Page 16 of A Tale of Treachery

“Dahlia!” She jumped up from her seat and ran toward me, her dark curls bouncing with each step. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon, and in my camp, of all places.”

I typically avoided the camp since the witches claimed my presence made them uncomfortable. I’d tried my hardest to gain their trust, but they still didn’t like me. They weren’t quick to accept outsiders and couldn’t be blamed for being cautious.

I felt uneasy with the eyes of her coven boring into me and lowered my voice when speaking. “Unfortunately, I’m not here for pleasure.”

“Oh, then what could you be here for?”

I twisted my fingers and tried to figure out how to subtly inform her of what was about to transpire but ended up blurting it out. “The prince is on his way here to do a collection. The king somehow discovered your camp.”

“Well, that can’t possibly be true. Glendora would have seen this coming.” Eulalia wrinkled her brow.

The name made me grimace.

Glendora, seer of witches, was a right old witch who loved nothing more than ruining my day. The woman loathed me with all her soul. She always knew more than she let on, holding the truths she saw close to her chest. She used secrets as bargaining chips—her own form of currency. It was unclear why Glendora wouldn’t warn her coven, but she made a living out of trading secrets, so it was safe to say she had a reason. And it wouldn’t be good.

“Who knows what that old hag is thinking?” I responded.

The women around us slowly gathered, mumbling under their breath. They didn’t believe a word I said and despised how I spoke of their beloved seer.

I cringed and muttered an apology to the witches, regretting referring to her as a hag.

Eulalia groaned, her breaths coming out quickly as she pressed her fingers to her temple and paced. She was trying to maintain composure for the others, but the beginnings of panic simmered beneath the surface. “No. It can’t be. Glendora would have warned us. You must be mistaken. They must be after another coven.”

I could tell that she didn’t want to believe they were in danger. If they were, Glendora would have foreseen it or warned them. The seer served as protection against the outside world and was the only reason they’d been able to avoid capture for as long as they had.

“Glendora would have warned us! She’s lying,” one of the witches piped up.

Eulalia narrowed her eyes at the witch. “She is not a liar. She’s my friend, and I vouch for her.”

The witches went quiet as Eulalia paced, but we didn’t have time for panic, so I grabbed her by the elbow. “Listen, I have inside information, and heard it from the prince himself. They are coming, and you don’t have much time to pack and run.”

Eulalia took a deep breath and straightened her spine. “Then let’s pay Glendora a visit.”

I didn’t go after her when she turned to lead the way because the idea of seeing the old crone was nauseating. But Eulalia snapped her fingers, and I groaned and followed, ignoring the glares that burned into the back of my head. Being surrounded by witches who didn’t trust me was one thing, but a visit with Glendora was a whole new level of otherworldly hell.

I trailed behind Eulalia, silently praying that she wouldn’t make me speak with the seer, but she stopped outside of Glendora’s tent and shot me a warning look. “Please do not fight with her. She’s been irritable all night.”

“I wonder why?” I scoffed.

Eulalia lifted the tent flap, and I stepped in behind her, inhaling the overwhelming scent of burning incense. The tent was lit with candles that flickered light across the walls made of expensive fabrics. Endless piles of pillows comprised of luxurious material surrounded a low glass table covered in costly crystals and jewels. Glendora, a wiry, aging woman, sat behind the table with her legs crossed. Her eyes were open, and the irises were hazed white, like she was lost in the void of the unknown.

She was having a vision.

I snorted. “Is she dead?”

Eulalia smacked my arm. “Really?”

“A girl can dream,” I teased.

The conversation paused as we both stared at the seer in anticipation.

“She’s having a vision.” Eulalia walked over to sit atop a cushion at the opposite end of the table and waited patiently for the seer to join us.

I followed and sat on the cushion next to my friend, my body tense at the uncomfortable air that filled the tent, tinted with a blend of toxic colors.

Glendora snapped back into her body a few moments later, a wicked sneer stretched across her ghastly face. “It’s about time you got here!”

Her eyes zeroed in on me.

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