Page 65 of Of Witches and Queens

I’m watching and listening to this exchange as if from a faraway distance, my head resting on the ground. A lot of the burning pain has ebbed out of my skull, but not completely, and my mind feels strangely empty and disconnected, as if it doesn’t belong to me at all.

“You don’t get to talk about this like it’s nothing important, nothing bad,” Mia says. There’s another girl with her, I realize—well, running toward us, anyway, shouting “Mia!” so she must be with Mia.

“That’s because it’s not,” Ophelia says. “Important or bad.”

“They’re still recovering from wounds,” Mia snaps. “Pretty sure you’re not supposed to shift when your body’s not up to it.”

“They’re magical creatures. These beasts are their second nature. Pretty sure they can handle it.”

Mia throws her hands up in the air. “They’ve never shifted before!”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything. Circumstances won’t always be ideal.”

Mia’s voice is rising again. “How dare you talk about this so lightly? You had no right! How are they going to shift back?”

“I thought you read all about it? Shouldn’t you know?” Ophelia sighs as she turns toward the girl who’s reached us. “Oh, look what the cat dragged in. Hi, Vanessa.”

“Stop pulling on their magic,” Vanessa says, panting. “They need to calm down, recover their elemental power to shift back.”

Ophelia snorts. “Oops, sorry, Van, we’re busy right now. Maybe after the ritual is done. You know, the one you interrupted? So shoo. Take your pet witch with you. I can’t talk around traitors. It gives me hives.”

“Says the traitor herself,” Vanessa mutters.

“Such big words. You’re the one who betrayed me.” She gives her a brief glare, then turns to Mia. “And you trust her? She’ll turn on you just as easily.”

“What is this ritual?” Mia says.

“The Ritual of the Storm,” Vanessa says. “It pulls magic out of the conduits in massive amounts. It could have killed them.”

“And you say that the Golden Moon ritual is even more dangerous?”

“That ritual would have killed them by now for sure.”

“The boys can take it,” Ophelia says, waving a hand. “And side effects are unavoidable. God, will you two go away already?”

“You hadn’t planned on performing the Ritual of the Storm today,” Vanessa says. “Something happened and you had to rush. What was it?”

Ophelia huffs. “You won’t let this go, will you? Like a dog with a bone, always. If I tell you, will you promise to go away?”

“No promises,” Mia says.

“They’re fighting the enchantment too hard!” Ophelia says. “It hurts them in return, pulls on their magic, on their memories. Soon they won’t remember who I am. Who they are. Because they won’t frigging stop fighting me! And that’s your fault, Maddie.”

“Mine?” Mia stares at her. “Seriously? Release them. You can’t even control your own enchantment. You say you’re the Queen Witch, but you seem as lost as I am.”

“Magic, dear, is unpredictable. Losing control of magic and shifting is often inevitable. Why do you think I won’t sleep with them? They can suddenly shift. That would be… unfortunate while having sex.”

“Let them go,” Mia grinds out.

“Or what? How many favors do you really want to owe me, Maddie?”

“This isn’t about you. This is about them. You need them, don’t you? But you don’t know how to turn them back to their human form that you can control. You can’t control their beastly form.”

Ophelia snorts. “And you know how?”

“Let me try to bring them back.”

“Didn’t I tell you to go away? Vanessa, take her and go.”

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