Page 12 of Witch’s Heart

“He can do no such thing.” I was uncertain of how I managed to maintain a level head. Surely at any moment, my eyes would begin to blacken. I wanted more than anything to lunge across the table and strangle a few of these witches. Especially Gianna.

“He has no other choice,” Moriah continued. “We do not wish to enact the full might of the Citadel against you.”

Stripped of my bond…

“My wielder cannot abdicate. He…” I hesitated. If I couldn’t trust the council, then who could I trust? “He is the only thing standing between Raeria and a portal to hell.”

Silence fell.

“What can you mean?” said Fiona, leaning forward, hands braced on the arms of her chair. If I wasn’t mistaken, I caught a look of relief on her features. Perhaps she was glad I had a viable explanation for how things had played out.

On the contrary, she probably wouldn’t be glad to understand the severity of it.

“There is a portal to hell beneath the palace. I have seen it with my own eyes. It requires royal blood to remain closed.”

A number of protests broke out over my explanation. Such a thing could not possibly exist. Rifts, perhaps, but not doorways.

I quickly told them everything I knew. The reason for demons stalking Corinna’s city streets. How the king’s blood had been failing. How he’d grown weaker. I lied about his cause of death, stating that he’d been assassinated. They listened with varying degrees of skepticism. “Rixon—Aleksander—is his only living heir. I understand that the Citadel and the crown must remain separate, but in this, I believe our goals are aligned. To protect the people of Raeria.”

“You cannot possibly expect us to believe…to believe any of this.” Moriah looked outraged. “It is absurd.”

“It’s the truth.”

“A convenient truth, I’ll give you that,” said Leilani.

“If what you say is true,” said Skye, “that would suggest that the crown has been keeping a monumental secret from the Citadel, one that directly concerns us.” She offered Fiona a pointed look. “I will say as I have said before, the Citadel should hold more power.”

I stared at Skye, shocked. Here they were trying to punish me for tangling my duties and yet, she was claiming that witches should hold power over the crown?

“I agree with Skye,” Meredith added. “If what Aramina says is true, then we have just cause to insert ourselves.”

“That is enough,” Fiona snapped. A flash of rage crossed her features, there and gone.

“Tell us more about this portal, dear,” Barisa asked. She was the oldest of the bunch. “You are certain it leads to hell?”

“Absolutely certain,” I said. “I saw the demons emerging from it.”

I hadn’t, actually. In fact, the only reason I knew the nature of the portal was because of the thing living inside me, and because a prince of hell had confirmed it. I couldn’t exactly share that.

“I’ve never heard such a thing,” Sarai mused. “And it requires the prince’s blood—excuse me, the king’s blood—to stay closed?”

“Yes.”

“How did you discover this information?” Phoebe asked.

“Rixon and I attempted to track the source of the demons. They were inside the city walls—a strange thing when the walls are made of Nebrine. We first believed that…” My eyes flicked around the table, hesitant.

“Go on,” said Phoebe.

“We first believed it could be witches inside the city, summoning them.”

Skye snorted. “Only council witches have access to that sort of knowledge.”

Or ex-council witches, but I didn’t say that. Nor did I say that I knew enough to draw and summon demons of my own, not that I had tried. Not yet, anyway.

“You can see why we found it strange that there were demons within the walls. We began tracking them to their source. Our investigation led us beneath the city, through its many tunnels, until we found a room beneath the palace. That is where we found the portal.”

I was reluctant to describe the entirety of the room. The five pointed star. The murals showing hordes of demon armies at war with humans. I kept most of that information back.