I didn’t bother asking how she knew any of this, because I knew she wouldn’t share it with me.
“Because I won’t stand in the way of his happiness.”
She chuckled.
“And what will you do when his mate comes forward? Will you leave the man you love?”
“I will leave because I love him.” The words I had held in for so long rippled around us, like my curse was listening and hearing what was happening.
The words clung in the air around us, and Jade smiled like she had waited for those words to fall from my mouth too.
“What if he is my mate?” I asked.
“Then your curse would’ve broken the moment you said those words to each other, the moment you decided to love each other. But it didn’t… Instead, it wrapped around you like a chain. Can you feel the heaviness?"
Her words crushed me, but I knew that I wasn’t his mate. There was no way that I was good enough to have someone like Abram. My magic surged forward with my pain and grief, but I shoved it down.
“Why do you do that?” she asked.
I didn’t know what she meant.
“Why do you hide your power? Your mother was powerful, Elowyn, one of the greatest witches I have ever met. But you? Gods above, your power is an extension of your every movement. You walked through the godsdamn ward I have around us, and even the gods can’t cross it.”
She cocked her head to the side, waiting for me to answer her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t lie. I know you have put binds on yourself so that your magic can’t be detected, but I feel it. You are powerful.”
I locked it away because I didn’t deserve it. I was only powerful because my mother mated with the man she knew would give her a powerful heir.
“Ah, because your mother.” She smiled. “You should use it. Don’t let your mother’s whorish ways go to waste.”
My jaw clenched, but I didn’t want to defend my mother. I wondered if Jade’s daughter had magic like I did too.
“Too bad you won’t ever produce an heir to pass along that magic to.” She smiled like the cunt she was. My stomach twisted at her words, a bitter pang of anger and helplessness curling through me.
“Is there a deal you would make to save my coven?” I asked, my voice barely steady, though my hands gripped the edge of the table.
“Like what?”
“If I leave, will you let them have children and thrive again?” My throat felt tight as I spoke, and I had to swallow hard to keep my voice from breaking.
Her brows knitted together, studying me with that calculating stare that always made me feel small.
“You’d do that for a coven that does not care for you?”
“Why do you think that?” I snapped, my chest heaving. Heat and frustration coursed through me.
She chuckled, the sound sharp, almost cruel, as she took another slow sip of her tea. Her eyes pinned me to my seat, unwavering, as she traced the rim of the cup with a finger like she was savoring the power she held over me.
“Some of your witches already approached me to make this deal, and I told them to fuck off.”
Betrayal slammed into me, cold and hard. My coven had gone behind my back, trying to bargain for themselves without me. My heart twisted, a sting of hurt that I could hardly swallow. But a part of me understood—they were desperate, and I had always been the outsider.
“Well, if I wanted to make this deal, would you consider it?” I asked, my voice quieter now, but edged with steel.
“Your crowning is soon?” she asked, leaning slightly forward, her smile taunting and knowing.
