Emrys grins at me, his eyes roaming over my body, undressing me while I try to focus. A delicious shudder runs through my body, then I glance at the old witch, who has finally stopped her annoying coughing.
“Speak,” I say, my tone icy calm.
She stares at me, her eyes irritated, then her gaze shifts past me to whoever's standing there. Without having to turn around, I already know someone's shrouded in shadows when I hear a muffled cry, and Helda’s eyes widen in fear.
“Instead of constantly trying to hex us or have one of your witches put a spell on us, answer my beloved’s question. Itshouldn’t be that difficult,” Emrys growls, his patience reduced to a silken thin thread that could snap at any moment.
The witch who got ensnared in his shadows is thrown between us three, now making the woman the center of our attention. She scrambles into a kneeling position. Her long brown hair falls across her shoulders, and she doesn’t dare to look up at any of us, not even her elder. She places her hands on top of her abdomen, her thumbs and index fingers creating a triangle shape, head slightly bent, eyes staring hard at the wooden flooring.
A deep sigh comes from Helda. “It’s fine, Sable, just tell them. Nothing in these streets is a silent truth anymore, it seems. Even the stoned walls appear to listen in on whatever is going on.”
“Again?” the young witch asks.
“What do you meanagain?” Emrys questions.
Once more, the witch, Sable, glances at Helda for permission to respond to our probes.
“I’m done being threatened. Yes,again, and I’ll let Adira know the deal is off. This isn’t worth it, the threats against my coven for some blood,” she spits huffily.
“The first ones to come here…" Sable pauses, as if it pains her even to recall the visit of their previous visitors. “It was the Death Witch and the First Quarter Witch. The youngling and her protector. They wanted to know about the curse and our bargain as well.”
Emrys raises an eyebrow at that. “Who else?” he asks with curiosity.
“After that… the dhampir.”
A visible tremble runs through Sable at the memory of the dhampir knocking on their door.
“Although he came to see your mother, or at least learn about her. He didn’t appear to be the least bit interested in the curse.”
Sable turns to Helda. “That was peculiar, wasn’t it?”
Helda nods in agreement. “I honestly do not know what the dhampir’s business is with your mother, my child. I promise.”
“She's telling the truth,” Emrys confirms, as dark tendrils creep over Helda’s skin, listening to her heartbeat and sensing the smallest drop of sweat.
“Adira, she comes here to research the curse, to break it, with our help. In return, she signed a bargain with Helda… If the curse is broken, she’ll provide us with her own blood, but also the blood of her children. Your… purified blood.”
“What business do you have with their blood?” Emrys snarls.
“We’re working on a concoction, a potion against the coven of the First Quarter Witch. Do not ask more, Umbra, please, I beg of you… I don’t want you to be part of our fight; this is witches’ business,” Helda says.
“Fine, but why is our blood so special? Because it was cursed? Is that it?” I ask.
As Sable starts to speak, my mouth parts slightly, and my throat feels dry like sandpaper. This can't be true…
“You’re lying,” I whisper.
“I knew it,” Emrys says at the same time.
My head jerks toward him, “What do you mean you knew?”
“I had a hunch, Tempest. I sensed it, like a faint pulse, but after the curse evaporated, it became more distinct. I could almost taste the essence on my tongue.”
As I ponder his words and Sable's, she tries to quiz us about how we broke the curse. Emrys gives her a brief rundownof what happened with Elijah, leaving out certain violent details here and there, hesitant to share our story with witches like them, who are cunning and deceitful.
“So, basically, all that needs to be done is find the cursed soulmate and slit their throat?” Sable concludes.
Emrys and I both nod.
