“You chose it because you’re combative,” Selah said curtly. “I don’t mean that as a curse, but if you’re going to lie, it can’t be to yourself. Not if you’re going to rule anything.”
Yemi rolled her eyes but tried to keep her polite tact. “With respect, you know nothing about me but my mother’s complaints.”
“Well, with respect, your knowing nothing of the Mer hasn’t kept you from claiming them, has it? How many do you know by name? Who rules the sea now? You claim that branch of your lineage because it separates you from something you despise in humanity.”
That was enough.
“This lecture. Is it part of your ‘helping’ me, or are you doing it for free?” Yemi asked.
Selah chuckled and halted their trek. “The seed of my power has its roots in aid. I’m bound to use it for the benefit of others, and sometimes, like right now, it’s a curse. Channeling my power into myself would work like a poison—it would eat me from the inside out. So when I pledge to do everything in my power to help Your Royal Insolence, it’s a considerable amount. Butyouset the limitations on that by not listening. By not having the right enemies and putting yourself on the same pedestal as the ancient evil that is the Obé.”
“I can handle myself,” Yemi replied, turning away. Even if she couldn’t really, all Yemi needed were the tools and she’d figure the rest out.
“Oh, she can handle you, too,” Selah said, starting to walk off.
Yemi selected her words carefully to disguise her impatience as she lengthened her stride to keep up. “Look, I don’t mean to be difficult. This is me at my most receptive, so if you’re going to help, fine, but give me something I can use.Please.”
Selah spun on her, a finger wagging furiously inches from her face. “Shesoughtyouout.Shehas a plan foryou. Consider what that is, and when you realize you have no idea what it could possibly be, abandon this ridiculous plot of yours and find another way back to your throne.”
“I’ll consider it. But youwilltell me where she is,” Yemi insisted. “That was our deal!” she continued as Selah cursed and threw up her hands. The witch stalked away for a few steps before disappearing in a puff of dust whisked away on the wind.
Yemi waited for her to reappear, turning in circles to scan the area. There was only the serenity of the lake and the humming of bees. She was alone and still half a mile from the house. She groaned at the sky—at least it wasn’t raining—and started moving again at a quicker pace. It wasn’t the first time someone had fled her company in a fit of annoyance, but it was the first time they’d vanished completely. She hoped Selah had spirited herself back to the front porch and not someplace she had to be hunted down again.
The question of what Ursla wanted from Yemi was a fair one, she admitted, but only insofar as it provided her with leverage for a deal of her own.
There was no sign of Selah on any of the porches when Yemi finally reached the house. She did not take root in the courtyard and the trees there didn’t consume her as she bounded up the stairs and back inside. Things on the main floor remained just as they’d been left. Her teacup was still in the sink. Selah was nowhere to be found.
“Shit,” Yemi muttered, racing downstairs to the lower level. Nova snored gently, stretched out on her back in bed.
“Nova!” Yemi called from the doorway, and Nova snorted herself awake.
“Huh? Wha?”
“Have you seen Selah? Or heard from her?”
“Not since this morning.” Nova yawned and looked toward the window. “What time is it?”
“Late. She’s gone.”
“Gone? Gone where?”
“I don’t know, she just…” Yemi made a poofing gesture with her hand, but her attention turned to one of the unnamed doors across the hall where something was tapping. There was something else, too: the sensation of being watched, menaced in a way that raised the fine hairs on her arms, though there were no eyes in the hallway.
Warily, she approached. The tapping stopped as she placed her hand on the door, but became a scrape as she moved it, and she could feel it following her. It clattered against the floor as she reached for the knob. She opened the door barely inches and the sliver of light from the hallway exposed objects on shelves along the wall. The air within was warm and smelled of old earth. A bloodred stone the size of her palm glowed on the ground. As she bent to pick it up, the door slammed and her hand was seized, a force grabbing her by the wrist and pressing her against the wall. Her spear dropped at her side.
“What are you doing?” Selah’s voice sounded hollow and sinister as she glowered from the base of the stairs.
“You disappeared!” Yemi said quickly, remembering the soldier with the broken neck now a smattering of sodden ash beside the lake. “There was a noise behind the door. I thought it was y—”
“If there was ever a business you shouldn’t mind, it’s mine,” Selah growled.
Nova appeared with a blade at the base of Selah’s skull, but the witch didn’t flinch.
“What is this?” Nova demanded. “Release her. I’d rather this didn’t get messy.”
Selah ignored her and seemed to be working out who here could be trusted. She looked different now—more focused, more dangerous—but not out of malice. There was something in that room that she was protecting.
“You won’t kill me,” Yemi told her with as much confidence as shecould muster. “It violates the deal you made with my mother. I swear to you on my life that I meant no harm. I was only looking for you. Nova, at ease. It’s fine.”
