We turned back to the clearing, a tranquil reprieve from what lurked behind us. I only hoped it wasn’t an illusion.
I didn’t quite know what I expected of the witch’s residence, but it was not a quaint, little cottage with trailing ivy along the walls and candles that glowed invitingly in the windows. Her home was situated within the center of the clearing, the tree line surrounding it a near-perfect circle. Untamed wild grass filled the open space,peppered with orange and yellow flowers. Golden leaves coated the roof like a gilded blanket.
We paused several yards from her home, waiting for something else to materialize.
Sebastian dismounted, gesturing for me to do the same. I hesitated a moment before I slid off rather ungracefully. As he stood beside me, I eyed his waistcoat again. He wore another black suit comprised of fitted black trousers, a black tailcoat, and this time his waistcoat beneath was also black, which matched my black gown and cloak. I rolled my eyes slightly. He had dressed after I had.
He was about to say something when the door to the cottage flew open. We both stiffened as we waited for what would come through the shadowed doorway.
She stepped into the light. She wore a flowing, white gown with several golden necklaces and bracelets that matched her golden hair, a wild entanglement of tight curls. She was the embodiment of the sun itself. And she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her deep bronzed skin radiated an ethereal glow, and her face was so ... kind. I expected bunnies to bound out from the cottage after her and her path to be paved in glittering sunshine.
“Persistent things, you are.” Her voice rang of an angelic trill with a slight sharpness to it.
She raised a perfect brow as she frowned at me. “You’re human,” she said with an edge of disappointment. “Humans shouldn’t be allowed through the ward. I suppose I am intrigued now. What have you come for?”
“Seraphine, I apologize for coming unannounced. We have come to seek your assistance in closing the portal,” Sebastian answered.
“And because you all believed we opened it, you think we can close it too?” Now her tone harbored a bitter edge.
“I know who opened it, and it was not you or any witch. But I don’t know how to close it. And my knowledge on portals is limited.We don’t know much about it in Svealin.” She didn’t seem surprised or bothered that he was a vampire. I supposed she already knew given she could somehow tell he was not human.
“Very well. You may enter.” She disappeared through the door.
I hesitated to oblige, fearing another trap waiting to strike behind her door. Though I could hardly blame her for protecting herself and her home. Witches may have had bad reputations where I was from, but there were two sides to every story as I was quickly learning.
I trailed after Sebastian, hiding within his shadow. As we entered her cottage, I breathed in a delightful scent. It was sweet, smoky, and woody. Bundles of dried herbs and flowers hung from the ceiling. Tattered, colorful rugs littered the floor. And a giant, wooden table sat at the center of the room before a crackling hearth. It seemed she was in the middle of something as opened jars surrounded a cast iron bowl, along with books strewn about, some opened, some upturned. Candles burned between it all, wax dripping over and melding to the wood.
She brought us over to a sitting room off to the side before a large window. Leaves drifted down from trees in the distance like falling embers, and the wildflowers stirred every now and then. Apart from the heavy silence, it was quite peaceful here, and her home wrapped me up in warmth. I nearly forgot the tales of witches that prodded themselves back into my head.
And she compelled the man to burn his village to the ground.
They followed the rotted roots back to the witch’s home, where the plague reached out.
Winged beasts fell from purple skies, attacking all but her.
I gasped as her touch pulled me from my muddled thoughts. She only touched me for a mere second, but I snatched my hand away, cradling it up to my chest.
“You have been touched by silver.” She eyed me curiously.
I frowned at her for a moment, until I realized. “The exorcisms?”
“They cannot remove what is a part of you.”
“What do you mean?”
She continued on as if I had said nothing. “That must be why the ward could not detect you. And something else, something roams within your blood.”
I glanced over to Sebastian. “Alaric’s blood?”
“Yes, though not exactly,” she answered as if she already knew what I was talking about.
Sebastian eyed me suspiciously. His face remained placid and blank as ever, though the slightest crinkle furrowed his brow.
“A drop of your blood and I can see what the silver tries to take.”
I leaned back in my chair physically repulsed by the idea. I specifically did not want any blood to leave my body. We didn’t even come for this. We came for information on the portal. Though a part of me wondered, and she caught it just as it fled across my face.
“Just a single drop,” she pressed.
