Page 96 of Pirate Witch
I grimace. “I tried, but they don’t understand. I wouldn’t if I hadn’t seen the way you live for myself.”
Acelin paces in front of the gathered witches. “We do not eat, so we need no food. We are never injured, so we need no medicine. Our art, our poetry, is written in the crystals, which support our very existence. There is nothing you can trade to us, which might be of use. All we wish for is peace and isolation.” He glares at each and every one of them.
It’s Elodie who has the guts to keep pushing. “What if we returned all of the crystals to you? Would that mean nothing?”
“It won’t work,” Val interrupts. “When mages use crystals, they ‘purify’ them. They’re valuable because they channel energy so well, but to channel our magic, they’re purged of the original energy within. Nothing is left.”
A glow of purple interrupts the silence, Val’s magic making itself known for a second before a giant crystal appears in the sinkhole. It’s so large that it’s instantly recognisable. He’s teleported the heart of theDeadwoodto us.
“What?” he shrugs. “I had it lying around. I thought they’d appreciate it.” He pauses and drags me against his side for a brief but scorching kiss. “There’s a new heart of theDeadwoodnow.”
Goddess, did he just say something romantic? Is hesick?
Acelin studies him, not giving anything away as he floats over to rest his hand on the crystal. “You are a mage, yet you have not purged them?”
Val shrugs. “I liked the light, okay?”
I suspect it was more than that. Val kept the heart because it was soothing. The gentle rhythmic pulsing it emits kept every inch of his room lit, making sure there was nowhere for any intruders to hide. I wonder how long he had it, and where he even got it from in the first place.
The wraith king nods. “You have our gratitude.”
The second he removes his talons from the crystal, it disappears in a flash of light, reforming into over a dozen wraiths, who steal glances at all of us before diving straight into the air shaft.
Acelin sighs. “But we still cannot help you. Our people are tired of conflict and deeply weakened by fighting so close to the sea. We have done our part to help, and now we would like to mourn our lost family in peace.”
I hold out his crystal, cutting off whatever the other high priestesses have to say with a look. “Do you want to take this back?”
The wraith king nods, and I deposit it into his clawed hand, watching as it is absorbed into his smoky form.
“There will be no more contact between our people,” he announces. “We will never venture above the earth again unless your people resume attacking us. The only thing we ask from you after centuries of maltreatment—unintended or not—is to be leftalone.”
His eyes flash and I’m not the only one who reads the anger there. Val’s arm on my waist tightens in response, and I see the other high priestesses tense subtly.
Danika steps forward, holding her hands out in a pacifying gesture. “We understand. Thank you again for helping us.” The other high priestesses mumble their thanks as well, and Acelin nods, disappearing without replying.
“You spoke out of place,” Elodie scolds, turning to me the second the wraith has disappeared. “And you might have cost us an alliance with the wraiths for your impertinence.”
I open my mouth to apologise, but Elsie surprises us all by cutting me off.
“Impertinence? Out of place? You’re well aware that a Shadow is intended to operate outside of the witch hierarchy,” she scolds. “She can do whatever the fuck she pleases. Even if she couldn’t, you’re a Solar, not a Lunar. If a high priestessdidhave the right to discipline her—which you don't—the task would fall to Danika.”
Everyone stares at her, their mouths dropping open with shock. Elsie, quiet, bubbly Elsie, just spoke to them with the scorn and confidence of a Solar three times her age.
Rachel frowns. “Shadows are under the jurisdiction of their coven—”
“No. The high priestesses made that incorrect assumption after watching Petra—a high priestessandShadow—send her students out against the Eagle,” Reva interjects, looking much less comfortable speaking against the others than Elsie does.
“The Goddesses command the Shadow. Not the covens.” Elsie crosses her arms over her chest. “She’s our equal. She has to stand outside of the hierarchy because when the Moon finally gives the Shadow a new target—once the Eagle is dead—it could easily be a witch. It could even be one of you. The Shadow cannot be punished for fulfilling that contract.”
The awkward silence which falls over the group is telling. Elodie and Sophie look guilty, but Rachel and Danika seem just as shocked as I am. I don’t know the other Mother Lunar, Agatha, very well, but she just seems confused, like she expected me to know this.
It’s clear the older high priestesses have known this for a while, so when was anyone going to mention it to me? It might be in the journals Petra left me, but I’ve not had a chance to read through them yet.
My mind reels as I realise this means they never had the right to exile me from Coveton in the first place. Even if Ihadkilled Glenna and Felicity, technically Rachel and Danika had no right to force me to leave my home.
Not that I care so much about that anymore. In many ways, I’m grateful. Without my banishment, I’d never have found my men, or learned the truth from Petra.
And this whole time, I’ve assumed that I’d get my orders from Danika once the Eagle was dead, but the way Elsie phrases it…
