I will kill her for her audacity.
The shorter hag speaks directly to Jestin, “And you, handsome?”
“I am spoken for, ladies.”
I gawk at him, to fucking whom? I need my tea; where is that servant?!
“Right,” Margorate says. “Wisla, please show our guests their cottage.”
“Have a day you deserve,” I smirk at that bitch.
She bows mockingly. “I hope your day will be as pleasant as you are.”
???
Wisla escorts us down the narrow valley. The village is almost as tight as Tricity’s pavements. Okay, slight exaggeration, but close enough. Small wooden buildings sit squeezed in pairs. The sun is overhead now, but soon it will slip behind the mountains. Lots of kids run around, healthy and carefree.
Who would have thought?
Each cottage has a cauldron on the porch, and more than a few hags sneak glances at me while pretending to watch what’s brewing.
Before my thighs nearly give out from the march and I almost humiliate myself, destroying this fragile alliance, we finally reach our destination.
Don’t be so dramatic.Aidon scowls at me.
I grit my teeth at the sight of the dirty, neglected wooden house that looks worse than the others. The wood is darker, practically rotting.
Please, don’t let there be mould. Please, please, please.
Obviously, my prayers go unanswered. The moment I step inside, the stench of the fungus hits my nostrils.
It only gets worse.
Since hags have the hospitality of a marsh frog, the cottage has only two rooms, and I’ll have to cram all the males into one, because sharing a bed with any of them would absolutely wreck me.
“Where is that girl?” I murmur under my breath in irritation, sinking into a wooden chair that creaks under me.
Great. I need my damn balm.
“Why do you even need this so much?” Aidon comments on my thoughts, sitting in another chair, and I note that at least we have four.
”Why is that word different from others? Some kind of a masking spell?” Aidon pins me with a look full of accusation.
“Could you repeat it?” Riven strolls to us, exchanging a brief look with Aidon before saying, “Interesting.”
Freaking busybodies.
“Have any of you noticed she hasn’t had a problem wielding her power lately?” Jestin asks, raking his hair back again and again, unable to keep still. “Back then with Margorate? Shecontrolled herself with ease.”“What have you done?” Aidon’s question is full of accusation.
The front door opens and Karo walks in, but instead of going straight to me, she waits with a terrified expression by the threshold.“My Lady, I have your package.”
Is she affronted by the commodity?
At least we know that her invisibility powers work with hags, because no one said a word about her presence.
“What package?” Aidon strolls to her and grabs her by her chin. He did it so fast, I didn’t even manage to stand up.
“Her mind is clouded as well.” He faces me, his hands tightening for a moment before he forces them still. “What have you done?”
