So, he told the miserable crone about how they’d secretly worked against the Lord the whole time. He didn’t name any of the others on the Coalition, but he still felt like a traitor.
“And you think things will be different this time, if you all work together?” Kaylia asked.
“We don’t have any other options. We tried to undermine him and failed the first time. Orin tried to lead a rebellion against him and failed. All we can do now is hope to combine forces to go after him again.”
“But many lives were lost during the war, and many armies were wiped out.”
“Which is why he’ll destroy all the realms one at a time, starting with the Gloaming. We need to join forces with all the realms and those who stand against the Lord, and we require Orin’s help and resources to do so. We’ll have to move slowly in the beginning, and this can give us time to do that.”
She was quiet for so long that Brokk started to question if she’d fallen asleep with her eyes open. Finally, she blinked.
“I will think on it. Get out,” she commanded.
Sahira rose, but Brokk remained where he was. That was all she had to say after all they’d revealed?
“If the Lord isn’t stopped, he will kill thousands if notmillionsmore, including witches,” Brokk said.
Kaylia’s eyes flicked over him before she turned away, lifted a flap in the back of the lodge, and started to duck out. “Do not leave this realm and get out of my home.”
And then, she was gone.
Brokk looked to Sahira, who sighed before rising.
“Do you know her personally?” Brokk demanded.
“No,” Sahira said. “I only know of her reputation and that she is the oldest living witch. I’ve only traveled into a witch realm a few times before, and I was not welcome to stay long.”
That wasn’t exactly the answer he was hoping to hear. “Then why did you trust her enough to reveal so much to her?”
Sahira gazed at the still-waving back flap as she replied. “Because the witches respect life and nature, all the things the Lord hasnorespect for. They hate the vampires—”
“She wasn’t overly fond of the dark fae either.”
“I sometimes think that when one lives for so many years, they lose track of what matters, and they harbor resentments they should let go. She will see reason and realize the Lord will destroy those she loves and cares about, including all the living creatures in this realm and beyond, and shewillhelp us.”
“You have a lot of faith in someone who threw us out on our asses when we first arrived.”
“She didn’t try to kill us.”
“Are you sure?”
“Kaylia is old and powerful; we’d know it if she tried to kill us. She most likely would have succeeded.”
“Wonderful,” Brokk muttered.
“Is she going to tell anyone else what we revealed to her?”
“I don’t know,” Sahira admitted. “I prefer to think she’ll keep it to herself, but I can’t say for sure. If Kaylia gives us the harrow stone, she’ll be as culpable in this as we are, so I think, for now, she’ll keep it to herself or to those she trusts the most.”
“So, if she gives us the stone, we’ll know she’ll keep our secrets. If she doesn’t, then we know we might have condemned us all to life on the run from the Lord.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s hope we get that stone.”
Sahira twisted her clasped hands together before turning to leave. Brokk rose and started to follow her out of the lodge. His gaze returned to where he last saw Kaylia. Despite his dislike of the woman, he couldn’t deny she also fascinated him.
He hoped Sahira was right and the stubborn witch decided to help them. She may have thrown him on his ass, but he didn’t consider her an enemy. If she refused them, he would do everything in his power to bring her down before she destroyed them.
