But she didn’t speak.
“Careful,” the Priestess said mildly. “You’ll exhaust yourself chasing distance that isn’t real.”
My hands curled into fists. “Let her go.”
A faint smile touched her mouth.
“You’re still thinking in terms of release and rescue,” she said. “How quaint.”
My stomach twisted. “Is she hurt?”
The Priestess didn’t answer.
Instead, she turned slightly, glancing back toward my mother as though checking the placement of a piece on a board.
“Your daughter is stubborn,” she said over her shoulder.
My mother didn’t respond. She simply looked forward, her gaze steady and unreadable.
Rage flared hot in my chest.
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not standing here.”
The Priestess’s attention returned to me.
“Oh, you are very much standing here,” she said. “Which is exactly why this conversation is worth having.”
I shook my head. “If you think I’m joining you—”
“You have already given me so much,” she interrupted gently.
“I have not.”
“You’ve awakened the Academy,” she said, as if explaining something obvious. “You’ve stirred the Wards. You’ve drawn every wandering creature in this valley closer to those walls.”
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
“You’ve done more in months than the covens managed in a century.”
I looked around me as if memorizing every stone, every line, and every curvature could save my mom.
“That doesn’t mean I belong with you.”
“No,” she said thoughtfully. “Not yet.”
The torches flickered as if joining in the conversation, and behind the Priestess, my mother shifted her weight slightly, andthat’s when I saw no shackles, ropes, or anything keeping her there.
“What are you doing to her?” I asked.
The Priestess followed my gaze again.
“Nothing she didn’t willingly step into.”
I shook my head. “That’s not answering my question.”
The Priestess had already turned her back to me.
“You care about Stonewick,” she said softly. “The Academy. The town. These scattered little factions pretend they can coexist. It’s something to admire if it weren’t so pitiful.”
