when two juvenile witches step into the role. They’ll gossip about every past mistake we’ve made. I just want to make sure you’re prepared for that.”
I know without asking that she’s referring to the fall of Sanctum, and so does the Solar.
Elsie’s expression darkens. “This war has taught me life is too short to spend it worrying about what other people talk about.” She stands and heads for the door, turning to look at Val. “Come on, we have a temple to fix.”
ChapterForty-Five
KIERAN
Cleaning the Lunar temple takes work. Originally, the plan is to just clean and repair the sacred pool, but soon the people of Cawshome notice what we’re doing and start to muck in. Unlike the low, flat, circular building in Coveton, the Cawshome temple is a square, towering structure with a huge, glass roof. It reflects the architecture of the rest of the city, with its golden sandstone bricks and clean geometric lines.
The state it’s in would make our mate weep. She thought Ilyani was bad. This is worse. The black marble, which once covered the interior like a dark mirror, is cracked so badly that it takes a considerable chunk of Valorean’s power to repair it, one tile at a time. The structure is no longer sound after decades of neglect, and we’re forced to rip out the old beams and source new ones.
Critically aware of the time constraints, we ignore everything except the sanctuary. The toppled statue of the Goddess has been defaced to the point where it’s almost unrecognisable. That has to be removed, restored, and then replaced. The pool, which is full to the brim with a black sludge and smells of piss, is drained, re-tiled, and then blessed and consecrated to within an inch of its life before being refilled with water.
It’s an enormous amount of work, made worse by the way Nilsa is literally fading before our eyes. The brighter the sigils on her back grow, the slower her heart beats. The silent magical battle happening in her body is sapping her of strength, and even daily doses of Rysen’s blood aren’t doing anything.
I feel more responsible for her current state than the rest. How much of the Solar power she used was for my benefit? I’ll never forgive myself for bringing this upon her—even if it was unintentional.
By the time the full moon is upon us, Nilsa is so pale that when Niklaus carries her into the sanctuary, her skin is practically luminous against the dark marble. She shines like a fragile star in the night, and my gut clenches at the thought of her light going out.
Opal twines around Niklaus’s legs as they walk, but by some miracle the siren never loses his footing. Elsie has been hovering over Nilsa the entire way from theDeadwoodto the temple, but steps away as soon as they enter the Sanctuary. The teenage Mother Solar clings to the edge of the room, keenly aware that she’s not meant to be here, but just as unable to leave as we are. Instead, she attempts to fade into the background, but is unsuccessful. Her golden hair and robes glow like a beacon in the dark room. She’s started wearing the clothes of her station more regularly since she and Reva accepted the positions of high priestesses of Cawshome.
I’m grateful that our mate has made such loyal and powerful friends, but I doubt Nilsa could’ve predicted what the two young witches would become when they first met.
