Chapter 27
27
“ W ar?” I asked as disbelief surged through me.
“Yes,” Celeste replied, rising to her feet. “Dark Witches have been growing stronger over the last hundred years, and now that they know you don’t have a way to activate the amulet, they are going to attack.”
“When?” Henry asked, his voice steady despite the gravity of the situation. In one fluid motion, he rose from the table. I scrambled to my feet as well.
“I do not know for certain.” Celeste shook her head. “But you need to leave to prepare.”
“Will the White Witches help us fight?” I asked, hopeful.
Celeste pursed her lips.
“I cannot answer that,” she said in a clipped tone. “I will need to speak with the others.”
I looked down at the Tear in my hand. I didn’t want to part with it, but the White Witches had a better chance at figuring out how to activate it than I did.
“Here. Take it.” I handed the amulet to Celeste. “See if you can find a way to activate it.”
“I will see what I can do,” she said, taking the amulet and hanging it around her neck. My fingers curled into a fist as my hand suddenly felt empty without the Tear. “You can take your horse to travel back,” Celeste said, looking at me.
“My horse?” My brows shot up in surprise. “Annabelle survived the Black Forest?” My gaze darted to Henry, and he nodded, one side of his mouth turning up.
“Yes. She is out back. Follow me.” Celeste grabbed the oil lamp off the kitchen table and walked through the house, illuminating the way as she went.
Henry and I followed her outside, where Annabelle grazed a few feet away from the house.
“Hey, girl,” I said in greeting, rubbing Annabelle’s nose. She nudged my hand, and I brushed the side of her neck with a low chuckle. “It’s good to see you, too.” I couldn’t believe she was alive and unharmed.
“We will have to ride together,” Henry said, snapping my attention to him.
I froze in place as the Lord came up to Annabelle and checked the saddle. My heart skipped over itself with a mix of conflicting emotions.
“Is that going to be a problem?” Henry asked, looking at me. I thought his mouth twitched barely before he schooled his features.
“No,” I assured him, but my gaze dropped to his mouth, and I was momentarily distracted, remembering how his lips had felt on mine.
“Here’s some bread and cheese,” Celeste said as she approached.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts as Henry packed the food in one of the saddlebags.
“If you find a way to activate the Tear,” I said, turning to Celeste.
“I will find a way to let you know,” she assured me, clasping her hands in front of her.
My gaze lingered on the amulet on her chest. My mother’s creation. I’d always felt like I was a part of something bigger, and now I knew what it was. I was part White Witch and wanted to do something with my legacy.
“When this is all over, I want to learn more about the magic in my blood.” I looked at Celeste expectantly.
She nodded. “Survive the war, and I will teach you,” she said calmly, as if surviving the war was not an impossible task.
Perhaps she had more faith in me than I currently did in myself. I wasn’t going to give up prematurely, of course. I would fight against the Dark Witches. I would fight for my life and for the lives of others, but I wasn’t a fool. I knew what we were up against. Celeste did, too. She hadn’t said “win the war” because that wouldn’t be up to me or any other human. Prevailing in the war was the clans’ task. The humans just had to survive.
“Thank you for everything,” I told the witch, and she nodded again. “I hope you join our fight,” I added, looking into her luminous blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dark.
“I cannot make that decision on my own,” she said, her tone final. “Remember, don’t tell anyone that the White Witches still exist,” she added, looking between Henry and me.
“We won’t,” Henry assured her, coming to stand beside me. “Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome. Be safe.” Without another word, Celeste turned and walked back into the house.
“Ready?” Henry asked, and I folded my arms around myself, suddenly feeling nervous.
“Yes,” I said with determination I didn’t feel. We had bigger problems than me and my conflicting emotions when it came to the Lord.
Henry helped me mount the horse and then settled in the saddle behind me. Little space separated our bodies, and I sat up straight, trying to avoid touching him as we left the witch’s cottage and started our track toward New Haven.
“Will we need to find shelter at sunrise?” I asked Henry, trying desperately to ignore his cool presence at my back.
“No. We are actually not that far from New Haven. We should make it back to the estate before dawn.”
A breath of relief left me. I wanted to get back as soon as possible so I could warn my father and the Order about the impending war. Perhaps I could convince my father to go up north, as far away from the border as possible. Anxiety surfaced and swelled. If Celeste was right and the Dark Witches were going to attack, there would be so many casualties. So many people would die all because I’d failed to accomplish the one thing I’d thought I was destined to do. I’d failed to activate the amulet.
“Are you doing okay?” Henry asked, his cool breath dancing over my cheek.
Somehow, when I’d been lost in thought, I’d ended up closer to him, my back nearly pressing into his hard chest and my hips cradled by his thighs. I cleared my throat and sat up straighter, moving away from him.
“I’m okay,” I lied and gritted my teeth. I really didn’t want to lie to Henry anymore or to myself. “I’m not okay. I feel like I failed,” I confessed, my words a soft whisper.
“You didn’t fail,” Henry said, leaning down to speak to me.
“It was supposed to be my blood that activated the amulet, and it didn’t work,” I rasped, my vision blurry with tears.
“You don’t know for sure it was supposed to be your blood,” Henry pointed out.
“It only makes sense that it was. My grandmother had started creating the Tear. My mother finished it. It was my destiny to activate it, and I failed because there is something wrong with me.” I wasn’t sure where the words were coming from, but I couldn’t stop them from spilling into the darkness around us.
“There is nothing wrong with you,” Henry said vehemently, curling his arm around my waist and shifting closer to peer at my face. I refused to meet his gaze, staring straight ahead. His other arm slid down to my hip, and I drew in a shallow breath, feeling his cool touch through my clothes. “We will find another way to activate it,” he said low.
I could feel him staring at me intently. I half-turned my head and glanced at him.
“And what if we don’t?”
“Then I will fight.” He didn’t hesitate. “Like I did in the Red War.”
“I will fight, too,” I said, and Henry’s lips pressed into a firm, unyielding line.
“No, you will not. When we get back, I want you to travel up north, as far away from the border as possible.”
I whipped my head to face him fully then, twisting at the waist. He was closer than I’d expected, and my breath caught before I forced myself to focus.
“What?! You can’t possibly expect me to do that!” I exclaimed, my voice ringing out in the night air.
“You know you can’t fight alongside me,” he tried to reason with me.
His tone wasn’t condescending. He was simply stating a fact, and I hated it. I hated that I was so weak because I was human. It was deeply unfair that the fate of my people was in the hands of supernatural creatures. Our lives were not our own, and it went against my every instinct. I wanted to be in control of my life and my destiny. Suddenly, a solution presented itself, but I squelched it immediately. The thought I’d just had rendered me shocked and speechless as I felt all color drain from my face. Knots of dread formed in my stomach as I faced forward, my breath coming in short, rapid breaths.
“What is it?” Henry asked softly.
I could still feel his gaze on me.
“Do you think we can win?” I whispered, refusing to acknowledge what I was really thinking.
Henry averted his gaze, looking straight ahead. He was silent for several long minutes, which told me everything I needed to know. I appreciated that he didn’t lie to me even though anxiety resurfaced, speeding up my heartbeat. I began trembling as trepidation washed over me. It felt as if when I’d failed to activate the Tear, a countdown had begun. A countdown to our inevitable demise. Henry’s arm around my waist tightened as if he could feel my unease.
“I do not know the answer to that,” he finally said. “The clans will fight like we did in the Red War. I hope we can prevail and save as many lives as we can.”
Prevail and save as many lives as we can… the words stuck with me, sinking into my heart. I should be a part of that battle. I should fight for my future and the future of my people. I knew of a way I could join the fight even if I wasn’t ready to accept it yet.