Page 72 of Pirate Witch

Danika gives a hollow laugh. “Half of the coven was convinced I manipulated the ritual or fooled the Goddess somehow. I ascended and woke up with new eyes, caught between two equally angry fractions of our family. I still don’t know who threw the first hex, but if I ever find out…”

“I’ll send them to the Stars for you,” I promise.

She chuckles. “I’ll do it myself. Or Nash will.” Her soft sappy smile banishes the gloomy mood which took over the carriage. “Look, we’re nearly home!”

Sure enough, a glance out of the window reveals the doughnut shape of the main temple, draped in silver and black, surrounded by the smaller buildings the Lunars live in. The plants on the roofs above are in full bloom now, crowning the snowy scene with splashes of colour.

Our carriage slows to a stop, and Opal leaps out the second the door opens, streaking away towards the kitchens.

“Oh, please please please let there be chicken,”she mumbles, mostly to herself.“I like fish, but I need variety or my fur will turn dull.”

Her food-obsessed musings make me smirk, but I quickly lose the expression when I notice the lone witch, flanked on both sides by two men, who’s waiting for us.

Ophelia.

Memories of her tear-stricken face as she fled from me on the night of Glenna’s death surface, clouding what should be a joyful reunion with the final member of our circle.

“Nilsa,” she whispers, cheeks turning pink. “Goddess, be praised. You’re home safe.”

I manage a small smile, but the past is choking both of us.

“I understand—” I begin.

At the same time she says, “I’m so sorry—”

We both stop speaking at the same time, and Ophelia bites her lip, offering me a tiny, apologetic shrug.

“I was stupid,” she admits. “I let fear cloud my judgement. I should’ve known you’d never hurt Glenna. You idolised her.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I reply. “I would’ve thought the same if our situations were reversed.”

She doesn’t come forward to hug me, but that’s not her way. Ophelia has always been dignified but highly strung, a stickler for etiquette and rules. So it’s no surprise when she gives me a single, regal dip of her head.

“Then it is forgotten,” she says.

I wouldn’t say forgotten,I think to myself. Ophelia’s actions that day showed her true feelings about me. Danika may have wavered, but she still believed me. Trusted me.

Ophelia couldn’t do the same, which cuts.

“Anyway, I mustn’t keep you from what the Mother Lunar has planned,” she continues, shaking me out of my maudlin thoughts. “I’m so excited to see your males.”

She turns on her heel, making her flowing robes swish, and heads up the steps into the main temple.

“Well, that went well,” Danika comments dryly.

I raise my eyebrows and give her a look, to which she just shrugs. “Look, you and I both know that Ophelia’s always been the queen of her own fantasy world. Nothing matters beyond what affects her. Don’t take it too personally.”

What can I say to that?

“Anyway,” Danika continues, grabbing my arm and pulling me across the cobbled space until we reach the main doors. “Are you ready?”

Am I?

Nerves—or is that excitement?—flutter in my stomach. It shouldn’t be a big deal, considering I’ve already mated most of my men, but my heart is thumping in my chest, anyway. The blessing is like a Lunar marriage, except there’s no exchanging of vows.

Traditionally, the harems find themselves drawn to the Lunar temple in the days before their witch’s twenty-fifth winter solstice. Thanks to their connection to the Goddess, the high priestess is normally aware of which humans are in whose harem. It’s confirmed when the humans are brought into a room full of robed witches and have to find the one they’re meant for by instinct alone. All of the young witches who have just turned immortal meet their harem for the first time that way.

Except me, apparently. I had to meet mine while running for my life. After being told repeatedly by Glenna that I had no men waiting for me.