Hazel shrugged. Why would she care what she thought? No one else did.
Mori opened the tent and let the visitor step in.
Hazel looked up, her gaze meeting eyes she’d seen before. The shape of them. The depth. The color. But she couldn’t placewhere.
“Hello, Princess.” She had light brown skin and freckled cheeks, with poofy bronze hair pulled into twin balls on either side of her head. But those eyes… they were so unnaturally green.
“Do I know you?” Hazel arched a brow.
She smiled. “Yes, and no. My name is Roshi, short for Roshiannagh. But you know me as…” In a burst of blinding light, Roshi transformed.
Hazel looked down to find Roshi was no longer herself, but someone else entirely. The orange cat. He—or rather, she—rubbed up against Hazel’s shins and purred.
“Showoff,” muttered Mori. “Roshi is a druid, specializing in animal likenesses.”
“What in the name of the gods?” Hazel exclaimed. “You do not seriously expect me to believe… it was… he wasyou?”
The orange cat at her feet meowed.
In another flash, Roshi was standing before them again. “Yes,” she said, “He was me. I was he. I can take the form of many creatures, male or female doesn’t particularly matter.”
“And you just never thought to tell me you’re human? All this time?” Her shock was palpable.
Roshi made to answer but was cut off by Mori’s soft touch.
“Perhaps it is best if I give you two some time. I’ll be back when your accommodations are ready.” Mori quickly left, leaving Hazel with so many questions.
When she was gone, Hazel found Roshi staring at her.
“A cat?” Hazel questioned. “All the times I was in trouble. All the creatures you could have been, and you chose acat.” Her voice was thick with condescension.
Roshi laughed. “It’s not that simple. Regretfully, I cannot take the form of something fierce like a wyvern or a were-cat. I’m limited to small animals and birds, mostly. Occasionally I can pull off the likeness of a pony or a stag. But… I was required to stay inconspicuous.” She paused, looking contemplative. “I hung around your cottage for a while. I couldn’t decide if I should stay or not. After all, you lived a quiet life. And I… seem to bring chaos wherever I go.” She laughed, but then her face grew serious as she looked at Hazel’s attentive stare. “Then, the night I was going to leave, you had a horrible fit in your sleep. So, I slipped into my cat form and hopped onto your bed. It seemed to comfort you, and somehow that was all the more reason I needed to stay.”
Hazel thought about the times Roshi had comforted her without her knowledge. Every time she thought she had no one, Roshi—her cat—had been there.
“You want to know what’s strange, Roshi? I knew there was something off about you from the beginning. But never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that my cat companion was actually a druid.”
“Surprise!” she exclaimed, grinning.
“Yeah, it was a surprise alright.” Hazel shook her head. “Did you… did you know where I needed to go? What I needed to do? Or were you just along for the ride?”
“Ha! No, I was as clueless as they come. I just thought… well, I was lost and it seemed you were too.”
Hazel looked at the floor, pondering her next words carefully. “Roshi, I have a lot of questions I need answers to. I don’t even know where to start, but?—”
Mori appeared at the tent’s door, popping her head in as though she’d never left. “All questions that will be answered in time, once you’ve settled in. For now, though, your rooms are ready,” she interjected with a stern look that held no room for negotiation.
Roshi bowed deeply. “Welcome home, Princess.”
Hazel managed a soft smile that didn’t reach her eyes. But deep down she knew she wasn’t home. Not here. Not yet. And certainly not while Slaide, who’d sacrificed everything to get her where she’d thought she wanted—no,needed—to be, would face unimaginably severe consequences upon his return to Ravenhold. So, no, settling in would have to wait.
She may be a witch destined by Fate, but Fate had also shown her she was nothing without her Fallen. If she was to rewrite the future, she would do it with him by her side. She toyed with the locket, reminded of the irony that she had found it as empty as her heart upon finally meeting her mother.
I will find you, Slaide, even if it’s the last thing I do.
EPILOGUE
Slaide glared at Magnus, his amber eyes ablaze. If looks alone could kill, the High King would be a pile of ash on the throne room floor.
