Chapter 29
Thankfully, Elissa was always dressed heavily in layers.
She’d been able to part with some clothing pieces that could cover Jessamine’s and Elric’s nudity as they wandered through the empty streets of Inverholm.
The tunic Jessamine wore was split all the way to her hips on either side, leaving both of her legs bare as she moved.
But it was better than the underskirt Elric wore around his hips.
He’d been a little disgruntled when it was offered to him, but he’d taken it nonetheless.
Elissa filled them in on as much as she could get out while they walked back to the castle. But emotions got the better of her, and she couldn’t seem to get most of the words out, no matter how many times Jessamine and Elric asked her to repeat herself.
So in fits and spurts, Jessamine learned that it had nearly been three weeks since their disappearance.
Ajax had created quite the following in Orenda, with rumors of fanatics worshipping him through self-harm, and the coven had seen spells growing from across the water.
But it seemed like he had continued ignoring Inverholm.
Perhaps because he thought it truly was a kingdom of the dead, or that the remaining coven wasn’t a threat.
Or maybe he just didn’t know they were still here.
“Do you think he knows we died?” Jessamine asked Elric as they walked up to the castle gates.
“I think it’s entirely possible. The death of a god is something that most others can feel. I knew the moment all the others died.” Elric shrugged. “I have never been alive when a new god was made, though. So it is entirely possible that he knows we’re back as well.”
“I don’t like not knowing if he’s aware of us,” she muttered, wedging herself through the gate and into the courtyard.
“I don’t think it’s likely he’ll try to sense if more energy has been introduced to the realm.” Elric reached for her hand, grabbing onto her fingers and squeezing tightly. “That’s a hurdle we’ll address when we get to it.”
She nodded. Of course they would. They had gotten through so much together. This was just another mountain to climb.
But first, she had to talk with her coven.
She needed to figure out what abilities she now had, and how to use them in a way that wouldn’t get her in trouble.
After all, magic was never easy. Usually it came with some kind of price, but it didn’t seem like that was the same rule for gods.
Or that’s how it currently felt, at least.
Elissa hiccupped, tears still making it hard for her to breathe. “They’re… they’re in here.”
The kitchen, Jessamine realized.
Because of course they were in the kitchen. Why would they be anywhere else? If Sybil had taken over the coven—and she sincerely hoped that her friend had—then they would always be in the kitchen when they were planning things.
As she walked through the door behind Elissa, she was pleased to see that everything there had returned to some semblance of normal.
Herbs hung from the ceiling in neatly bundled packets, each one of them designed to take place in a particular spell.
Everything had been moved and cleaned, centered in a way that made it easier for people to walk around the kitchen without bumping into each other or having to stay in their own places.
And, of course, there was the entire coven seated around the massive island.
Sybil stood at the head, her arms braced on the wood, heavily marked from years of knives cutting into it. Her head was down, her shoulders curved in.
“Clearly we arrived at the correct time,” Jessamine said as she joined the others. “Just how bad is it?”
There was a long moment of silence at the sound of her voice. A few witches even flinched, as though something about Jessamine’s return terrified them.
But her gaze was on Sybil. On her dearest friend, who froze at the words. Sybil slowly looked up, and Jessamine had the distinct pleasure of seeing hope fill her dearest friend’s eyes.
“Jessamine?” she whispered, before her eyes landed on the shadowy figure behind her. “Elric?”
“In the flesh.”
Giant tears formed in Sybil’s eyes, rolling silently down her cheeks as she stared at the two of them. “We watched you both die.”
She hummed in agreement. Jessamine allowed her magic to flood her body. She lifted her arms, allowing the fissures to glow bright golden in the light. “I have been remade.”
Sybil swallowed hard, the sound echoing in the room as though her throat was so dry it clicked when she swallowed. “We cannot be certain this is not a trick. Ajax may have discovered us, and he knows… They all know how much we want them back. I don’t trust whatever mirage is in front of us.”
Agnes immediately nodded. “I agree. No one has returned from death like that. We felt the connection to the Deathless One sever. We all knew he was dead, and having him standing in front of us now is entirely unlikely.”
She should have known they would question it. What they were seeing with their own eyes was never going to be enough proof. Jessamine would love to have claimed she’d taught them well, but these women hadn’t needed training. They were aware, capable, and impressive.
Jessamine planted her hands down on the table and started spewing out information that only she would know.
“Sybil, beside your bed in the old coven house, you kept a small plant alive. It was a nettle plant, you said, because it was the first herb you learned about as a child. The thorns frightened you, but you knew the plant could be used for healing. Agnes, you feared that Hugo would leave you in your old age when he fell in love with that young man from across the street. But he chose you instead of that love, and you’ve felt guilty about it ever since.
Elissa, the love of your life is a parrot.
” Her lips twisted in a soft grin. “We couldn’t change her back, but you still keep her safe in your bedroom. ”
She kept going for nearly every witch in that room. Because she had always listened to every word the coven said; they just hadn’t realized that. Maybe they hadn’t known how much she cared when they talked. Maybe they didn’t understand how much she loved them all.
At the end of revealing all of their secrets, she sighed and said, “I spent my entire life in this castle learning how to be a better version of myself. And now, I realize I had always taken that as proof I wasn’t good enough.
No matter how hard I worked, what I learned, or all the effort I put in, I was never going to be enough.
Until you. Until this coven formed around me and I realized I was perfectly fine just as I was.
I have all of you to thank for that. All of you to thank for the reason I was willing to fight so hard to get back here. ”
There was another long pause before all the women in the room lunged for her.
Suddenly, Jessamine was drowning in hugs, tears, and women who were gripping her.
She could feel her throat closing up with emotion and hope burning in her heart that she had found a group of people who cared if she was here or not.
It made everything so much better. And so much worse.
She had to fight for them. She had known that for a long time, but now? Now she would destroy the world for them.
And then finally, she stood in front of Sybil. Her dearest friend’s cheeks were drenched, unsurprising considering she likely hadn’t stopped crying since Jessamine walked into the room.
They folded into each other’s arms. She wasn’t sure who moved first, but it didn’t matter. She held on to Sybil with a grip that was likely painful.
A choked sob came out of Sybil, pressed right against Jessamine’s throat. “We can’t win without you,” she cried. “I’m so sorry, we tried to do it, but there is no way to stop him without you.”
“I’m here now,” Jessamine whispered into her hair. “We’re going to stop him, Sybil. I’m getting you that small cottage by the sea with a garden. You have my promise on that.”
When they finally pulled apart, she handed Sybil over to Elric.
And just like that, her friend broke down again.
Sybil reached for Elric’s cheeks, holding on to him so she could look him over like a mother who was seeing her son for the first time after years at war.
Then she wept in his arms all over again.
Even if Elric looked decidedly uncomfortable, he held on to her a little tighter than the rest of them.
Finally, her family was back together. An entire coven of capable women, each of them with more talent in their pinky than most people could ever dream of, and she knew this was the moment when they all needed to be brought together.
That was her job. She’d fought her way back to them, and now it was time for her to be a gravesinger one more time.
So she headed to the kitchen island and stood there as the others joined her. One by one, they all made their way to the table as they waited for someone to give them direction.
It was Elric who spoke first, the god they had dedicated their entire life to, and who had gifted them with power. “Tell us what has happened.”
Sybil sighed. “Ajax learned from his failed attempt with you. From what the ravens have told us, he is now seeking willing people for the ceremony. Apparently, because you were so unwilling to host the Huntress, that was why it went awry.”
Jessamine snorted. “Oh, how wonderful. Well, the Huntress is still very much interested in my body.”
The goddess’s screams weren’t ones she was going to forget anytime soon. The Huntress had been enraged, which meant Ajax likely hadn’t tried to bring her a new body. At least, not yet. Jessamine’s was the only host still available to her.
“All right,” Jessamine said quietly, trying to wrap her head around the idea of an entire host of gods and goddesses to deal with.
“So he’s seeking people who will willingly become the Huntress.
Just like Leon did. Is there any suggestion that my ex-fiancé is still in that body, or has he been expelled? ”
A few of the witches looked at each other, and she knew there was more than they wanted to tell her. They hesitated, and that made her want to tear out her hair.
“What is it?” Jessamine asked.
One of the newer witches cleared her throat.
“I think it’s likely he’s still in there.
Ajax has been seen going into brothels recently, and…
taverns. A few people have seen him trying to drink away his sorrows, as they put it, and the ravens have seen the same thing.
I believe the old king of Orenda is regretting his choices. ”
She had a question on her tongue that Elric answered before she could even voice it.
He let out a snort and replied, “That doesn’t matter.
Ajax is merely appeasing him until he takes over the body entirely.
Why he hasn’t done so yet, I do not know.
There were more than enough souls in Inverholm to allow him to take the body over without ever allowing Leon out.
If Leon isn’t careful, he’s never going to see sunlight again. ”
Agnes bared her teeth in a feral grin. “It would serve him right.”
“Yes, it would,” Jessamine replied. “But it also leaves us with a god who has no weak spots. If he’s not using the souls for himself, though, what is he using them for?”
Elric shrugged. “Likely to prepare for more gods and goddesses.”
She let her mind run over the words before Ajax’s plan unfolded. “He’s building a new pantheon.”
“With himself as the God King yet again.” Elric sighed, planting his hand on the table and looking a bit defeated.
“In the old days, Ajax was always the strongest because he made the other gods. Every sacrifice we were gifted went, in part, to him. It was like a tithe we all paid for him making us. Even if all of his worshippers disappeared, he would still be able to steal enough magic from pain to overwhelm all of us. At least, until the gravesingers banded together and killed everyone off.”
“He wanted me to be his consort,” she murmured. “I wonder what changed?”
A knife landed on the table, startling everyone into jumping.
Sybil then quietly placed a green pepper on the island and started chopping it.
“I’m not sure that we’re getting the entire story from anyone.
Ajax has his cards close to his chest. Jessamine and Elric are somehow returned to us, although neither of them can even answer how.
I think the coven is in the dark about many things. ”
Jessamine supposed that was as good an opening to that conversation as she was going to get. “Right, well… The Huntress wanted my body, like I said. And the only way to come back was to…”
How could she say it without sounding like an ass?
Hello, everyone, I’m now a goddess and I expect you to worship me?
There was no good way to tell them what had happened to her, or at least, that was what it felt like. So she looked at Elric and hoped that her wide eyes might give him the hint that she needed help.
Thankfully, he came to her rescue.
“It has been a long time since a dual deity has been brought into this realm,” he murmured, reaching for her hand. “I’m sure you all felt the shift when we returned. There is not one god for witches now. There are two.”
Jessamine blew out a breath that sounded almost like a chuckle. “I suppose that’s one way to tell them. I… I think I might not be a gravesinger anymore.”
“You mean we can sacrifice to you now?” Elissa asked. “As if you’re… a goddess?”
The coven all looked at each other, their expressions shocked and perhaps a little uncomfortable. It had to be strange to look at a friend and realize they were now so much more.
“I suppose you could sacrifice to me. We haven’t had a lot of time back yet. I don’t know how this is going to work.” Jessamine ran a hand through her hair and squeezed Elric’s in the other. “I was hoping you all could help me figure that out.”
More silence. More stunned faces.
But Sybil stared right at her as she cut that pepper without ever looking at it.
“I’ll help,” the dark witch said. “I’ll help and I will make the sacrifices.
Tomorrow, though. For now, the rest of the coven needs to sleep.
And you need to ground yourself in this world once again before I give you any more power. ”