“Who is that?” I twisted my head, trying to peer into the shadows. The firelight caught the greasy sheen of Spencer’s hair, making it gleam with an unsettling luster. The firelight revealed his rat-like features, and he grinned down at me with a sneer that made my skin crawl.
Winnie rolled her eyes, and with a sharp pop, a chair materialized beside the table. She lowered herself into it, crossing her legs.
“You have magic,” I said through clenched teeth, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Of course I do,” Winnie retorted, her tone sharp.
Spencer’s quiet chuckle floated through the air, accompanied by the sound of rummaging behind me. I strained to glimpse what he was doing, but the dim light offered no answers. Myheartbeat quickened as I turned my gaze back to Winnie, who regarded me with detached boredom.
“I’ve been here before as a child,” I said, recognizing the room from my nightmare.
Winnie’s eyebrows arched slightly in mild surprise. “You were just as difficult back then,” she remarked, her tone laced with indifference.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice quivering as I glanced nervously at Spencer, now visible, mixing various liquids with slow precision.
Winnie remained silent but let a cruel smile curve her lips. My attention was drawn downward as I felt something cool and silky brush against my leg. Black shadowy tendrils were beginning to move up my body.
“Stop!” I screamed, my voice breaking as desperation clawed its way up my throat. I thrashed violently against the restraints, but it was useless. The ropes bit into my skin, cruel and unyielding. Then, like living smoke, the shadows surged forward, coiling around my neck.
“Mother, stop!” I choked out, barely able to form the words. But the shadows only tightened, constricting further.
Spencer’s mocking voice echoed through the room, “Mother.” His laughter was dark, and Winnie’s smile widened as she met my desperate gaze. The shadows around my throat abruptly vanished, leaving me gasping for air.
Winnie stood and circled the table, her steps measured and deliberate. She leaned over me, her gaze cold and calculating as she smoothed a lock of hair away from my face with a chilling tenderness. “I'm not your mother, dear, though I did raise you.”
The words sliced through me like a jagged blade. My breath caught, and my chest tightened as if the air itself had turned to stone. “What?” The word came out brittle, my voice barely audible. The room tilted, nausea churning in my gut.
She rubbed her neck where the necklace used to be before turning to Spencer. He held out a vial filled with a thick, black liquid, and Winnie took it, putting it in her pocket.
If she wasn’t my mother, who was?
“Why?” The question escaped me, though it barely scratched the surface of all the ones burning in my mind.
“Revenge, of course,” she said, almost purring.
“What have I ever done to you?!” I spat, my words escaping in a desperate plea.
“Not you, you fool. Them.” Winnie sneered, her gaze hardening as she turned away from me. She began to circle the table again, her steps slow and calculated. Her eyes would flick back to me every so often, a predatory glint in their depths. “I’ve waited centuries for this moment, and I’m not about to let you ruin it,” she spat, her words sharp and vicious. My stomach churned at the realization of what she was implying.
“No,” I breathed, my voice barely more than a whisper. “Morgana,” I gritted out, the name feeling like a cold weight settling in my chest. Winnie’s smile widened in cruel satisfaction at my words, and the blood drained from my face.
“Have you found my book yet?” she asked, raising a brow.
“Like I’d tell you,” I spat, the words laced with venom.
She only smirked, unbothered. “Shame. It doesn't matter… the other one is still searching. We'll find it, one way or another.”
“What other one?” I demanded.
“Never you mind, dear.” Her expression shifted, eyes glazing over as though her mind wandered elsewhere.
“What am I doing here?” I barked, thrashing again against the restraints holding me to the table.
Morgana sighed, her patience wearing thin. “Everything was going to plan, but your magic keeps interfering with mine,” she growled, her voice low and dangerous. “Every time you shadow away, my magic reacts. Every time you get a strong feeling, itreacts. You shouldn’t have control over my magic. And yet…” Her gaze sharpened, lips curling in distaste. “You summoned a Daka the other day.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Our little fight… it flared your magic—ourmagic.” Her words hung in the air like a threat, heavy and suffocating.
