There was a reason Igon told me about that place, though he couldn’t tell me at the time. That had to be where we could seek refuge.
I smiled to myself.
Igon…you were brilliant.
We needed to go there; I knew it in my bones. But getting nearly a hundred Mages there unnoticed was … ambitious to say the least. And that would be after I somehow found a way to free us.
“What are you smiling about?” Roland questioned.
I quickly wiped the expression off my face and focused back to our current location.
I knew Mother and I had traveled in this general area, but finding those herbs would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Unless…
I sighed and slowly turned to Viola with a cringe on my face.
“Abso-fucking-lutley not,” she sneered.
“Viola—”
“No!”
I took in a deep breath, then lowered my voice. “I am your Supreme now, Viola. Which means you follow my orders. You will find the herbs I need, and you will not attack any soldiers or the Prince.”
Her resentful look sent chills across my body. Fuck, she was terrifying. But I wouldn’t let my fear show. I wouldn’t cower.
I kept my shoulders high, and my chin tilted up to meet her sneer, as she was a few inches taller than me. We had a stare-off for a few more moments before Viola conceded with a huff.
I nodded to Silas. “Viola can find the herbs I need.”
He raised another eyebrow, and my Gods, my attraction to him was still as strong as ever.
Tithara guide me.
After a silent prayer to the Goddess of Wisdom, I cocked my head to Viola. “She’s the lion that almost ripped your head off,” I explained, and Silas's eyes rounded. “She can shift into anything, so I imagine a wolf with excellent scent shall do the trick.”
I took a step towards him and noticed he stiffened slightly. “I know you just put these on, but it may be good to have me there, to be able to stop her if she’s foolish enough to defy my orders,” I whispered so she wouldn’t hear.
Silas sized me up, the gesture unlike the other times his eyes once roamed over me. “Two witches uncuffed is plenty,” he said coldly.
Well, that fucking hurt.
I scowled, and Silas stepped toward Viola. The looks they were exchanging were that of pure malice. Like they both wanted each other dead more than anything.
I watched her with a burning gaze.
Please don’t do anything reckless, Viola.
Silas released her, and she stared at me for a moment before shifting into a terrifying wolf with jet-black fur. Her amethyst eyes shone with fury.
“The herbs, Viola,” I barked.
She snarled at me before dipping her nose, sniffing the ground, and running off. Silas hurriedly named off a handful of soldiers and ordered them to join him in following Viola. I’m sure he didn’t want her finding more of our people and bringing back an army.
Not that it mattered. There were hardly any Mages left.
It had been hours since Viola and the men left to find the herbs. The soldiers that remained had buried their dead, which took up most of their time, while my people decided to sit on the ground and wait.
