“This will not weigh in your favor,” Marvel said in an ominous tone. “Come, we return to Kota Gelangi at once.”
Cathrynne threw a desperate look at her boss.
“She just arrived,” Felicity said reasonably. “I’ll debrief her first, and then she can go pack?—”
Marvel gave a humorless laugh. “Coach her on what to say, you mean? I think not. We’ll have the full story out of her with no interference.” A look passed between the two women. “She won’t be harmed, but as we just discussed, the importance of the Machena girl cannot be overestimated.” Her gaze flicked to Cathrynne. “Whatever you know, you must give it to the Morag.”
Cathrynne swallowed, her throat dry. “A sweven, you mean?”
“Perhaps. Unless your story is very convincing.”
A threat? Or a subtle warning? “Yes, mum,” Cathrynne muttered.
The office suddenly felt too small. Airless. Her chest tightened. What if all this ended with her being handed over to Markus again? He’d put her back in the tiny dark cell in his basement. She was a nobody and he was the head of the White Foxes in Arjevica. He could do whatever he wanted with her.
She heard his cultured voice whisper in her ear: Give me the sweven.
Sweat broke out on her palms. She felt a panic attack coming on and forced herself to take a long slow breath.
“Are you alright, Rowan?”
Marvel Yew was staring her with a concerned expression. Her voice was not unkind.
Cathrynne forced a nod, clasping her hands to hide the shaking. “Yes, mum.”
Marvel eyed her for a moment more, then gave a brisk nod. “Then let us depart, the Morag awaits.”
They left the office and took the path toward the forcing ground, Marvel marching ahead. Felicity fell in beside Cathrynne. “The High Council is in an uproar over this new gemstone,” she whispered. “If you have knowledge they can use, save yourself with it.”
Cathrynne nodded distractedly. She drew several more deep calming breaths and her galloping heart began to slow. Yes, that’s just what she would do. She was not powerless, not anymore. She had leverage. And if things went badly, she would tell the High Council what Markus and his mother had done to her and let the chips fall as they may.
They were approaching the kloster, where the seers gathered to watch through the bars of their cells. They ranged in age from teens to white-haired elders. She met the eyes of Courage Hazel, the young cypher who had been sent up a few weeks before.
Courage deserved her name. Despite her circumstances, she appeared calm and unbroken. Yet her gaze was so knowing, so pitying, Cathrynne could not look away. She twisted her head as she walked by the kloster, and so she saw Courage Hazel’s lips move. Too far to hear, but the words were clear.
He comes.
A cold hand gripped her heart. So her parting with Gavriel Morningstar hadn’t changed the future. Cathrynne decided that once the Morag was done with her, she’d seek out Julia Camara and demand answers. Of course, she might end up being entombed in a cell herself?—
“Are you listening?” Felicity demanded.
Cathrynne jerked her gaze back. “Yes, mum.”
“Because you don’t look like you are.” Felicity harrumphed. “I have one piece of good news for you. Mercy turned up at the chapter house in Arjevica. A bit worse for wear but alive.”
Cathrynne’s spirits leapt. “Truly? Thank Minerva! I had faith in her, but still . . . I was starting to worry.”
“As we all were,” Felicity agreed with a smile. “The Morag ordered her brought back to Kota Gelangi, so you will see her there.”
That she would not face the witches alone was another great relief. Felicity squeezed her hand, then dropped it when Marvel glanced back at them with a slight frown. But Cathrynne walked with her head higher now. Whatever happened, she planned to go down fighting—and she could count on Mercy to have her back.
The forcing ground stood at the far edge of the chapter house compound, surrounded by an iron fence plastered with yellow caution signs. The gate creaked as Marvel pushed it open. A male witch awaited them, his thick black hair pulled back into a knot. Cathrynne recognized him—the same one who had met her and Mercy in Kota Gelangi when they first arrived.
He reached into the pouch at his waist and took out two stones, one black with veins of scarlet, the other clear with a blue heart.
“Wait!”
The shout came from beyond the fence. George Claymond and Audrey Hayes ran up the path, their white coats flapping behind them. “You cannot take Rowan,” Audrey shrieked. “We must question her first!”
