Andhow?She shook her head. This would mean someone in her immediate family had magic, and she knew Connall wasn’t even a remote possibility. He’d served in the militia alongside men who could literally smell magical blood. He never would have survived.
But her mother? Unease roiled within her. She wasn’t so easy to rule out. Almost everything she knew of her mother came from Pa, and he never mentioned magic. Hazel considered the possibility that she’d kept part of herself a secret.
Or maybe Connall had some explaining to do.
And if shewasa descendant of someone with magic, why was it just now manifesting? She was almost in her thirtieth year. Wasn’t this sort of thing supposed to rear its ugly head sooner in life, like some forbidden witch puberty?
Her thoughts drifted to the Witchbane powder, and she immediately regretted not pressing Agnes for more information.
She heard voices up ahead, which snapped her back to the present. She was happy to be amongst other humans again, damn near wanting to sprint to them and hug them. She took a deep breath.Relax. You can worry about this later. Be… normal.
A small group gathered about a wagon, chatting and carrying on. Dressed nicer than she was used to, they wore clothes without holes or stains. Travelers, perhaps. As she approached, they stopped talking. The one bearing a long, braided beard, possibly their leader, inclined his head out of respect.
“Hello, ma’am,” he said. He eyed her up and down, his gaze lingering a bit too long.
For fuck’s sake…
“Do you need someone to accompany you home? Where we’re from, women don’t travel alone. And from what folks are saying, it’s dangerous out here.”
Says who? I wonder if I’m not the only one to have crossed that Striga.Instead, she said, “No, thank you. I am headed home now, and I walk this road often. But thank you for your…concern.”
His tone changed, then, becoming less pleasant and more demanding. “I don’t think you heard me right, miss. Word on the street is there’s a murderer about these parts. You really shouldn’t be…”
“I said I’m fine,thank you.” She turned away when a thought struck her. “Wait—did you say murderer?” It was the first she’d heard of such a thing, and she’d barely been gone half a day. “Who died?”
“Well, no one knows for sure, it seems, but word has it that the innkeeper over there had it out for the town butcher. Now, that butcher supposedly went missing under mysterious circumstances. As for us, well, we aren’t from around here, and some would say we shouldn’t speak about it as such. But from the sounds of it, they had bad blood and folks seem to think the innkeeper fellow might have finally done him in.”
What the Hel? My father, a murderer?It was the first time she’d heard any of this. Her hand rose to the spot where her necklace rested beneath her tunic, fighting the urge to rub it between her fingers. She couldn’t imagine any reason some random travelers would start a rumor about people they knew nothing about, which meant…
“Who’s been saying these things? Where’d you hear about it?” She tried to control her voice. It wouldn’t do to sound overly concerned.
The man gave her a perplexed look, one thick eyebrow raised. “The real question is, who isn’t? Everyone we met back thereat the market had something to say about it. Seems a shame of a thing to happen in this quiet town,” he glanced around, gesturing with his hands. “But everywhere in this gods-forsaken kingdom seems to have issues these days.”
Hazel nodded. “Thanks for the information. I need to be going. Better to be sure I’m home before dark.”
The man shrugged in return. “Suit yourself. C’mon boys, we best be moving on as well.” He and his friends said nothing more, letting her go without trouble. She wasn’t sure she trusted them, but it was the least of her concerns at the moment.
Hazel had no desire to get involved in town gossip, but this was her father, and the allegations were serious. It was personal.
Jonas might have been a drunk and a massive thorn in their sides more often than not, but Pa wouldn’t havekilledhim.
Ugh.She loathed gossip. Ignored it. But this time it meant her father’s reputation on the line, and she would not stand around and do nothing about it.
She returned home to their cottage to find Connall already gone. She had hoped to talk to him about what folks were saying before he walked into town and found himself blindsided. But perhaps they’d keep it to themselves in his presence. He was, after all, far and above the most respected person in their village. But if this rumor caught on…
She ran into Ezekiel on the way to the Briar & Rose, as usual. It was one of his patrol routes.
“Hey, Haz,” he said by way of greeting. His strong jawline was accentuated by his dimpled smile, a smile he reserved for her. Tan skin and dark brown hair drew in the sunlight as he approached.
“Hi, Zeke,” she said flatly.
He frowned. “You okay? You seem off.”
“I’m fine.”I am definitelynotfine. “Well… Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Is this about Jonas?” He was always so insightful.
She shrugged.It most certainly has nothing to do with the earlier attack in the woods. Or that I might have used magic.Instead, she settled on “Yep,” as her response. Because between the two topics, it was far less risky to discuss the rumors around her father.
