Page 37 of The Sirin Sisterhood (The Sons of Echidna #2)

Lai

Lai woke up to gentle singing coming from the outside.

He grumbled into his nest at the early wake-up call that hehadn’tscheduled, butcouldn’thelp but listen in.

Each new voice that joined in was soft, the harmony swelling with layers as every witch in the coven greeted thesun’sfirst rays with a welcoming serenade.

The others were awake, too. Klein was still in bed, frowning as the melody drew closer. Lucy was kneeling by the window, peering outside in fascination.

“What are they doing?”She whispered as if afraid to disrupt the song.

Lai shrugged, stretching and heading up to the window to take a better look.

A gaggle of the witches sang as they gathered herbs and vegetables from the garden just outside, still damp with the morning dew. The scene would have been idyllic if ithadn’tbeen so unsettlingly perfect.

“Do you think they’re a cult?” Lucy turned to him. “It’s giving culty vibes. I’m from Texas. I’d know.”

Again, Lai had no answer for her. So not like him.

“Technically, maybe it counts as one?”He took a guess rather than risk Lucy thinking hedidn’tknow everything about everything.

“They live on a homestead in the middle of nowhere, an enigmatic couple is in charge, and they live by some pretty strict and bizarre laws. But, by that logic, you could call our family a cult, too.”

Lai noticedLucy’sexpression when he said‘our family,’a little smile tugging her lips.

“Imight need to remind both of you what manners are.”Klein pulled both of them away from the window.

“Regardless of whether our hosts can hear us, we are guests, and discussing their personal matters is in poor taste. Remember:we’rehere as beggars.

”The man gently pushed Lai and Lucy back towards the beds with a shake of his head.

“Please get changed.Let’snot offend them with late arrival for breakfast.”

Not thatwe’vebeen invited . Lai chewed the thought over for a moment before glancing up at the sound of shuffling feet and stifled giggles.

With almost poetic timing, a knock on the door rang through the small cottage, and the nervous voice of a young girl invited them to partake in broken English.

“Please come, eat. Breakfast,”She called before he heard hurried footsteps running away, accompanied by the laughs of those who had watched from a distance.

“I guess we’re a novelty to them, too,” Lucy said, putting on her cardigan.

◆◆◆

Arriving at the familiar hall, they were greeted with silent bows and shown to the same seats as yesterday at the main table. The humble offerings of semolina porridge with honey and jam were served in deep wooden bowls, and tall samovars full of sweet tea stood on every table, gently steaming.

Lai was excited by the breakfast offerings.

It had been years since he had that type of porridge; the last timehe’dtasted it was when his mother had mixed preserved berries into a smooth white grain flurry and fed it to him.

It was one of his earliest memories, and one of his fondest. He noticed Lucydidn’tseem too impressed with the texture, but Lai gave her credit for keeping a straight face as she tried to swallow it.

Klein barely touched his, sipping on the tea instead.

The three sisters watched them eat, not hiding their judgmental looks, but theydidn’tsay a word to them as the coven broke their fast.

When I eat, I am deaf and mute .Lai had heard of the Russian custom before, buthe’dstill been surprised by how sincerely the sisterhood followed the adage. Then again, it probablyshouldn’thave come as a surprise. It seemed like they loved rules around here.

“Youdidn’tsleep in your bed,”Agata commented as soon as the last of the girls set down her spoon, stirring sugar cubes into her already sweet tea.

Lucy blinked at them, and Lai knew she would flounder as she devised an appropriate excuse.

“She is the head of the family.It’sher duty to make sure we stay together.”He volunteered an answer, but the trioweren’ttoo impressed with his interruption, and they let it show on their faces.They’dspoken to the leader, not to him.

Lucy recovered quicker than he expected, flashing a quick smile of gratitude for the save.

“Iwas worried about my companions. Forgive me, Ididn’tmean to insult you. You know how boys can be; Ididn’twant them to sneak away to find me and violate your trust. This one here is particularly reckless.”She motioned to Lai, and he puffed up in indignation, playing up his part.

Lucy’sanswer seemed to settle the ruffled feathers, and the youngest of the three sisters passed Lucy a basket full of biscuits.

They werehard, sprinkled with sugar, not something to enjoy on their own.

Freya took one and dunked it into her tea to demonstrate.

The spiced cinnamon flavor was quite pleasant once it was softened and warmed, and Lai took three of the treats, ignoring the disapproving looks from the eldest sister.

He needed his sugar hit and doubted he would get many chances to indulge out here.

“We have a lesson starting at eight,”Sabira said, addressing only Lucy again.“You may explore the gardens while we are busy with our students. However, we must insist that you stay away from the forest.”

Lucycouldn’thold back a laugh.“Let me guess, your forest is filled with scary things and protects your home?”She asked, grinning at Lai.

Hecouldn’thelp but smile as well. Hewasn’texactly homesick, but it gave him a strangely warm feeling all the same to have that little taste of hisnormallife.

Sabira was taken aback by that.“Why, yes. How did you guess?”

“Oh, we have something like that at home.”Lucy grinned.

“Don’tworry.I’velearned my lesson. Youwon’tsee me anywhere near that forest. But.

..”She raised her hand like a student wanting permission to speak, still not used to being in anykind ofposition of authority.

Lai would have to take a moment to teach her how to ruleproperlywhen he could.

Agata made a waving hand motion, inviting her to proceed.

“May I observe your lessons?”Lucy asked.

The two older sisters looked at each other silently. Lai could read the heated exchange playing out over their faces, amused.

Absolutely not! Agata refused.

What harm could it do, Agata? Sabira rolled her eyes.

No!

She’s a guest.

Under no circumstances!

The mute conversation took only a second. In the end, Agata yielded, and Sabira offered her blessings.

“Of course. You might find it boring, but you are welcome to join us.”

Lucy thanked them, obviously trying to look more poised than she was, but Lai noticed a tiny wiggle of excitement.

◆◆◆

They joined the other students in the outdoor classroom.

Klein lingered a moment before deciding to find something more useful to do, so Lai and Lucy parked on the logs scattered around the clearing by themselves, loudly speculating about their newly suspected traitor until Klein was well out of earshot.

The other students giggled as they discussed the newcomers. Lai was glad Lucycouldn’tunderstand their comments, but he could. Not all of them were kind, gossiping about them less-than-politely.

Sabira was the tutor that morning. As she approached the middle of the clearing, holding her long skirts out of the way, silence fell over the students. Her presence demanded respect and attention.

“Today, we will continue our healing lessons,”she spoke in Russian, removing her head covering and addressing the students.“And we have a volunteer.”

Lai took a moment to process the words. He knew the language, but hedidn’tuse it much outside of his work, and his translation skills were rusty. He also rarely had to hear people talk about‘healing’or‘volunteers.’

He noticed Sabira’s outstretched hand, and the students’ attention on him.

“ Ya? ”He pointed to himself.

The witch nodded. If she was surprised thathe’dreplied in her own tongue, shedidn’tshow it.

Most days, Lai would have savored the attention and having that many eyes on him, but this time, he felt a flicker of panic, his hand brushing unconsciously across the bandages on his face.

Lucy looked curious, waiting for a translation, but Lai only shook his head.“Idon’trespond well to magic.I’mallergic,”He explained in Russian, butSabira’shand remained outstretched.

Time spun lazily between them. She waited patiently, the tension amongst the students slowly rising, offended on theirteacher’sbehalf. It was do or die.

Hesitantly, Lai accepted the invitation. Hedidn’tfeel any magic when their skin connected. No reaction, no violent itching.

“Wedon’tuse outside magic to heal within. We encourage and manipulate what is already there,”she explained, sitting him down on the grass in the middle of the circle.

Lai inhaled, calming his nerves. Hedidn’tenjoy being a guinea pig for a bunch of baby witches, buthe’dalready committed to the offer, and hewasn’tabout to back out now.

“Freya? Would you like to demonstrate?”

Any reluctance Lai had about the exercise disappeared when a familiar face separated from the crowd, smiling as the blonde witch knelt by him.

“I’lluse a zagovor ,”she whispered, her fingers tracing his scar.“It’slike a spell, but instead of releasing magic,I’llguide your body to heal itself.”

Lai nodded, leaning into her touch as she spoke a ritualistic chant, too quiet for him to hear, her lips barely moving.

After a minute or two, a handful of the other students joined in, one hand touching his arm and another resting on his thigh.

Half a dozen junior witches twisted nature for him, urging it to break its own rules.

It listened. Lai felt time speed up around him, his cheek tingling as his skin tightened over the wound. There was no other reaction: no itching, no redness, no swelling. Just a subtle warmth spreading throughout his body, guided by the will of the coven.

Cool, gentle hands peeled away his bandages.

He heardLucy’sgasp from a few feet away.

Itdidn’tsound anxious or upset, just impressed.

As the whispering quieted, he reached up to his face, feeling where the cut once was.

What was left was only a faint dent with smooth skin filling it.

The scar must have been barely visible; it took Lai a moment to find it, fingers running over the faded mark in awe.

The scarwasn’tthe only thing missing. The pain from it was completely gone, too. The way his skin pulled across his jaw, the discomfort of the healing flesh tugging on his eyelid, the taste of the raw, bleeding edge inside his mouth, gone. Dissolved by the whispers of the spell.

Hedidn’tknow what to say, meetingFreya’seyes. Pride radiated from her as she beamed at Lai. Sabira was obviously impressed by her students, waiting for Lai to offer praise, but he was too stunned to speak. He could barely manage a simple‘thank you,’voice catching as he mumbled.

The women seemed content with that. Lai suspected that anything more would probably sound superficial, so hedidn’tfollow the gratitude with any kind of praise. No praise would be enough to convey what he felt, anyway.

Theyhadn’tjust healed his face. It went much deeper than that.

“That was amazing.”Lucy joined him, reaching to caressLai’sface. Her touch instantly sobered him up, her magic shocking him like a jolt of static.“I have so much to learn.”