Epilogue
LUCINA
“And where is Fenton now?” The Dame asks, and I’m snapped back into my body with a jolt. It’s the third time I’ve zoned out in this meeting.
The Captain doesn’t hesitate. “Dead.”
“Dead?” Delia gawks. “But he wasn’t given a fair trial!”
Callan clears his throat, his fingers flexing along the upholstery, but he isn’t the least bit apologetic when he says, “I was more than fair.”
Grey eyes meet mine—cool, calm, and collected. Smug even. He wasn’t angry when he burst into the bunker and saw me covered in blood that wasn’t mine, a shocked expression on my face, I’m sure. Most of what came after was a blur, but Fenton was going to die regardless; I’d just beat him to it.
I had to.
I refused at first to let Callan take the blame, but when it comes to murder, justified or not, it’s more likely that my judgment would be questioned more than the Captain's. He wouldn’t let me risk a punishment, and the last thing I need is unwanted attention from the three women before me.
The air in the room thickens, and we’re all just witnesses to the way the Dame and the Captain glare at each other. “Do you want to tell me why you’ve denied him a fair trial?” she asks finally.
Callan watches her as if he’s amused by the question, then he nods to me. “Because he hurt her, and someone has to pay for that.”
The Dame inhales sharply at that, and I can’t even look at him, though I feel his eyes on me regardless. Stunning eyes—kind eyes. No savage glare to them like I’d witnessed earlier, though I bet if he knew who I really was, he’d—
A heavy sort of guilt settles low in my stomach, but I smother it. I stomp on it like a stubborn flame. I’ll find a way to keep him. I’ll find a way to keep all my friends, too.
When Delia exhales, it looks as if she’s reached a decision of some kind. “Lucina,” she turns to me. “We’re having your initiation next week.”
My spine snaps straight, and across the room, Callan’s does too. “What?” My voice is small and flat.
“Your initiation,” she repeats. “We think it’s time you joined our coven.”
I blink, and every bone in my body locks up. I can’t do that. I really can’t do that. “W-why?” I manage to spit out. “I mean…why now?”
How am I supposed to get to Streatham and save my mother’s people if I’m drowning in pale-yellow robes? I can’t be trapped in that way—locked up in the trunk of some tree forever.
Then there’s the matter of what now runs through my blood…
“You would be safer in a coven,” the Dame tells me, and my attention drags to Callan whose face is damn near unreadable. “Lucina, your mother would have wanted this.”
I cut my eyes to her so quickly, she rears back, and that treacherous pit inside me rumbles. This new magic is yet to be tamed, and it feels wholly out of my control—anger isn’t the headspace I need to be in right now. I can’t afford it.
I learned three things last night in the void between worlds where the Ashvine wreaked havoc on my body, ripping me apart and tearing off old skin before I had the proper time to shed it.
Three things, without a shadow of a doubt: My mother loved her people, my father was a bad man, and Esme Van Reenan was innocent.
The memories he showed me proved it.
When I finally speak, I don’t even think my voice is mine.
“There are a lot of things my mother wanted that she never got. Delia, you know that. I bet there was a time when this coven was all she would have wanted for me. But I think if she could see the three of you now, on your high horses, hiding in this world you’ve created for yourself while your people—her people—are out there suffering,” I shrug. “I think she’d be downright ashamed—"
“Watch your mouth!” Delia hisses.
Laverna blinks rapidly, in disbelief over what I’d just said, and Ceres looks ready to burst.
But the Captain is fighting a smile, barely hiding it with the hand he runs across his jaw.
“My mother wouldn’t want me in this coven, Delia. Not now. Esme spent her entire life worshiping a kingdom that turned its back on her the first chance they had. She wasn’t there to defend herself. But I’m here now,” I tell them. “And I don’t want to be in your coven.”
My gaze cuts straight to the Captain.
“I want to be in his.”