Audrira’s eyes widened dramatically, understanding the importance of their detour. “We don’t have anything that belongs to Sin. How am I supposed to find her?”
“We’ll have to go to Sin’s home.”
“Stars,” she breathed. “Okay, let’s find Magnolia first.”
“You know her name?”
She rolled her eyes. “Us witches are all connected.”
He gave her a pointed look.
She sighed. “And she may have taught me a thing or two as a child.”
Gideon snorted. “That is a story I will need to hear later.”
They reached the orchard outside Sin’s village after an hour.
They approached the witch’s cottage, shocked to see the door cracked open, and the hinges broken off as if it had been kicked in. The wind made it sway, the creaking stirring dread in his chest. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.
To most, witches were revered and not to be messed with. Mostly. There were exceptions, such as Sin’s family and the king.
The only sound was the wind, and the door being creaked open by Jocelyn. Her satchel glowed for a fragment of a second, making her choke on a wince.
“You alright?” he muttered as they followed her inside. No sign of life, he thought, until a forest critter appeared, running out of the house and into the woods, making them jump in surprise.
Gideon held his hand up against his chest as Audrira spoke, interrupting his question. “Why isn’t she here?” She walked further into the cottage, noticing the many potion bottles andglass shattered throughout on the floor. “Someone took her. But who?”
“I don’t know,” Gideon said with defeat in his voice. “Let’s go to the manor.”
“But—”
“We don’t have time, Audrira. Sin’s clock is ticking, and Max wouldn’t survive it if she died. Grab what you need and let’s go.”
“He’s right. We can come back here later,” Jocelyn added.
Audrira sighed, but agreed, grabbing the items needed to scry, and onward they rode towards the manor.
It took no time before finding it, and just like the cottage, it was abandoned.
When they walked in, Jocelyn commented on the obvious luxuries they must’ve had.
“Not Sin,” Gideon added. “According to my brother, and her room that we found the first time we came here, none of that was shared with her.”
Audrira grimaced with distaste, mirroring how Gideon felt. To treat a child like that, and then for over a hundred years—
Gideon stumbled before freezing in place.
“What is—” Jocelyn smelled it right after he did. “What the fuck is that smell?”
Gideon couldn’t reply, because it smelled like rotten flesh, and he worried if he brought the words to voice, something horrible would manifest. And that wasn’t news he ever wanted to share with Max.
Gideon clenched his jaw, ignoring the cold air stinging his lungs as Audrira grabbed his hand. They pushed forward.
They stepped into the dungeon, the air chilling them to the bone. The same place they found the parents’ insides scattered all over the room.
Only there was another, almost familiar scent.
A broken sob escaped Audrira, despite the fact that there wasn’t a body.
