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She chuckles and shakes her head, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “You don’t have to say anything, just know that there are more of us who support you than you might expect. It’s those in the higher classes who are the slowest to change their minds, too scared to lose the comforts of their title if the queen found out they supported you.”
Watching her with interest, I raise my brows at her cavalier attitude. “You’re not bothered by that though?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she looks around at the groups of courtiers gathered together with boredom. “I’ve never fit in among the nobility here, and I don’t see any difference between myself and my friends who work in Haven. I’m only here because I’m the head of my family now and forced to attend.” There’s a slight wobble in her voice, but it’s gone in a moment, leaving me wondering if I imagined it. She turns to face me, her smile genuine now. “Even if you only need someone to talk to about how awful Tania and her flock are, you have my support.”
Dipping her head, she turns away and walks off before I have the chance to thank her. Frowning and unsettled, I watch her walk away, groups of courtiers hurrying to move out of her way and giving her room to pass. At first, I think they act this way with prejudice and are treating her like this because she’s different. However, as I look closely, I see the flashes of fear in their eyes and realise that they are wary of her.
Feeling Atlas approaching, I don’t jump or shy away as he stands beside me, placing his hand on the small of my back. “That was Lady Eloise Manning,” Atlas tells me quietly, leaning close to whisper in my ear. Anyone watching might think he was talking dirty, and as I glance over, I see his smirk alone gives off that exact impression. “She’s quite outspoken about getting equality between the witches here. Her family is almost as old and well thought of as yours, but her parents died under suspicious circumstances a few years ago, and she had to take the mantle at only seventeen.” He continues to whisper to me while I watch the lady interact with a couple at the other side of the room. They are talking politely, but I can tell even from here that they are only speaking to her out of obligation.
“She’s not hugely popular here,” Atlas continues, “but because of her standing, they tolerate her. It helps that she’s incredibly good at creating shields. She’s the one who currently controls and maintains all of the shields around Haven. I don’t know much about her, as I believe most of her social circle are from the lower classes.”
A lady who would rather be friends with the workers. That either says a lot about the type of person she is, or it shows just how toxic the environment is here, even to one of its own. The fact that she continues to mingle with the lower classes despite the opinion of her peers endears her to me, and my instincts say I can trust her. I certainly can relate with not being popular here and only kept around because of my power. I mull over the fact that she’s so strong and is the one controlling the shields, filing that bit of information away for another time. Would she know anything about how Syn found me despite the shields being up? One thing I know is that I need to speak with her again when there are less people around.
Movement behind me causes me to pull my attention from the young witch and turn to see Kano approaching with a frown. For once, I don’t seem to be the one causing that expression. Following his line of sight, I see he’s watching Eloise as well.
“What did Manning want?” he asks, his voice sharper than I expected. Do they have a history?
Intrigued, I glance at Atlas to see if he knows what this is all about, but he just shakes his head minutely. Now I’m even more intrigued. “She just wanted to offer me her support,” I reply vaguely, partially to see his reaction, but also because that’s about as much as I know.
“Support?” Kano’s gaze snaps off her and narrows on me, his frown deepening. “For what?”
I snort, wishing I knew. “I’m not really sure.” Taking note of his expression, I tilt my head to one side, not able to leave this alone like Atlas silently suggested. “You don’t seem to like her.”
Sighing, he runs his hand through his hair, messing it up in the process, but he either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. “I like Eloise, she’s one of the only witches here who actually speaks their mind and doesn’t engage in catty behaviour, but you need to be careful.” Pausing, he gives me a meaningful look before continuing. “Her opinions make her a target. She’s watched closely.”
Ah, I’m starting to understand his reluctance to me interacting with her now. If she’s that outspoken and different in her views, then that makes her standout, and if she’s watched, then anyone seeing the two of us together would inform the queen. Even if she wasn’t told directly, I have no doubt that it would get back to the queen through the gossip grapevine, and she would instantly be suspicious. She already doesn’t trust me, and aligning myself with someone who already has different views might make others pay attention and start questioning too.
Nodding to show I understand, I watch the lady across the room, and a slow smile tugs at my lips. For some reason, all of this only makes me like her more. Oh, I understand that she’s a risky person to know, and I’ll have to be careful with how we interact, but perhaps her being an outcast calls to me. Seeing my expression, Kano curses, recognising that he’s not turned me away from Eloise, and if anything, his words have only intrigued me more.
Suddenly and without warning, the large doors to the hall slam open, shattering the quiet atmosphere of the room. The music comes to a screeching halt, and screams and gasps fill the air as witches scurry away from the abrupt flurry of activity. The noise echoes off the dome ceiling and is so loud it makes me wince. I flinch and instinctively let Star form beside me. In a flurry of stars, she appears next to me, her hackles raised and lips pulled back in a snarl as she reacts to my fear. Before I can even try to work out what’s happening, a large, jagged tower of ice stands between us and the apparent threat. Atlas’s face is a mask of concentration as he uses his magic to keep the ice shield erected.
A quiet female gasp catches my attention, and I glance over my shoulder to see Eloise joining us, her eyes wide and hands clasped in front of her. “Oh my goddess,” she mumbles, her face going pale as she stares at the doorway.
From where she’s standing, she can see around the wall of ice, and whatever she sees has not only her, but the rest of the witches in the room, completely dumbstruck.
Needing to know what’s shocked everyone, I take a step around the ice, Star at my side. Atlas walks with me, practically glued to me, and I’m about to demand answers when three figures step into the hall.
ChapterNine
The figures who enter the room are the epitome of what you might imagine a witch to look like thanks to popular culture. Old, hunched over women hobble through the room, their long, matted grey hair a complete mess. In fact, as I look closer, I see one of them actually has a bird’s nest in her hair with three small, white eggs nestled within. Bent over, they wear long, shapeless shrouds that do nothing to hide the fact that their bones are poking through their skin. Gnarled hands and long, yellow nails finish off the look.
No one says a word as they enter the room and begin to cross it. They walk in a line, almost shoulder to shoulder, scowling at anyone too close to them. All of a sudden, the one in the middle looks up and turns around, scanning the room until her eyes land on me. A chill runs down my spine as she holds my gaze and gives me a slow nod. Quiet murmurs fill the room, and I feel hesitant eyes on me as the surrounding witches try to decipher what the look means.
It’s a slow journey as they move forward, and I can’t hold back my questions or curiosity any longer.
“Who are they?” I ask in a whisper to Atlas. His expression is tight, his eyes locked on the three witches. I don’t understand everyone’s reaction to these females, and while I’ve never seen them before, everyone here seems to know them well. My gut is telling me they are important and that something key is about to happen, but they don’t give off any dangerous vibes that I can sense, so then why is everyone acting like they sucked all the oxygen from the room? If they are scared of three little old witches, then they definitely know something about them that I don’t.
Atlas’s eyebrows draw together, and he turns his body towards me, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the slow progress of the newcomers. “They are the crones.” Opening his mouth to explain further, he pauses to gather his thoughts before continuing.
“They are said to be our goddesses’ vessels, representing the past, present, and future,” he explains, gesturing to each woman in turn. “They gave up their youth and beauty for the power to see what shouldn’t be possible to see.” There’s a hint of awe in his voice, but I don’t miss the caution there.
Pursing my lips, I think over what he said. Visions, that has to be what he’s talking about—the ability to see into the past or future. If they have been given this gift, then they must be goddess blessed, which makes their reaction to the crones all the more confusing. “Why is everyone so startled by their appearance? Isn’t it a good thing that they are here?”
Lady Eloise, who is still standing by us, makes a quiet noise in the back of her throat. “They only ever leave their tower when directed by one of our goddesses. Their visions and prophecies are not usually pleasant ones, so their appearance here today is a bad sign.”
There’s a lot for me to unpack in her comment, but one thing sticks out that I just have to query. I glance at Kano and Atlas. “Wait, you have more than one goddess?”
“We have three,” Eloise answers for them, pulling my focus back to her. “However, we mainly follow the goddess of the present as she is the one who presides over us, the moon her guiding light. The texts tell us that the origin of your goddess and ours are the same.”
