Page 34 of Traitor Witch (The Deadwood #1)

Chapter Thirty-Four

NILSA

T here's a Lunar waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. One I vaguely recognise as the one who snatched me from the ocean and flew me here.

The instant she sees me she bows and I return the gesture.

"I'm Reva," she smiles, dark eyes glinting as she takes me in. "Enchanter and spirit worker."

"Nilsa," I mumble.

I don't use my title. I don't feel worthy of it. For the first time since I was seventeen, taking down my first target, I'm doubting myself.

"I know," she picks at her dress awkwardly for a second. "Want to find some clean clothes and then grab some food? You've been bunked right next door to my circle, so we're going to be your guides until you can find your way around."

I nod, still feeling a bit shell-shocked. Opal has disappeared somewhere, likely stalking down her own meal. Drowning the stone in my gut with whatever food I can find sounds like a pretty good idea right about now.

It's quiet as we travel across stone bridges and up several flights of stairs towards a door in the cliff side.

"This is you." Reva throws open a door in the cliff side revealing a neat, airy room.

There's a chest at the end of the harem-sized bed, and a wardrobe and nightstand. The large windows let in the sea air and the curtains are embroidered with privacy sigils. The whole space smells of sage and cedar, a dead giveaway that it's been magically cleansed.

"There are fourteen of us next door," Reva continues, "but they're probably already eating."

I nod and flop onto the large bed with a small groan.

Maybe I can ignore food. Maybe sleep will be better.

But Reva ignores my desire to curl up and just sleep and pushes open a second door further into the cliff face.

"There's a bathroom through here. I'll let you wash the seaweed out of your hair in peace."

She throws me a little smile but I don't have it in me to give her a response. It takes all my energy to drag myself back up and hustle into the warm light of the bathroom.

It's surprising what a little hot water can do to improve a situation. While I'm there, I say a prayer to the Goddess to make sure any lingering remnants of my magic on the Deadwood can't be traced back to me. Hyssop and lemongrass have been left for me and I crush them under the water before rubbing them over my skin to add extra power to the spell.

Removing the stench of the sea from my skin is cleansing in more ways than one and the pause gives me time to process.

Glenna betrayed the Goddess. Betrayed me.

I have a harem. Six of them .

I've killed innocent people, but I have the opportunity to make it right.

That last thought is what motivates me to pull on a clean black top and leather trousers.

But then I look down and see Glenna's athame, waiting for me next to my pouch. The gems in the handle glint under the lamplight, the moonstones flashing with opalescent fire.

I've carried it around believing she needed to be avenged. Now... I don't know what to think.

So I shove it in the chest at the end of my bed and clip my pouch back onto my belt. Reva watches all of this with a curious expression, but doesn't comment until I head for the door.

"So how big was your circle back home?" she asks, following me out and taking the lead down the steps once more.

I grimace remembering Ophelia and Danika. "There were three of us. More of a triangle than a circle, I guess, but there were more in the years above and below us."

The witch way is to raise children communally, in year groups, or 'circles.' Young witches spend time with their mother and fathers, but learn magic and live with their circle. That Reva still lives with hers means she's not immortal yet, but she seems much older than Elsie. There's a grim kind of maturity to her that the Solar witch is missing.

Reva just shrugs. "At least you had fewer people trying to steal your clothes."

I had never had to worry about that. My clothes were so conservative in comparison to Danika's. I never needed to worry about her helping herself from my wardrobe. My smile fades as I remember how different she'd looked when Alletta scried for her.

High Priestess Danika is different to the witch I grew up with—I'm different. Of all of us, Ophelia is the only one whose life hasn't been turned upside down.

The three of us were always at odds. I often used to wonder how we made it through all those years without killing each other.

"There was more pressure to get along with everyone," I muse.

"True."

We lapse into silence for a second, but I have too many questions to keep my mouth shut for long.

"The Lady Lunar," I begin, "Why is she...?" So old , I want to say but I can't seem to find a way to put it kindly.

Reva arches a brow, understanding my meaning anyway. "She didn't tell you? The Goddess is calling her home."

I shook my head. "I've never even heard of that happening."

"It's not a common thing," Reva admits. "Most of us are killed before we reach that point. She's several thousand years old. It's her time to join the stars."

I nod. "She doesn't have the attitude of someone preparing to depart this world."

Reva snorts. "That's how Shadows are . The Goddess stuffs all her stubbornness, chaos, and loyalty into you guys. Petra still has one mission left. She's not about to give up and die quietly until she's finished."

I frown, not certain if that's meant to be a compliment or not.

"So she's a Shadow and High Priestess?"

"Technically Petra retired from being a Shadow centuries ago," Reva says, frowning. "She was called to be a High Priestess in Ilyani. When she tried to refuse, the Goddess said she would disband the coven."

"There were no other successors?"

"No. But a new Shadow was born fairly swiftly, and Petra seemed to settle into the role okay for the first few decades. Then, shortly after the carnage that the wraiths brought with their arrival, the Goddess began sending Shadow after Shadow against the Eagle... Petra watched her old student and her student's student die, then tried to go after the Queen with her own harem, against the wishes of the Goddess."

"What happened?"

"They lost." Reva's grimace tells me it was worse than just losing, but I don't interrupt. "Petra was gravely wounded and her harem managed to get her away. When she returned to Ilyani, the Goddess began to unravel her immortality to stop her from charging off again and leaving no one to train the next shadows.

"Petra sent five more Shadows to their deaths before her harem snuck away in the dead of night. They couldn't watch how much it broke her to bond with a new student, hope and pray for their survival, and then receive news of a new body hanging from Cawshome's wall. They left to try their luck against the Eagle without telling her, and they were slaughtered and sent back in pieces."

"Sweet Lady Moonlight, that's bad." As the words leave my lips, I know that's the understatement of the century.

Reva nods, but says nothing. We lapse into a long silence, both of us consumed by our own thoughts.

I can't imagine being forced to watch as so many of my loved ones went up against the Queen and simply never returned. When Glenna died, I searched for vengeance. It wasn't a noble goal, or even a very good one, but it was something to do rather than wallow in my own grief.

Petra was denied that.

No wonder she isn't exactly eager to welcome me with open arms. To her, I'm probably just another lamb to the slaughter .

We reach a particularly steep flight of stairs and I take the opportunity to scan the horizon for ships.

Nothing.

No sign of the Deadwood . Something in my chest pangs uncomfortably but I quash it.

Reva doesn't notice my distraction. She keeps up a running history of Sanctum as we descend, following the echoes of chatter.

"When the Goddess kept sending her shadows to Petra, asking her to train them and send them against Queen Catherine, it made the Lunar coven in Ilyani a target. The Queen's men encouraged the anti-witch mages there until it started to have negative effects on the Solars. Even when there were no Shadows left, they kept it up. To the point where Solars were being attacked in the streets for being associated with us."

I grimace, remembering the state of the Solar temple and how Elsie was treated. "They're not much better off now."

"Petra abandoned the temple at Ilyani and led the coven here along with a few Solars who wanted to leave. She hoped it would convince the Queen to let the remaining Solars live in peace, but..."

"The story the mages are spreading is that you couldn't afford the rent," I mutter.

"Makes sense. If I were her, I'd want to make my enemies look pathetic too."

Her rational words don't match the quiet fury on her face so I let the subject drop. We go silent again as we cross a bridge and enter the large balcony space which is the source of the chatter.

Huge tables dominate the space, filled with Lunar and Solar witches who mingle freely under the warm lamplight. The sea is clearly visible on the other side of the railing but it's far enough below that I can find the view beautiful instead of terrifying.

I can't stop myself from scanning the horizon again.

The Deadwood still isn't there.

The way we left things feels wrong , like a niggling sense of unease has slithered under my skin. Some primal part of me, which recognised them even though my mind wasn't on the same page, feels a little bit lost without them and I hate the sensation.

Moping after men I barely know is not me. Has never been me.

I refuse to start now. Even if they are my harem.

"They won't be able to find us, you know," Reva says, following my gaze as she leads me to an overburdened buffet table. "Those pirates won't be able to see past the enchantments in the statue. Only a witch can. To anyone else looking at the cliff from the sea, it looks like nothing's here but moss and gulls."

I don't answer her. Won't admit that's where my mind was.

Instead, I grab a plate in silence and start filling it with food. Because Lunars are nocturnal, there's a range of breakfast options for us, but there's also a whole table devoted to evening meals for the Solars. I hover awkwardly between the two but settle for breakfast.

I have to get back into the swing of coven life now.

When both of our plates are full, Reva leads me over to a huge table by the waterside. I choose a seat furthest from the railing, but it's still close enough that I can see the floating pontoon docks beneath us. Tiny, colourful fishing boats are moored all along the wooden platforms. Men and women walk up and down between them in everyday wear, with only a few white and black-robed witches dotted around. There must be more humans here than just those in harems of the Lunar witches.

How easy would it be to just give up everything and have a simple life here? A harem of fishermen and a job making exorcism charms.

That's not a life I could ever live, but I envy the people who can find contentment in hard work and small pleasures.

If I ever asked the pirates to turn the Deadwood into a fishing boat, they'd probably just laugh.

Goddess, why does everything remind me of my pirates? It's like ever since I left them they've started haunting my thoughts.

I shake my head to clear it.

"So the mages are allied with the Queen?" It's not a subtle change in topic, but it works.

Reva takes a huge bite of her food as she considers her answer. "Some are. Their council of families is ruled by the Castlemans who despise—"

"Nilsa!" Elsie barrels into me, knocking the air from my lungs and almost sending my breakfast flying. "Oh my Goddess, you won't believe it! Look!"

She bends, scoops up a white furball from the ground and shoves it into my face.

"I have a familiar," she announces proudly.

The kitten takes one look at me and hisses, struggling to be free.

"I don't think he likes me." I take a few steps around her and put my plate down.

"Don't be silly. Milo loves everybody." She tries to dump the ball of hissing fur onto my lap but he—like me—is having none of it.

Where is Opal when I need her? She could scare this poofy white monster away for good, but all I can do is try to ward him off .

He ends up wriggling out of Elsie's arms and leaping to the ground, giving his best disgruntled look before slinking under the table.

"He's just shy around new people," the Solar insists.

"Okay," I draw the word out before stuffing a huge bite of toast into my mouth.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here to meet him," she gushes. "I wish I could thank Valorean, too. This place is everything I dreamed it could be."

"Is that the asshole who knocked you both into the ocean?" Reva smirks. "I wouldn't thank him for anything."

"Hot, though," a Lunar behind her comments. "Even the psycho leviathan shifter was pretty to look at."

"They're good men," Elsie scolds. "Talking about them like that is plain rude. Besides, Valorean didn't mean to knock us into the sea. His powers are just acting up, which is completely natural for a mage in the presence of his mate."

Reva misunderstands, mouth gaping as she stares across at the young Solar. "A Solar with a mate? That's..."

Elsie just rolls her eyes. "Not my mate, obviously. I have no interest in fornicating."

There are titters as the Lunars hear the word fornicating, but Reva's too-perceptive eyes latch onto mine.

"Drop it," I mouth.

She purses her lips, gives me a look that clearly says this topic isn't over, and then turns towards Elsie with an evil grin.

"You do realise Solars can say the word 'fuck', right?"