Page 33 of The Endless One

“What is happening to me?” she whispered, flinging the dark liquid away from her face and shaking it off her hands. “This is… is… Elric, isn’t this yours?”

He swallowed hard. “It’s mine. But it shouldn’t be coming out of you, Jessamine. I gave you that magic when you resurrected me. It’s a gift from god to patron.”

She blinked a few times, then looked at him and Sybil. “I didn’t think anything could rip energy like that out of someone.”

Sybil touched the dark ooze, rubbing the small bit of it between her fingers. “It didn’t take it out of you, Jessamine. Whatever happened? It destroyed Elric’s magic.”

He could see the panic forming in Jessamine then. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as she stared down at the magic that should have been hers. He’d given it to her.

But now he knew for certain he no longer had a connection with his gravesinger, nor would her body hold any more of his gifted magic.

Jessamine breathed in the salty air and tried hard not to let the sway of the boat turn her stomach. It had been hard enough getting to Orenda. The last thing she’d expected while traveling was to discover that she was horribly and unendingly seasick. Nothing helped. Not the herbs Sybil brought, not the meditative techniques Elissa taught her, and certainly not the stern talking-to that Agnes gave her.

The only thing that gave her even the smallest semblance of relief was holding on to the edge of the boat and counting every inhalation. Slowly. She had to keep her eyes on the land that they were approaching, and that much, at least, she knew she could do.

If she didn’t look away from the land, then her stomach didn’t churn quite so bad. Unfortunately, that also meant she had far too much time to think.

Her mind hadn’t been kind since last night. The other witches were startled by what had happened and terrified of what it meant. After all, they had lost loved ones, and then Jessamine had given them quite a fright.

Sybil had washed the ooze from Jessamine’s face, and there had been something unsettled in her eyes. As though Sybil knew something that she didn’t.

Even now, on the same boat they had come to this kingdom in, Jessamine couldn’t stop worrying. Elric seemed to think that it was just the remnants of the curse that Ajax had cast on her, but… what if it was more than that?

At least the ship itself was sturdy and strong. It bobbed on the waves and never seemed to rock overly much. There were two masts on it, so it was a smaller ship, but the captain was a friend of Agnes’s from when they were very young. The old whaling ship had a crew of fifteen men and their captain. It was easy enough for them to double their numbers, and witchcraft made sailing much easier.

Pale hands joined hers on the side of the ship, and Elissa leaned against the rail with her. Together, they stared at Inverholm, completely uncertain of what they would find there. She felt even more guilty with Elissa, because this young woman’s entire life had been left behind. All her birds. All her friends. Clients. Family. She barely knew if Elissa even had family there, although Jessamine didn’t think she did.

“What do you think we’re going to find there?” Elissa asked, her voice pitched low so no one else could hear them.

“Nothing. I think we’re going to find a lot of nothing.”

“But that’s not entirely correct, is it? I heard what you two were saying. I heard them tell you that the God King is likely stealing all of their souls, and that means Inverholm is exactly what Leon Bishop wanted, isn’t it? A kingdom of infected.”

Already she swore she could hear the moans on the breeze. There was a part of her that was terrified that was exactly what they would find. Another part of her was certain of it. Elric was rarely wrong, especially when it came to his siblings.

If this was just a kingdom of dead people, then what was she supposed to do now? It didn’t matter that they couldn’t stay in Orenda. This was their home. The witches knew better than to leave Inverholm, no matter what Ajax might have done.

“I don’t care if it’s a kingdom of infected. It’s still our home.” Jessamine tried to stand up and straighten her spine, even though nausea had her breakfast rolling up into her throat. “There’s still a chance we can take it back.”

“But if there are thousands of infected…”

“We will figure it out.” Jessamine reached for Elissa’s shoulders, holding on to her for balance as much as for support. “I know you’re worried. All of us are. But we are the only ones who can fix what has been done, and we will fix it. I’m not sure how yet, but I think we’ll all know better once we’re in the city.”

Elissa nodded. Though her expression was still troubled, Jessamine could see there was a bit more hope in her. “Right. I’ll just… go tell the others. A few of the newer witches are concerned about what the plan is. But you’re right. We can’t make a good plan until we know what has happened for certain. And even then… Well, we’ll know when we get there.”

She watched as Elissa walked away, her feet so confident as she strode across the ship. Who knew the woman obsessed with birds would be the one to take to a ship so easily?

A few of the witches were out on the deck, and most of them immediately went to Elissa. Were they afraid to talk to Jessamine? That seemed odd. Jessamine had done everything she could to welcome the newcomers. But then again, a coven was hard to break into. These young women were learning how to make magic, they were learning about themselves in the process, and they suddenly had a real live god to worship. Not to mention… everything else.

Jessamine supposed it made sense that they were a little uncomfortable with her.

Sighing, she let her gaze rove over the deck. There were the usual stacks of ropes, along with a few crew members who were tending to everything that needed to happen on a ship. She wasn’t sure what they were doing, but they all seemed very busy all the time. A few of them had grumbled about the bad luck of having so many women aboard, but they quickly quieted after the first storm that threatened their journey was diverted by a few of the weather witches.

The door opened into the lower parts of the ship and led to two split galleys. One side where the witches were staying that had been cordoned off with quite a few stacked wooden boxes, and then the other side where the kitchen and most of the sailors were sleeping. It wasn’t the prettiest way to travel, but it worked.

The upper deck was mostly taken up by the wheel of the ship and the captain. She’d spoken with him very little, but he hadn’t made a point to reach out to her either. Both he and Agnes were usually up there together, and she swore there were a few soft touches they shared.

Agnes wasn’t herself anymore, though. She was the younger version of a very impressive woman, and that must have been strange for this captain to see. If they’d had some kind of romance before, it was harder to do that now. She was young again, and he was much older.