Page 28 of Liar Witch

She looks at me with wide eyes. “You can’t think She meant for this to happen? For death and war?”

I shrug. “Perhaps She did, perhaps She didn’t. Either way, She sent you here.”

“I need to think…”

The Solar looks more lost than she did before—if that’s even possible. She drags a sleeve across her eyes, drying the moisture there, before she looks back at me.

“If I’m healing a magic burnout, I’ll need you to lie down, and you’ll need to take your clothes off.” Elsie points towards one of the few beds, then throws a glance over her shoulder at Kier and Cas.

The fae turns his back at once, then grabs Cas’s arm and roughly turns him around too. Cas’s disappointed groan makes me smile slightly.

“They’ve both seen me naked by this point,” I grumble.

Neither of them move; the shifter held in place by Kier’s grip on his arm. Elsie just shrugs and pats the bed.

I climb up and go to lie on my back, but she stops me and makes a twirling motion.

“You need to be on your front.”

I do as she says, watching with interest as she starts grinding several different herbs in different mortars.

“Burnout, huh?” Reva looks smug.

“Among other things. Caused by using a certain blade…” I hiss. “What did you do to it?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She winks.

I shoot a glance at Kier and Cas, still standing at the door, then beckon her closer, lowering my voice to barely a whisper. “Whatever you did, it kills wraiths.”

Reva’s smile could have lit up a thousand rooms. “Petra was right.”

“Petra?” I whisper-shout. “What did she have to do with this?”

“She told me to take it and bind Glenna’s spirit to it.” Reva smirks. “I just wanted to see if I could do it.” Her expression loses its glee for a second. “When you seemed so opposed to it, I was going to take it back and undo the enchantment. I’m glad you put it to use instead.”

“Reva.” My tone carries all the warning necessary for her to pale, but Elsie steps in before I can move.

“She did what she was told by Petra. Would you have done any differently in her shoes?”

I glower at both of them but say nothing.

No. As a twenty-four-year-old Lunar, I was hanging on every word which my high priestess spoke. It was how the Eagle and Glenna manipulated me into killing for them.

Following orders without question is not something I’ll ever feel comfortable doing again.

“Glenna’s attachment to you was probably the only reason you didn’t die when you channelled the Goddess through it,” Elsie continues, abandoning her herbs in favour of unwinding the bandages on my hand. “How much magic did you use to dothis?”

Both she and Reva stare at my hand with a mix of awe and horror. I’ve healed just enough that I can see the pattern of the athame’s hilt burned into the skin of my palm, but it’s an ugly wound.

“I destroyed the Claw.”

“You…” Elsie reaches out and pinches her own arm. “Sorry, I thought you just said you destroyed a prison fortress by yourself?”

“She did.” Reva grins. “They brought Sanctum down, but the Queen is going to have to stare at a pile of rubble outside her window as well.”

When she puts it that way, it does seem a little like poetic justice.

“Chew on this,” Elsie instructs, shoving a wedge of somethingfurryinto my mouth. “I know you Lunars are tough, but this is going to hurt. So bite down on the bark if you need to.”