Page 198 of The Witch Queen

“Absolutely not.” I bark a short laugh. “It’s strange, though. Even with everything that’s happened, I find myself forgetting that any time has passed at all. I keep expecting the others to come around the corner. For Eden to challenge me to a race in the forest or for Isolde to invite me out with the Elementals.”

“For Willa to chase us out of the kitchen for filching pie,” Jacquetta adds, a soft smile tugging at her lips.

“Willa’spies,” I groan, my stomach grumbling. “I’d give just about anything for one of those right now. Or her stew.”

We haven’t had anything decent to eat since leaving the palace.

“Speaking of stew,” Jacquetta says, “do you remember the time we seasoned it with contortion potion?”

I grimace. “How could I not? Mother made me drink a dose every day for a week as punishment.”

“That’s right! You were stuck with that badger face.” Jacquetta performs an imitation of what I assume I resembled, and I give her a playful shove.

“You were no help.”

“That’s not true!” she retorts, indignant. “Ingrid made fun of you and I hexed her so that all her hair would fall out.”

“Which Mother also blamed on me,” I remind her. “Just like whenyoumixed fireroot into all the ingredients in the workroom so that everyone’s potions kept exploding. We’re lucky no one was maimed.”

“Oh, I almost forgot about that,” Jacquetta laughs, without the barest hint of remorse. “Spirits, I thought Cassandra would flay us alive.”

“She nearly did. Sometimes, I wonder how we survived those years at all.”

Quiet settles around us, filled with the distant sounds of the night creatures.

“And this?” Jacquetta asks after a moment. “Do you think we’ll survive it? That destroying the Bloodstones is really the answer?”

A heaviness settles in my stomach. Because I’d been wrestling with the same question since our meeting. But I cannot let myself give in to doubt now.

“The stones hold the witches’ power,” I reason, as much to myself as to Jacquetta. “Releasing it is the only thing I can think to do to restore the balance of power. We have to try.”

She pauses. Fusses with her sleeve. “Sindony doesn’t believe it will work. She’s worried that destroying the stones will destroy their power with it.”

“Which, I assume, is what Sindony believes is my real plan?” I ask wryly.

Jacquetta’s silence is confirmation enough. I let out a sigh, unsurprised that Sindony judges me capable of such a scheme. Not so long ago, she might have been right.

“And what do you believe?” I ask Jacquetta.

It takes her a long moment to answer.

“I don’t think you’re plotting against the others,” she says at last.“But they’re right to be concerned. If this plan succeeds, and magic and Malum are brought together, what does that mean for us? Or you?”

You will lose everything,that vicious voice hisses.

“I’m not sure,” I admit. “If magic and Malum are two halves of a whole, then the forces should exist together. Nox and the others will remain free. Maybe I’ll even get my hold on the shadows.”

Jacquetta frowns at that.

“Were you hoping for a different outcome?” I ask.

“No. It’s only…”

“What?”

“Malum destroyed this realm, Ayleth,” Jacquetta continues. “Don’t mistake me—I sympathize with creatures like Nox. And with you. No one deserves to be without their power. But that doesn’t erase the pain Malum inflicted. The memories. If Malum is loose in the realm, does that mean creatures like Shade will also exist? Will we be forced to live our lives fearing that all this will happen again?”

Fearingme,she doesn’t say.