“You’ll see them when we check Ignis,” Crowe’s voice drifts from the doorway suddenly.
I glance up to see him step into the room, hair and clothes disheveled from sleep.
“Good morning,” Papra calls to him, standing up to grab a plate for Crowe.
He nods gratefully as he sits beside me. He taps his fingers on the table before he uses his other hand to slick his red hair back.
“You’re up early,” he notes.
“I’m ready to get today started,” I reply, picking up my fork to pop another bite of food into my mouth. I don’t mention the fact that I’m also ready for it to be over. The thought of meeting hostile Aens for a portion of the day gives me an unsettling feeling that radiates in my bones. As if that’s not bad enough, the evening will also see us through another lengthy journey to the next Coven. My leg already aches with the anticipated—and dreaded—exercise.
Papra passes him his breakfast and he begins to eat his foot in rapid bites, and I wonder if he can even taste it. He pauses once as the food singes his mouth but the halt doesn’t last long before he continues to shove it down his throat. I swallow roughly, staring in amazement at his display. Papra offers him an encouraging smile as she returns to her own portion. Crowe swallows roughly, and I hear it stick in his throat before he manages to swallow it down.
“Shouldn’t you shift into a snake before you try to swallow your food whole?” I ask with a laugh as Papra pours him a glass of juice, concern in her eyes. She’s resisting the urge to cut his food for him like a toddler, and my lips twitch in amusement at her thought as I catch sight of the frustration on her face.
Crowe smiles, not noticing the emotions on mine or Papra’s faces. “Good one,” he says, taking a swig of his full glass. “Make sure to get ready to head out soon.”
“Already done,” I reply, placing my fork on my empty plate for emphasis. I swallow the last mouthful of my juice and set my elbows on the table to watch him.
“I never would’ve taken you for an early riser,” he mutters thoughtfully and wolfs down two more bites in the same animalistic manner that had already caused him to choke once.
I never would’ve taken you for a crybaby, I think as my memory strays back to his tantrum the night before. I don’t say it. Instead, I clean my plate in the sink and thank Papra for the meal before I go outside to wait.
At least he’s calm now.
In the sunlight, Aens seems just as strange as it had in the dead of night. It’s remarkably similar to the area Crowe had taken me to during training, but instead of the boundary of the trees, there are endless miles of sky and grass. Many of the shacks across the field look dark. My face scrunches in thought. At least a few of them should be lit up—don’t people in Aens have Coven Duties like those in Ignis…or are they just less responsible? Then, another thought occurs to me; have they been abandoned?
Crowe appears a few minutes later, the door to Papra’s hut closing gently behind him, before he leads the way up a cobblestone path. I notice the way the houses are placed closer and closer together as the cobblestone path comes to an end at a large stone in the middle of the Coven. It rests on a rise, much like the one on the Ceremony Grounds, and the breeze feels even stronger as it focuses on us before hitting the ground at the base of Aens. I think of the gray stone pit in the center of Ignis and admire the differences in gathering places, feeling eager—and wary—to see what the other Covens will be like at their core.
“That’s the gathering place,” Crowe informs me, pointing to the stone.
Up close, I see delicate yellow lines of paint in intricate details—markings and symbols important to Coven history—and I know without reading it that the stone is marked with the very history of Aens.
I follow Crowe as he travels to it. He reaches out his fingers and touches the stone, an eerie yellow light shines underneath his hand to fill in the parts not dotted with paint. I watch him with wonder and turn at the sound of nearby murmuring. Several families, Papra included, fill the ground around the base of the hill. Summoned by the stone, they watch us expectantly. There appear to be somewhere between thirty to forty of them in total. Some of them share Hyacinth and Papra’s violet eyes while the rest appear amber in the light.
Some of the witches, the children especially, seem surprised to see us. It’s then that I remember that from little on, it’s customary to treat members of The Council as Queens and Kings rather than one of them.
It's not surprise on their faces—it’s admiration.
Being on this side of the equation, I can’t help but frown. It doesn’t feel right.
Suddenly, I notice Leo break from the crowd, shouldering his way past his people as his massive form approaches the rise. He climbs it without a change in expression, usual scowl wearing on his flat face.
“What’s going on?” he demands, looking between me and Crowe with a quizzical expression. “You guys don’t do house calls.”
“We’re sorry we didn’t get the chance to inform you we were coming, but these plans were made last minute,” Crowe says, setting his hand to Leo’s shoulder even though the Aens Adept stands at least a half a foot taller than him.
“What’s this about?” he demands, folding his arms across his chest as he shrugs Crowe’s hand away. A hint of anger clings to his face but the confusion that swims in his eyes gives away his true feelings.
I tilt my head to side in sympathy. I know all too well what it feels like to be left out of the loop.
Crowe steps away, gaze focused on the crowd, and I slither closer to Leo. His eyes widen as he catches sight of me. I set my hand to his arm, gesturing for him to move his head closer to me. With a scrunched brow, he obliges, and I whisper in his ear, “Don’t worry about Crowe. He can be a real dick.”
Leo’s face flushes red with the beginning of his laughter, and he clamps his hand to his mouth to stifle it. Both mine and Leo’s eyes study Crowe’s reaction at the sudden burst of cheer from the Adept. Crowe turns to give me the stink eye, and I smile innocently at him before he puts himself back into business mode.
“Hello, members of Aens. Lovely morning we’re having,” Crowe calls to the crowd below, clapping his hand together as his gaze sweeps over them. “Unfortunately, it isn’t all pleasantries. I’m sad to say we’re here on business!”
“Is this about the Arcane Ceremony?” a boy asks, stepping forward.
I recognize him but don’t speak as Crowe continues. I shiver at the thought that the feathers Iris had ruffled during her attack were yet to be smoothed down by The Council. I scratch at my ear to keep myself from telling Crowe it should’ve been taken care of much sooner. Leo glances at me once and his thought is the same as mine.
“Yes, it is. While Iris White was contained and executed, it’s not the end of this battle. That witch wasn’t working alone. We believe there are others, accomplices that knew of her plans, and we’re here to search for people who may have had a reason to help her. Anyone who felt scorned or rejected as she surely did.”
Someone scoffs, and I look up to see a middle-aged woman. “Look around! Half of our Coven is gone…packed up in the middle of the night without a word, and you’re worried about testing us?”
“How is it you have no idea who these witches are?” someone else calls.
“How could you have let this happen?”
The quiet from a moment before suddenly bursts with angry, scared questions and yells as the remaining members of Aens all try to get a piece of Crowe at once.
“This isn’t going well,” he whispers to me and Leo with a nervous glance.
Leo sighs. “I’ll handle it,” he says, dropping his hands to his sides. He claps them together suddenly and holds them an inch apart from one another as a clear green bundle begins to form between them. It grows darker but before it loses its transparent charm, he tosses it to the sky and it explodes with an ear-shattering noise that instantly quiets the riot as the people below duck and groan with their hands clam
ped over their ears.
Their attention focuses on Leo to which he merely shrugs in response.
“Did anyone speak with them the day before they disappeared?” Crowe asks, lacing his fingers together as he addresses the wary crowd.
“We all did at some point,” Papra states, making her way to the front of the small group. “None of them said a word.”
“At least we know there’s none of them hiding out here,” I point out, glancing between Leo and Crowe. “They all left.”
“We can’t be too sure,” Crowe says.
“What else do you think happened to them?” Leo demanded, raising an eyebrow. “And shouldn’t you be on top of this anyway?”
He’s right, but since his question is directed to Crowe rather than me, I zone out, glad I’m not the one in the spotlight. I purse my lips as my focus falls to the people gathered at the base of the rise. They seem tired and worn—the missing half of the Coven already shows its effects.
It seems to me they’ve been gone longer than just a night…but what reason could they have to lie?
I try to project my mind to read their thoughts but there are too many in the air all at once for me to focus on. I hear a hundred voices in my mind in an unending stream. I clamp my hands over my ears, shaking my head as I take a step backward, stumbling to the ground in the process. I tuck my head to my knees as I pull away the attempt and veil my thoughts before the surge of sound can give me a headache.
“What’s wrong with her?” Leo asks, grasping my arm to help me to my feet as I break out of my fit.
Crowe lifts an eyebrow at me, ignoring Leo’s question as I catch my balance. “Don’t try that again until you’ve had some training.”
I nod, eager to not have to subject myself to that degree of agony once more as I reach into my pocket to fiddle with Ambrossi’s amulet. I wonder how many of Aens saw that—and how many of them know what it means.
Crowe’s attention shifts back to the crowd. “Thank you for your attention,” Crowe says, dismissing them with a wave of his hand before he turns to me. “Well, into Aquais we go.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Aquais
SILENCE FALLS BETWEEN me and Crowe; the buffering winds create the only sound around as it whips through the grass and offers us resistance to our journey. The crunching of the brittle blades beneath our feet seems unreasonably loud. At first, I’m fine with it, but after a while, it almost seems as if the silence is screaming at me. I use my clairvoyance to prod Crowe’s mind a few times out of curiosity but his thoughts mostly focus on the journey at hand. He’s getting better at cloaking his thoughts and the idea makes me frown.
That could be bad news.
“Where do you think all those people from Aens went?” I ask after I’m unable to find any thoughts of them on his mind as we trek across the bountiful fields of Aens.
Crowe frowns as another stiff breeze blows, ruffling our clothes. “I don’t know but they better hope we don’t find out.”
“It’s odd that so many witches could disappear like that without anyone having any information.”
“You think they were hiding something too?” Crowe wonders, lifting his eyebrows.
“Yes. They seem…tired. I wonder if the missing half really left all at once or if they’re gradually leaving Aens and no one’s bothered to report it. We should’ve brought Hyacinth with us…her ability is much more useful than mine. She would’ve been able to read their thoughts.”
“You think the entire Coven could be involved with the Elementals?” Crowe ponders. When I hesitate to answer he adds, “I had the same thought.”
“Either that or something is driving them away from home.”
“They’ve been there for centuries. It’s true living on the plains presents a more dangerous lifestyle than what the others deal with in terms of predators, but they’ve never had a problem with it. Why leave now in this midst of everything happening?”
“No part of this makes sense. I can’t help but wonder if they started to evacuate even before Iris’ attack.”
“That would mean they knew about it and said nothing.” Crowe snorts at the idea. “Papra said nothing to you about anything odd?”
I shrug and peer up at him through the veil of my hair. “About as much as she told you.”
Crowe huffs, shaking his head slightly. “Well, this just makes no sense. Were you able to pick up anything when you tried mindreading?”
I shake my head, swallowing roughly as I remember the pain the swarm of voices had caused. “No, just pain…and anger.”
Crowe reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. “Yeah, we didn’t leave the best impression on them.”
“Will all the Covens react to us like that?”
“Probably in a similar manner. Usually they’re not thrilled to see us outside of the Ceremony Grounds because they know when we show up, something big is happening. But now it’s worse. They’re all still upset about the Arcane Ceremony and fear tends to have that reaction,” he says with a shrug.
“Yeah, I meant to bring that up. Why would The Sage not take care of this sooner? When people are scared, they riot! In this case, it means driving people right toward the threat.”
“I agree, but at the same time, we haven’t had much opportunity to do anything about it.”
“What about Lynx, Rayna, Hyacinth? What have they been assigned to do that could’ve possibly kept them from making these rounds just to smooth some feathers?” I ask, my lips drooping down into a slight frown as I stare at him.
“I don’t know what The Sage expects of them, but they’re assigned their jobs just as we are ours. Lynx is absolutely forbidden from leaving the Grove until he gets to the bottom of his gift. I believe part of Hyacinth’s job includes watching over him to bring him anything he needs to sharpen his alchemy skills.”
I scrunch my face in a mix of disgust and disbelief. As bitter as I still am at The Council, I’m glad The Sage had at least been willing to work out a deal with me to allow me to go home…if only for a little while. “That’s just wrong.”
“Yeah, but with his gift, we can’t afford the possibility of losing him.”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair as I glance at my bad leg. I’m just as guilty as they are. If he really can heal magical damage, I don’t want his life to be compromised either—even if it means he’s restricted to the Grove. “Yeah.”
Crowe purses his lips and looks up at the sky to gauge the position of the sun before sending a glance behind us to see the distance we’ve already traveled. I join in the survey to see the shack-like houses on the plains far behind us. Even though it feels like we’ve traveled for miles, the houses seem just as far away as they had thirty minutes before.
The curse of these damn plains.
As soon as we stop talking, I immediately see the tension return to Crowe’s shoulders, and I wrack my brain for a way to start up the conversation again. “Excited about going home?” I prompt, Papra’s words from that morning implanted in my mind. For the most part, his face has remained downcast since we said goodbye to Leo, but I notice that the closer to the border we get, the faster his pace becomes.
“Of course. It’ll be good to see Mother again,” he says with a slight tilt of his head.
I nod and think idly of Papra again, this time focusing on the part where she mentioned Crowe has a rich family. I have the suspicion that Aquais is next on our list of tours because of the night we had just weathered.
I smile to myself, wondering if he’s really that vain.
“When’s the last time you were here?” I prompt before he has the chance to ask what I’m smiling about.
He lifts a hand to scratch the stubble on his chin and appears suddenly in thought. “I’m not sure…it has been a while though. I don’t think I’ve been there since I was recruited.”
I don’t question it further as more venomous thoughts of The Council stain my mind. I’m glad to see him in a good mood again. It r
eminds me of when we first met rather than when he saw me let the girl go who poisoned the river. I flinch at the memory, wondering how Callista has held up since we left. Even though I know the strength of my clairvoyance is nowhere near Hyacinth’s level, I try to reach out anyway to see if I hear any news from the Grove.
After a moment, no voices enter my mind…not even from witches of the nearby Covens.
We’re too far out, I remind myself and press my palm to my forehead to keep the possible pain at bay.
“Aquais is beautiful…a lot more so than Ignis,” Crowe says, challenge in his voice.
“Is that right? I heard it’s a swamp,” I shoot back, glancing up at a cloud above our heads.
Crowe smirks. “Marshlands and swamps aren’t the same thing.”
“It’s the same to me.” I shudder at the thought of murky liquid and instead turn my thoughts to the sandy dunes of Ignis.
He rolls his eyes. “You Ignis people always complain about the water. You might as well be cats!” After a brief chuckle, he composes himself. “Seriously though, Aquais is smaller than the other Covens so this should be an easy stop. I didn’t learn that fact until after I joined The Council. It’s the newest of the five.”
I bob my head thinking idly that I had heard the same somewhere. “Papra says your family practically runs it.”
“Correct! I come from a long line of good people. My ancestors were the ones who made a safe haven for the witches that didn’t fit any of the requirements for the other Covens before Aquais was formed. They noticed the similarity of water-based gifts and recruited witches that were denied after their Arcane Ceremony. They built homes for them, took them in, and trained them.”
“Sounds like your family cares for them better than The Council does,” I note then clamp my hand over my mouth when I realize I said it out loud.
Crowe scrunches his eyebrow as his dark eyes study me. “You don’t think The Council does a good job?”
The Council Page 22