Chapter 16 #2
Jessamine had never seen so many spells flying through the air.
She could feel the crackling energy every morning when she woke up, and it danced upon her skin every night when she fell asleep wherever she could.
They all saved so many people, and still, somehow, it felt like they had done nothing at all.
Perhaps that was just exhaustion speaking, though. Two weeks of manual labor, casting spells, and encouraging shadows to do her bidding had been tiring.
But the stasis spell held. Even after all the movement.
The coven gathered in the courtyard of the castle.
Successful after all these many weeks. Even Elric had joined them, although he was still a little grumpy that not only had her plan worked, but they had actually managed to contain everyone.
Yes, his sleeping spell degraded by the time they were done, but now it was safe to wander around the kingdom and no one had to die.
The front garden of the courtyard was overgrown now. Usually, there was a gardener to take care of the manicured front area that was behind the castle’s gates, but Leon had left no one here at all. Inverholm had become a kingdom ruled by a king across the sea.
Anger still burned in her chest because of that. Her home deserved better than what it had been given, but she was back. Finally. And she would make sure the castle was given the care that it was owed.
The doors to the servant’s quarters burst open, banging loudly as a group of four witches came out with their arms laden with wine. Jessamine paused where she was, blinking in shock at all the bottles those women somehow held.
Laughter bubbled up in the air as one of the witches shouted, “Look at what we found!”
Sybil shook her head where she was seated on a bench beside Jessamine. “This is more like the coven I remember already. Good wine, a feast at the end of a long day of spells, and laughter that never ended.”
“I could get used to this, then.” Jessamine glanced over at Agnes, who had taken up an entire bench, dramatically lying down across the entire thing. “Agnes, darling, do you think you could pull all the benches into a circle for us?”
“I only just lay down, Jessamine.”
“And yet…” She sang the last word, hoping that the other witch would get what she was trying to encourage.
Agnes did. She sat up, groaning and frustrated, but still hauled the benches to the right area.
Unfortunately, they had found Hugo in the Pleasure District, along with Alexander.
Both of the young men had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They were just as infected as the rest of the people in this kingdom, and thus, remained in the old coven house in the Pleasure District. Locked up with all the other spirits.
The rest of the coven had succumbed to the same fate. Jessamine wouldn’t forget the sound of their nails scratching on the door as the witches left them all in that home that was supposed to keep them all safe.
Sybil’s hand came down on her back, rubbing up and down for a moment before they joined the others.
“Elric!” Sybil called out, her voice almost too gleeful. “Will you do the honors?”
“The honors?” Jessamine asked as she sat down in the ring with the other witches. She was passed an entire bottle of wine, already uncorked.
Elric slumped down beside her on the bench, one of his arms stretched out behind her. “Witches always like bonfires. Ironically. But after everything we have done, all the spells, all the magic, there is a sense of comfort in a fire that people love.”
At his words, a few witches came over with logs levitating between them.
They piled them high, one by one, and then Elric lifted his hand.
She could see him pull the magic out of an elemental witch.
It ripped out of her chest, the woman giving a little gasp as it did so, and then the white-hot spark landed on the logs.
It was still strange to see him yank magic out of someone like that. He did it so nonchalantly, like it wasn’t a big deal that he had just torn a woman’s magic out of her chest. But it was magic that he had given her, so was it really all that bad?
Jessamine gulped down a mouthful of wine and told her mind to quiet. She was still new to all this, still learning what it meant to be a witch, and they knew better than her. The other woman didn’t complain about it, anyway.
Laughter bubbled up again, all of them basking in the light of a bonfire that grew so tall it seemed like it could touch the sky.
The sparks that flew off it joined the stars above them.
Good wine, good friends. It took very little time for Jessamine to be halfway drunk, and the bottle in her hand was going down far easier than it should have.
Sipping again, she handed it over to Elric. “Your turn.”
“I do not drink with the coven,” he replied gently, but took it from her all the same. “I will keep it safe for you, nightmare.”
“You don’t drink with the coven?”
Sybil called out from her other side, “He never has. Says someone has to be sober to make smart decisions.”
“That is smart,” Jessamine repeated, but then she said the word over again. “Smart. Smart. Am I saying that right?”
Another witch called out from the opposite side of the fire, “You’re saying it like a noblewoman! You need to not have the R so hard. Something about that always makes it sound wrong.”
“Is that my problem?” Jessamine frowned. “Do I always sound like a noblewoman?”
There was a small pause, and then every one of the fifteen witches around her called out, “Yes!”
They all fell into giggles, and Jessamine supposed it wasn’t a terrible thing to be laughed at. After all, she was a noblewoman. It was to be expected that she’d sound like one. She just… hadn’t thought about it before, really. Apparently, her own voice gave her away.
Shaking her head and laughing with them, she leaned against Elric’s arm. Soon enough, he wrapped that warm arm around her and drew her tightly against his side.
Tilting her head up, she looked at him as he stared into the fire. “Is this what it’s like to have a coven?” she whispered. “All the time?”
“Normally they aren’t so drunk, but yes. Most of the time.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“For what?” He looked at her, a small furrow between his brows.
“For ruining your complicated spell?”
“Jessamine, I am not mad at you for doing what you thought was important for your kingdom. It’s an admirable quality that you have and one I have always valued.
” He tucked his finger beneath her chin, drawing her close for a kiss that made her entire world glow.
“I am angry at myself for not knowing that you would want to keep all of them safe. That is all.”
“Oh. Good. I don’t like it when you’re angry at me.” And as the world spun, she stared up at him. Her rock. The god who had kept her together.
They’d done the right thing today. Tomorrow, she would ensure they did so again.