Page 30 of Entangled

“Nice to meet all of you.” Merrow nodded, not knowing if she should curtsy or not. She didn’t want to be rude since these women all seemed so friendly.

“Everyone is enjoying having your sisters here,” Medea assured her. “We wish you would stay as well. Our visit has been so pleasant.”

“You might rethink that once you find out that a battle is about to start because of all this.” Merrow thought she heard noise out in the courtyard. There was lots of shouting, and the sound of horses’ hoofbeats against the cobbled stone.

“What?” gasped Lira. “What do you mean?”

“King Ravenwolf and his soldiers are arriving right now. They plan to steal my sisters and to start a war over it,” Merrow relayed the information.

“Nay! Please tell us that isn’t so.” Lira ran to the window and threw open the shutters. Merrow followed. Sure enough, she could see Sebastian and his army already at the castle’s gate.

“She’s not lying,” said Lira, sounding concerned. “Medea, come with me. We need to stop this.”

“I’m glad our husbands all decided to stay here overnight,” commented Persimmon. “I feel as if I should have known this was coming. I should have used my crystal ball to scry.”

“This is all so sudden,” remarked Talia. “I will call to the animals to help us as well.”

“Talia, summon Murk. Have him give a message to Zann’s mother that her elemental skills are needed.”

“Murk?” asked Merrow, confused by all the names of people she’d just met.

“Murk is my husband’s raven,” explained Talia, approaching the window. “I can speak to animals.”

“So, you have magical powers?” Merrow felt excited to learn more about them.

“Yes. We all do,” Medea told her. “Persimmon and I are witches, Talia is a fae, and Lira has elven powers.”

“So, then you will use your powers against Sebastian and his men?”

“Of course,” said Medea. “They can’t beat us. Plus, our husbands all have powers too. If King Sebastian and his army want a war, they’ll get one. They will regret it when they all end up dead.”

“Nay!” shouted Merrow, not wanting Sebastian to die. “There must be another way.”

“It’s too late.” Persimmon spoke over her shoulder, watching out the window. “The Blackseed brothers are confronting King Ravenwolf and his men now. There is no stopping this battle.”

“Melite, Galene, you need to help me.” Merrow tore the gowns out of their hands and pulled her sisters to their feet. They wore simple long tunics, like the one that Merrow first wore before Sebastian gave her the gown.

“Merrow, what can we possibly do?” asked Galene. “We don’t have powers.”

“That’s right,” agreed Melite. “And we are not at an advantage being landbound.”

“Come with me,” she instructed, taking her sisters each by the hand and running to the drawbridge.