The Mage jerks away from him, then sags in Baz’s arms.
Baz steps back, confused, and lets the Mage drop to the floor. Then Baz reaches for Simon, but Simon is kneeling over the Mage, grasping at his chest.
“I… I think he’s dead. Penny! I think I killed him. Oh God,” Simon sobs. “Oh Merlin. Penny!”
I’m still shaking, but I crawl across the room towards them. “It’s okay, Simon.”
“It’s not okay—the Mage is dead. Why is he dead?”
I don’t know why he’s dead.
I don’t know what’s happening.
“Maybe that’s the only way he could stop hurting you,” I say.
“But I didn’t mean to kill him!” Simon cries, holding the Mage up, his arms around his back.
“Technically, it was Bunce who killed him,” Baz says, but he says it gently, and there are tears in his eyes.
“He’s dead,” Simon says. “The Mage is dead.”
84
LUCY
I didn’t know that something was wrong; I’d never been pregnant before. And no one had ever been pregnant with you, Simon.
The books say that you’ll feel butterfly wings and twitches. A quickening. I felt so much more.
I felt you humming inside me. Busy and bright. I felt flushed from my belly to my fingertips.
Davy never left my side. He cooked for me. He cast blessings over us both.
And maybe you’ll think that kindness was just for the ritual’s sake. But I think he cared for me. I think he cared for you…
I think he wanted us both standing beside him in the bright future he was building. A new World of Mages.
***
Pregnant women are always tired.
They can’t hold down their meals. They feel peaked and light-headed.
One day I went out to feed our new chickens, and I realized I couldn’t get back to the house. I didn’t have enough energy to take another step.
I dropped to my knees, then leaned slowly forward, trying to protect you. Then I felt my lights blinking out.
Davy was inside, taking a nap. When he woke up, he found me there, red and thirsty. He carried me into the house, ranting about what could have happened and why I hadn’t cast for help. But my magic had gone thin—it’d been weeks since I cast a spell. When I’d tried lately, it felt like I was knocking on a hollow box. Everything that was there before justwasn’tanymore.
Everyone’s magic goes a bit wonky when they’re pregnant.
I felt better the next morning.
And worse the next.
The pulling in my stomach had gotten stronger, like a crank that kept tightening. I felt like I couldn’t stay in the cottage, but I couldn’t make it to the door.
“He needs air,” I told Davy, and he didn’t argue.
