Chapter Twenty-Seven
My shadow mark burned as I brought my gaze to the Priestess. No longer having the pendant's protection worried me.
“Well, Maeve.” She shook her head as I stared at her expression. “I expected there to be more of a fight. It seems all I have to do is wave the family flag in front of you, and you crumble.”
Fury burned through me, but I knew I had to play the game.
And that was exactly what worried me.
I’d never been good at games when the rules were hidden, the board moved, and the opponent had the patience of someone who’d spent far too long convincing herself she was the only one clever enough to see the truth.
Alex had loved rules when they benefited him. The Academy loved them when it wanted to teach a lesson. The Priestess looked like she’d invented rules simply so she could admire herself breaking them.
But Celeste made it out. Keegan had her. My mom was alive and with my dad.
That was all that mattered.
Those thoughts became my anchor, and I clung to them harder than I’d clung to the broomstick on the flight here.
“I wouldn’t call saving my daughter crumbling,” I said, keeping my voice even. “It was the rational thing to do. It was logical.”
“Magic is rarely logical.” Her lips curved.
“Magic or not, prioritizing is a must.”
“Ah.” She drifted around the edge of the pit, her dark gown whispering against the stone.
I watched the shadows below curl toward her when she neared. The shadows were like her pets begging for attention.
“There it is. That charming little mortal tendency to rename weakness so it sounds noble.”
“Love isn’t a weakness.” I stared at her as my fingers twitched for my wand, but I didn’t reach for it. I knew better.
“Of course, it’s a weakness. Foolish decisions are made based upon emotion.”
The compound had quieted around us, which felt almost worse than the battle.
The walls no longer shifted violently. The shadows in the pit had lowered into restless loops.
The blue sconces along the chamber burned steadily, casting cold light over the Priestess’ face and making her look younger for a second.
It was hard to reconcile that I was looking at my grandmother.
But could I really call her that if it was only by blood? Did it actually count?
I thought about Grandma Elira and the warmth in her eyes, even when sorrow bent her shoulders. She smelled like parchment, lavender, and old magic.
But the woman I looked at now felt wrong. She was nothing like Grandma Elira or anyone in my family.
“You’re staring,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Are you plotting a way out?”
“No, I’m trying to see the resemblance between us. How we could be family.”
Her eyes sharpened with amusement. “And what have you come up with?”
“I’m relieved whatever plight you have skipped me.”
For the first time, something like delight moved across her face. “There is more of me in you than you’d like to admit.”
“I know you want to flatter yourself with that, but you’ll only be disappointed.”
“Don’t you feel it? That fury and anger brewing through your system? It offers so many options you’d never dare think of without the darkness.”
“I feel pity for you,” I said softly. “But not anger.”
I wouldn’t let her take hold of any of my emotions and let her tangle them in her web of lies.
She ignored me and stepped forward. “Would you like a tour of your new home?”
“No. It’s not my new home.”
“Oh, Maeve. It very much is. Please don’t tell me you thought you’d be leaving here. I assumed all of that was just talk to soothe your na?ve child.”
“She’s not na?ve.”
“Well, come on.” She motioned with a curl of her fingers. “You’re getting one anyway.”
The stone behind her folded inward, and a long corridor was revealed. It was lit with the same blue flame, but I didn’t move.
The shadow mark pulsed again, but the sensation had changed. Before, it had seared or chilled or itched beneath my skin until I wanted to claw it out. Now it felt like something listening.
Her gaze flicked to my shoulder, where the mark lay flat. “Interesting.”
“What?” I asked, shaking my head. “There’s nothing interesting about much here.
“One must always stay alert in Shadowick. It’s the key to survival.”
“I’ll make a mental note.” I stared at her.
“I see that the mark is settling.”
I tried to keep my face blank, but my pulse gave me away. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
“It has stopped fighting you.”
My stomach clenched.
“It’s merely a scar,” I said, shrugging. “I have several.”
“But this one speaks to you, does it not?”
I refused to answer, and she continued.
“It’s a door, Maeve.” Her smile widened. “It will lead you to places you can’t even imagine. You can thank me when you’re ready to admit that you belong here.”
I glanced toward the passage where Keegan had disappeared with Celeste. The wall had sealed over completely, and I couldn’t hear them anymore. Worse yet, I couldn’t feel them.
All this magic, all these impossible things I’d learned to do, and I couldn’t even reach across a few walls to know if my daughter was safe without privacy and a moment to let myself fall into hedge magic.
The Priestess followed my gaze. “They will leave unharmed. I gave my word.”
I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Your word doesn’t exactly warm my heart. You haven’t given me many reasons to believe you or trust you.”
“It should. Words have power here.” She clasped her hands together. “Let this be the fresh start you’re looking for. I’ll be open and honest with you. I'll answer the questions you have. There’ll be no more hiding. After all, it’s only fair if you’re going to be my next in line.”
“But there are always loopholes in Shadowick.”
That earned me another small smile. “You’re learning, but it’s not just Shadowick. It’s magic in general. I’m surprised no one has taught you that.”
I hated that she sounded pleased, as if she could bestow some worldly wisdom on me.
But I took a step forward, not because I wanted to, but because I was trapped here for now. I needed to learn.
That was the game.
And if the Priestess thought I would spend my time crying into my sleeves and wishing Keegan could kick down doors until he found me, she clearly hadn’t been paying attention.
Although, for the record, I wouldn’t object to Keegan kicking down doors.
The Priestess began walking, and I followed at a careful distance.
The corridor curved away from the pit, and the air warmed slightly with every step.
The stone walls were smooth here, polished black, with silver veins running through them in patterns that uncomfortably reminded me of roots.
Portraits lined the walls, but the faces inside them did not move.
They watched, their eyes painted too carefully, their hands folded too neatly.
“Do they speak?” I asked. “The people inside the paintings?”
“They used to, but I grew tired of their constant chirping and bickering.”
I looked up to see her walking without even a pause. “You silenced portraits because they annoyed you?”
“I silence anything that annoys me.”
The corridor opened into a circular gallery with arched windows overlooking the compound grounds. Beyond the glass, the courtyards stretched under the heavy sky. But only quiet sounds were left from the battle. Broken weapons and scattered stones stretched along the land.
Farther out, near the gate, I saw movement, and my breath caught as I focused my eyes.
And that was when I saw them.
A line of figures leaving.
Witches.
Orcs.
Shifters.
Goblins darting between them.
And there, small in the distance, a flash of copper hair that had to be Bella, and a broad-shouldered figure beside her helping someone forward.
My mom.
I moved toward the window before I thought better of it.
The Priestess let me, and that worried me too.
“I’m a woman of my word,” she said quietly as if that alone should make me bow down to her.
I pressed my palms to the cold glass, desperate to see Celeste, and that was when I spotted Keegan.
He was walking backward, scanning the compound, and then I found her.
She was between Keegan and Gideon. They were both protecting her.
I closed my eyes for a second and tried very hard not to cry.
The Priestess stood behind me, silent.
I hated that she gave me the moment because it made her feel human, but I knew better. I’d heard the stories of families long tossed aside.
And I couldn’t afford that. Right now, for some reason, there was something she wanted. The stone perhaps?
“See?” she repeated. “I kept my promise.”
“For now.”
“For now is all anyone ever has.”
My eyes opened.
Keegan paused near the outer gate and looked back toward the compound. Even from here, even through the glass and distance and darkness, I knew he was looking for me.
My hand curled against the window.
I wanted to call out.
I wanted to tell him I was okay, which would be another lie to add to the pile, but sometimes lies kept people moving.
He didn’t move for several seconds, but Gideon appeared beside him, speaking quickly, and whatever he said finally made Keegan turn. The group moved through the outer gate, slipping into the darkness beyond the compound where the others waited.
My chest ached as they disappeared.
I would be with them again, I said silently.
The shadow mark pulsed in answer, and this time the sensation wasn’t pain exactly. It felt like a tug.
I stepped back from the window, and the Priestess watched me with a calmness that made me want to throw something priceless at her head.
“You love them fiercely,” she said flatly.
“Yes.”
“That makes you easy to steer.” The Priestess paced a few feet and looked at me. “That makes you a target.”
I shook my head, not bothering to answer.
Her smile returned as she crossed the gallery, and the floor changed beneath her steps. The black stone softened to a deep gray, and the silver veins brightened until they looked almost pretty.
The room beyond the gallery unfolded as she approached.