And suddenly the being staring back at her was familiar.
It was the same witch who had given her the potion in the woods.
Sephia took a step back as her hand flew to her mouth.
Our magic centers around life and protection…theirs aligns with death and deception. Necromancy, shapeshifting, possession…
“Shapeshifter,” she breathed. “Shadow fae.”
“As are you, in your own way.”
Sephia shook her head and grabbed the bars before her, fighting the urge to sink to the ground underneath the weight of all of her mistakes.
How could she have been tricked like this?
“But the witch of the woods,” she stammered, “she was not fae. She—“
“She left long ago, despite what yourself and the other residents of Ocalith have been led to believe. She’s been gone for nearly eighteen years, in fact.”
“Eighteen years?”
“Since soon after you and your sister were born.”
Her skin crawled as a dozen realizations and dark possibilities sprang into her mind.
“I haven’t been there for eighteen years, mind you,” said the Shadow fae. “There have been several of us over the years, watching you. Waiting to see if we could make something useful out of you.”
“Hiding in the woods likecowards, you mean?”
“We had to be close enough to help you with that magic you were born with, didn’t we?”
“Help me? What did youdo? What did I…” She felt dizzy, suddenly, as she thought of all of those strange, shadowy moments she’d experienced growing up. Her magic had always seemed stronger than most of the Shadow twins that had come before her, the palace elders said. More wild. And there were those rumors that her magic was responsible for awful things, like…
“Nora.” Her sister’s name left her in a painful gasp. “Is it true that my magic was responsible for her sickness? Did you have something to do with that?”
“It could have been a clean accident,” said the fae in a voice that was smoky and smooth and entirely unapologetic.
The other fae remained in the shadows. Its mad laughter occasionally echoed through the space, but otherwise it contributed nothing but more uneasiness to the conversation.
“But you proved…resistant to our control,” said the one standing before Sephia. “So she lived. Shadow cursed, but still living. A lot of our kind gave up on you after that. But I still saw potential, so I decided to pay you a visit. And I soon discovered that you planned to take your sister’s place, and so I…”
“You used me.”
“Helpedyou.”
She squeezed the torch in her hand, barely resisting the urge to jab it through the bars.
“We are on the same side, Sephia,” said the fae, calmly. “And you’ve gotten exceptionally close to the Sun Prince, just as you told me you would. So you can still help us.”
She could hardly spit the words out quickly enough: “I won’t do it.”
“No?”
“I share your magic. Not your enemies. I won’t fight those enemies or restart whatever wars you want to with this court.”
“I see.” The fae wrapped its fingers around the bars of the cell. Leaned closer. “But you still want to protect your sister, don’t you? More thananything?”
“Yes, but—“
