“Valderre,” the witch hissed, as if trying to taste my name on her tongue. Her hand extended out to me. “Prove to us that you are who you speak of, and we shall listen to why you have trespassed on our land.”
“And how do you suppose I do that?”
A malicious smile shone brightly beneath the shadows of her hood. “Your blood will do.”
“No,” Veli said sternly, but my eyes remained forward. “She is the heir to the Valderre line. You will take my word for it.”
“Aye, but your word means nothing to me, Veli. To none of your sisters since your treachery. If you have not yet noticed, the majority have chosen to not even show.”
Rage pulsated through the air.
“Are you their leader?” I asked, gesturing to the surrounding witches with my chin.
“I am indeed High Witch.” She lifted her hands and removed the hood of her cloak, and the other three behind her followed suit. “Or I had once been until a single witch worked to tear us apart.” Her gaze shot over my shoulder to Veli.
The witch’s pale skin illuminated beneath the glow of her crimson eyes, and her skin was that of a middle-aged mortal, not as youthful as Veli’s, but nowhere near a crone. The other witches behind her were a mix of a single, wicked crone and two other nearly identical females that were so stunning that they would have brought any male to their knees if it wasn’t for their eyes.
“State your name, High Witch,” I demanded. Her eyes roamed over me as she contemplated her answer. “You know mine. It’s only fair that I know yours as well.”
She smirked at me beneath furrowed brows and let out a small chuckle that sent another shiver through me. “Very well then,Elianna Valderre, if that is truly your name. I am Azenna Elora,” she stated proudly.
“And how much blood of mine do you need,Azenna?”
“Lia!” Avery shrieked from behind me, but I ignored her.
“How. Much. Blood.”
The witch revealed her teeth in a menacing smile and held out her hand. “Only a drop.”
“You will not touch her, Azenna,” Veli intervened, stepping up to my side.
Before Veli had time to react, Azenna reached out, taking my hand in hers and pricked my finger, just as Veli had with her own. She then forcefully brought my hand to her lips and swiped her tongue atop the pooling blood right before she tilted my wrist over and let a single droplet fall to the terrain at our feet.
I ripped my hand back in disgust as the sound of rustling leaves filled the air while the branches above us began to dance. The glowing mushrooms at the trunk of their trees hummed in approval. The wind intensified, causing my hair to sway in several directions. However, as I frantically looked around, I noticed it only encircledme.
My eyes met Zaela’s as they bulged from her face. The rest of the space was eerily still as I was enclosed alone in a storm of breeze. The High Witch lifted her hand and the howling speeds of the wind ceased instantly.
“Holy gods,” Avery breathed.
“Yes, that certainly was the work of them.” Their leader’s eyes moved back to Veli. “It appears you have spoken true.”
“I do that quite frequently,” Veli grumbled, and if I hadn’t been so horrified at what had just occurred, I would have laughed.
“Was that the land responding to my blood, or was it a spell?” I asked.
“Did you witness a single witch here cast a spell, Elianna?”
“No, however, I am not fluent in the terms of magic.” I paused for a moment. “So it was the land, then?”
“Indeed.”
“It’s not the first time that’s happened,” I admitted.
“What do you mean?” Avery interrupted as she took a few steps closer to me.
I turned to her and then focused my gaze back on the coven before us. “When I escaped the dungeons, and flew—” I stopped myself after realizing I almost revealed we had a wyvern. “I traveled through the Sylis Forest after I fled and was met with danger that caused a bit of my blood to spill. Vines of a willow tree came alive and shot out at my attackers, stopping them from harming me.”
“Oh gods, Lia. Who attacked you?” Avery asked.
