Page 36 of Traitor Witch

Goddess, I want it out of my sight. I grab my cloak from where it hung over a crate and cover the blade.

That done, I lean against the bedpost and survey the cabin.

So… now what? I’m still stuck on a boat, and I have absolutely nothing to do. My two options are to look at these four walls until I go crazy or go above deck with the pirates and let my fear of the sea consume me until I’m a nervous wreck.

Goddess, this is such a bad idea.

But if I go up, I might get the chance to see what Casimir’s shifted form is.

Curiosity wars with fear within me. I creak open the door and glare at the steps at the end of the corridor.

Nope.

I slam the door. Curse. Open it again and stare at the stairs.

Nos is right. I’m afraid. No. I’m fucking petrified.

I’ll be damned if I let the pirates know that, though.

The sea is deadly. It steals the air from your lungs and replaces it with icy cold darkness. It takes everything from people without any warning. And below the waves, endless blackness awaits, ready to swallow you whole.

I shut out the memory with a shiver and look back at my cabin. Maybe I can start on dinner? No, it’s far too early.

“This is going to be a long trip,” I mutter, sinking my fingers into Opal’s fur. “Maybe I can take a few contracts in Evert, get enough gold for a new broom…”

“There are no covens in Evert,”Opal’s voice is soft andsympathetic.“Only Alletta, and she won’t have anything you can afford on a few hasty contracts.”

“Maybe she’ll cut me a deal,” I fiddle with the ring on my neck. “She was exiled too…”

“Over two hundred years before you were even born.”Opal purrs as I scratch her ears.“She might give you something for the athame, but it’s blood-tainted. Even if you were willing to give it up…”

“I don’t want it.” My eyes stray back to the pile of fabric which conceals it. “I couldn’t control it even if I did want it.”

I try sitting still, but almost the instant my ass hits the bed I want to stand once again.

Alone with my thoughts, the enormity of my situation presses down on me. Emotions I don’t want to feel clog my throat.

My coven thinks I’m a traitor. My friends and sisters honestly believe I killed the woman who took me in as a little girl and made me her ward. I need vengeance, but my only clue is an old ring which could belong to anyone.

Overwhelmed, I push to my feet and start to pace.

“Gah, I hate this,” I mutter. “Anything could be happening in Coveton right now and I’m just sitting here.”

I stand and snatch a cannon ball from one of the remaining crates. A little borrowed magic is all it takes for the dark metal to melt in my hands and reform into a scrying bowl. I fill it with water from the tap, unwilling to waste more magic on pulling water from the sea, then carry it to a clear space on the floor.

Scrying is difficult at the best of times, even when a witch has an innate talent for it. I haven’t got talent, but I have got plenty of time and nothing else to do. Looking for a place is easy enough, but finding a person is infinitely more difficult.

I can only hope that Danika is in the Lunar Temple. Even then it takes an hour of impatient attempts just to conjurethe image of my friend’s room. She’s there, but she’s also surrounded by four humans, and blushing the colour of a tomato.

Danika, who brags so openly about her conquests, is blushing as these people speak to her.

Well, that's new.

They must be her harem. I study the three men and one woman intently. They’re attractive, in a deadly kind of way. They hold themselves like they’re warriors, and there’s a glint of cunning in the eyes of the woman that makes me like her. If I were there, I’d be nosing around with all the others, trying to find out more about them. But I’m not, so this will have to do.

I’m a little shocked that the Goddess only chose four humans for Danika. I’d bet on her having at least seven, maybe more. Either the others are somewhere else, or these four are all she’s been given.

When Danika holds up her hand to silence them and glances up, almost directly at me, I grin.