“Why was I not made aware of this? Why were these people not reported to me?” Jade’s stance had gone rigid.
“Please accept my apologies,” the guard started to grovel. “I have been reporting the prisoners to you, as I was previously instructed to by your mother. They are included in the list of available bartering goods.”
Jade’s face melted from fury to horror. “The prisoners are included in the list of goods available for trade? With the silver, gold, spices, and jewels?”
The guard shook his head up and down. He was now cowering. “Yes, that is how your mother requested the prisoners be accounted for. They were always to be included on the barter list.”
Jade looked like she was choking and Nova had a million questions, but the orbs moved again and Nova pulled Jade forward, out of her conversation with the guard. He would have to be dealt with later. Right now they needed to find the orbs’ destination. So far, the glowing entities had led them to a cave full of prisoners. What else would the orbs lead them to?
Nova and Jade moved past iron-clad cells and when the orbs reached the last chamber, they passed through the bars and illuminated the small space.
There were three women standing inside, shoulder-to-shoulder, dressed in burlap sacks which were tied at their waists with rope. Unlike the rest of the prisoners, these women stood quietly, as though they’d been waiting for visitors.
The silver-haired woman in the middle spoke first. “Queen Jade. Queen Nova.” She addressed them by name and added a slow bow. Nova’s mouth fell open.
“Who are you?” Jade asked. There was a tremor in her voice and guards closed in, waiting for a command.
“We are the Larkspur Witches,” all three women replied, in unison.
“We are your witches,” the woman in the middle added. Her dark skin was smooth. Her eyes were an eerie gray, almost matching the color of her silver curls. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
The other two women raised a hand toward the stone ceiling, and the magical orbs floated to sit in their palms. Nova blinked, not sure what she was witnessing, but remembering the orb had helped her before— when she was trying to escape Katrina. It had led her to the animals in the menagerie that ultimately saved her life.
“Are those your orbs? Did you lead me to the menagerie? Before? When I was running from Katrina?” Nova asked her questions in a blur, without taking a breath.
The silver-haired woman nodded. “And we used an orb to lead Jade to Cor Montem.”
The short, curvy witch played with the orb in her hand like a ball of dough. “We’ve been helping you from afar. The both of you. As much as we can.” Her round face crimped into a smile, which felt odd in the dirty, cold cell.
The third woman was slim and tall. Her chocolate hair hung in a braid across her chest. She looked to be the youngest of the three, and added, “We’re glad you outwitted that nasty mother of yours. We didn’t think you’d actually do it.” Her comment seemed sincere, but jarred Nova just the same.
The silver-haired woman gave the young woman a reprimanding glance. “My name is Solis. These are my cousins, Stella and Luna.” She waved her hand first to the curvy witch, and then to the young one. “We’re from the Terra Coven and were previously in service to your mother. When she lost her wits, she locked us up.” Solis raised her brow. “And we would be much more help to you without the restriction of these bars.”
Silence hung like a wet rag until Jade replied with, “Let them free.”
Guards moved in and keys clattered. Nova must’ve looked worried, because Jade whispered, “I remember Katrina mentioning those names when I was little . . . Solis, Luna, Stella. I remember hearing great things about her witches, even though I never met them. They’ve already proven they want to help us, and we need all the help we can get when it comes to magic.”
Nova gave a nod, cautiously agreeing as the bars swung open like a door.
Stella, the curvy witch with short, pixie-like blonde hair, exited first. “Thank the heavens,” she breathed. “I didn’t think we’d ever get out of there. And if I had to catch one more rat for our orb spell, I was going to scream.” She looked at Nova like she should understand.
“A rat? For your orb spell?” Nova asked, as all three witches left their cell.
Solis took a deep breath, as though the air on the other side of the bars smelled sweeter. Then she focused her gaze on Nova. “We come from generations of witches. Our family taught us how to create magic, how to use it. We do not own magic like you do. We make it. And in that cell, we haven’t had access to many ingredients. We’ve had to make do with what we can find. The orb spell is one of the few we’ve managed to create while imprisoned.”
Stella hugged her shining orb to her chest. “Three rats,” she said, scrunching her nose. “Each orb requires three rats to be caught and then lulled to sleep. Do you know how hard that is?”
“Hard?” Nova replied, still unsure what was happening.
“It is,” Stella sighed, looking thankful that Nova agreed with her.
“But worth it,” Luna added before setting her yellow orb on her shoulder. It sat there like a parrot, warming her face, emphasizing her silky complexion and olive-tone.
Solis nodded in agreement with her cousins. “The orbs are temporary, but while they last, they act as our eyes. Wherever the orbs went, we could see. They allowed us to move through the castle even though our bodies never left that cell. They allowed us to communicate with you and guide you. And because we used white magic, you felt safe in the presence of the orbs.”
“White magic? As opposed to black?” Jade asked, tentatively entranced by the three women in front of them.
Solis twitched as though Jade had just used profanity. “White magic. Black magic. There are all kinds of magic. Most of it I’d consider gray magic,” Solis explained. “White magic is used for good. Black magic is used for evil. But—” Solis paused. “Magic itself isn’t good or bad. The intention of magic is what determines its purpose. That’s why I don’t care for those terms. You can’t put magic in a box and label it.”
Stella’s friendly face turned serious. “Black magic will come back to haunt you. You must always use spells or potions with the best of intentions. Otherwise, the universe will eventually punish you.”
Solis pursed her lips. “There’s a lot of gray area in that statement, Stella.”
“Look what happened to Katrina,” Stella argued.
Luna nodded in agreement and ran her fingers across her throat, like she was slicing it. Nova stiffened, knowing exactly what Luna was referring to.
“Did . . . did you see her die?” Jade asked, as though she’d read Nova’s mind.
When Nova and Jade had been forced to fight Katrina in the menagerie, Katrina had turned herself into a deadly panther. She’d tried to use fear to turn Nova and Jade against each other— hoping one of them would murder the other. Instead, Jade sliced her mother with a thrown sword, and Nova pierced the queen’s heart with an arrow. But, ultimately, neither Nova nor Jade had killed Katrina. They hadn’t made the final blow. Chael had been the one to slit Katrina’s throat. He’d been the one to kill her.