Agnes eyed her and lowered her voice just above a whisper. “It’s all parlor tricks, my dear. None of these objects will raise enough suspicion, and tea leaves are for steeping and drinking. They soothe a variety of ailments from fever to body aches to watery bowels. Nothing to see here but an old woman with abunch of herbs and ‘useless junk.’ No one hereknowswhat I am or what I do.I’m assuming that answers what you’re afraid to ask.” Hazel nodded. “Now then, what brings you by?”
Truthfully? She was running from things she refused to acknowledge. Haunted by nightmares, attacked by a Striga, stalked by a witch hunter…
“Nothing in particular. I’m leaving for the tournament tomorrow myself and thought I would stop in and see how you’re doing before I go.” She smiled.Liar.
Agnes frowned, because of course she could see right through the farce. She’d known Hazel her entire life. She set the cup down and sat back in her chair, assessing.
“I see.”
Hazel couldn’t meet Agnes’s intense gaze. “I… was wondering,” she swallowed hard, “if you would have any tea to help someone sleep through the night? I’d intended to get some from you when I last visited, but it slipped my mind.”
“Hmm.” Agnes nodded thoughtfully. “I can certainly put something together.” She stood then, moving back to her bottles and trinkets and talismans along the back table.
“And…” Hazel began again, tucking a hair behind her ear, “something to protect from harmful creatures.”
Agnes kept working, but she asked, “What sort of creatures? Wolves, bears… exes?” She laughed at her own joke.
If Hazel was going to be honest with anyone, if she could trust anyone, it was Agnes. She took a deep breath then released it.
“No. More like… a Striga.” It was such a weight off her shoulders, and yet, Hazel was going to throw up. It sounded so much worse said aloud.
The glass bottles clattered against each other and something crashed to the floor as Agnes visibly jumped at the mention of the creature. The old woman turned around in slow motion,fixing Hazel with a stare pointed enough to level an entire town. Abandoning the things she’d been working on, Agnes slid back into her chair, clearly shaken.
“Tell. Me. Everything,” she whispered intensely. “Leavenothingout.”
So, Hazel did. She thoroughly spilled her guts to the woman, sparing not a single detail. She even admitted to the possibility that magicmighthave erupted from her palms when she went toe-to-toe with the Striga. Agnes never interrupted, nodding occasionally and asking questions here and there.
When she finished and Agnes had run out of questions, they sat in silence. After a few moments, Agnes closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She stood from her chair without a word and walked to the front door. She locked it and proceeded to close the shutters. “We have a lot to discuss, and not a lot of time.”
“So, you mean to tell me,”Hazel said, “that the King struck some kind of deal with the Aetherial gods to protect us, but the lands had to be stripped of magic in return and we had to forsake all others? Who did we need protecting from, exactly?”
Agnes shrugged. “One of many questions I’m afraid we don’t have the answers to. He declared the alliance was to protect Aeos from the Outer Kingdoms, claiming war was looming over us. But it made little sense. Aeos was one of the most magically adept kingdoms in the world. Few could have challenged us and posed an actual threat.”
Hazel sat back in her chair and released a breath in an audiblewhoosh. “And our Border. It’s made of the magic peoplehave donated over the years, and it’s weakening because there are fewer and fewer… donations. So that’s how the Striga got through.” She was trying to piece everything together. Pa had told her none of this, and her heart threatened to leap out of her chest. “Is-is that also why my magic is… manifesting? Because the dampening wards are failing along with the Border?”
Agnes nodded. “Possibly, but I do have another theory… About this magic of yours. Have you accessed it since then?” Hazel shook her head. “Want to try?”
“Here?”
“It’s as safe a place as any. We don’t have to, though.” Agnes shrugged, feigning indifference. “I just thought I’d ask. I could likely help you, if you needed.”
“I just don’t understand how or why I have it. All my life I’ve been ordinary. I’ve stayed out of trouble and done as I’m told. Now, I’ve got this-this scar on my entire being… like some abomination.” She dropped her head into her hands.
A warm, soft hand came to rest on her shoulder. She lifted her head.
Agnes’s eyes were shining. “This is what you weremadefor, dear. You’re the furthest thing from an abomination. And… there’s something else you should know.”
Hazel leaned in, eager to hear what would come next.
“I want to tell you about your mother. I wonder, how much has your father told you about her?”
“As much as he knows, I suppose? Which I would assume is everything. She was bright, kind, and strong. She was a steward of the land and had a way with plant life. I know she loved me, and even though she’s no longer with us, I can still feel her presence.” It made her feel warm inside to talk to someone else about her mother. A weight lifted.
But Agnes looked displeased, her lips slightly downturned. “You’re not wrong, dear, but there was so much more. She had powers, Hazel. And she was both gentle and fierce, just like you.”
Powers.Hazel shivered and her chest swelled with pride. She’d waited her whole life to hear more about her mother. She’d never expected Agnes would be the one to tell her.
Agnes continued. “When the pact was made, the strongest witches had to seek asylum elsewhere. This was prior to the Dampening going into effect, you see, so many of them could get out before the Border was strengthened. Your mother, however, stayed.”
