“Bernadette’s different. You have to beinthe ranks to break ranks, and she never bought what Ostara was selling. She wasalways determined to forge her own path, and they all resented her for it. They would have kicked her out of the coven if they weren’t so worried about appearances.” Persi’s words were fierce, and I could tell that, in spite of everything, she was still fiercely protective of Bernadette.
“Quite the path she forged,” I said.
“I don’t… that’s not what I meant. They were terrified of her gifts, and they didn’t let her explore them the way she wanted to,” Persi said.
“Yeah, and when left to her own devices, she brought back a servant of the Darkness and kidnapped your sister,” I said quietly.
“She wasn’t herself! She was… she’s still…” Persi stammered.
“What are you really doing?” I asked. “I know you visited her already; I heard you and Rhi arguing about it.”
“So, you’re eavesdropping now?” Persi spat.
“No, you were shouting in the living room,” I shot back. “It’s not my fault you were too worked up to keep your voices down.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Persi said. “I’ve got a small window here, and you’re wasting it. So let me ask you this: If Nova had insisted on going through with the Cleansing, would you have ratted her out, or helped her?”
I hesitated. I thought about Nova, how she had been so distraught in my room, so sure that her mother was making a terrible mistake. I thought about the weight of the books in my backpack, the books I had snuck from the library in a rudimentary attempt to help. Would I really have left her to figure it out on her own, if I couldn’t talk her out of it?
“I probably would have helped her,” I admitted. “But she’s not here, so I don’t see the point of?—”
“Fine, then. You can help me,” Persi said, before turning on her heel and marching off down the beach. She was at least tenpaces away before my brain caught up, and I started running after her.
“Help you with what?”
“You said you were down for a Cleansing, so you can help me.”
“I didn’t say I was… what are you talking about?”
Persi stopped and rounded on me so suddenly that I stumbled backward, and landed on my butt in the sand. “So, you’ll help Nova Claire, but you won’t help me?”
“Are you… you can’t possibly… what?!” I gasped, as I scrambled to my feet.
“Your little friend isn’t the only one who’s been paying attention. The Conclave is in shambles. They’re so caught up with infighting over Ostara’s behavior that they’re not doing their job. There’s no longer a Vesper in the Conclave, or this would have been handled. So I’m stepping in.”
“There’s no way you and Nova were both independently planning a Cleansing on the same night,” I said.
In reply, Persi swung her backpack around to her chest and unzipped it, revealing a book, candles, rope, and a number of other items I couldn’t even identify. “I didn’t want to use anything from the cottage, in case Rhi or your mother noticed it was missing, or caught me heading out the door. So, I took all this stuff from Shadowkeep instead. So what do you say? Are you in?”
I stood there for a moment, frozen with indecision.
“Why?” I finally asked.
“It was a yes or no question, Wren. I don’t have time for this.”
“I understood why Nova wanted to perform the Cleansing. I still don’t understand why you do.”
Persi’s intense eyes bore into me, but I held my ground. It was a question I deserved an answer to, and she knew it. I held my breath, waiting.
“Bernadette is important to me. I know she’s not well. I need to know how much of this was because she chose it, and how much had to do with the manipulation and control of Sarah Claire.”
And I realized. All the words might have been about Bernadette, but this wasn’t about Bernadette. Not really.
“You need to do this for you,” I said.
Persi looked startled, but the look faded to one of resignation. “I do.”
She looked at me and I looked back at her, this woman I shared such a deep connection with, through blood, through power. She was a stranger to me, and yet she didn’t have to be.
