“We’ll help however we can,” Genevieve said, her face earnest.
“Do you need us to tell Prince Ash?” Olivia said.
I scuffed the floor with my heel. “No need,” I said. “He can’t do anything for me.”
Tori scoffed. “Don’t tell me he didn’t try to stop your arrest after all you did for him!”
The last thing I wanted was to talk about Ash. I pressed my lips together. “Never mind that,” I said. “Tori, find Erasmus, the royal inspector.”
“You mean the ugly-haired old fellow who told us about you?” she said.
I nodded. “I need him to bring me some of my truth potion, if it’s still there. And a vial of his sleeping draught.” I turned to Genevieve. “Gen, can you pay a visit to Miriam? Her shop is right next to the post office.”
“Absolutely,” my stepsister said. “Anything for you.”
I gave her hand a squeeze. “Tell her what happened. And tell her I’ll see her soon, if things go according to plan.”
Olivia rocked on her feet, looking at me expectantly.
“Er...Olivia, you can choose to join Genevieve or Tori, or both of them if you prefer,” I said.
She frowned, but nodded. “Very well,” she said. “Will you be alright on your own?”
My lips twitched upward. The tuft of straw I was eying swirled in the air in a figure eight. “Of course. I’m a witch.”
––––––––
IT WAS NEVER TRULYquiet in the dungeon. The guards snored, the prisoners moaned, and the rodents squeaked. A rat scurried across my cell and wriggled into a hole in the wall.
Normally, I would’ve been terrified. But worse things awaited beyond the dungeon walls. I hoped I’d be ready to face them within the next hour.
My pockets hung heavy with two vials—Erasmus’s sleeping draught and my unfinished truth potion. Both were still covered in a greasy film of lard. Erasmus had hidden them in last night’s stew.
I pulled out the sleeping draught and pressed my ear to the door. Shortly after Tori, Olivia, and Genevieve’s visit, two new guards were stationed outside my cell. Luckily, they were a loud pair. Even their snores were deafening. It made it easy to determine their schedule. Each night they dined before my door and passed out drunk until midnight. Tonight, if all went according to plan, they wouldn’t awaken till morning.
“Care for a game of cards over dinner, Ken?”
“And leave the witch’s cell unguarded? Have you gone mad?”
“It’s been four days. She would’ve escaped by now if she meant to.”
“Well, Ronnie, maybe she already has. We’ve never locked a witch up before. Perhaps there’s a reason for that. They’ll just end up using some voodoo or other to magic themselves away.”
“That’s hardlyourfault, then, is it?”
There was a pause. “I suppose not.”
“Cards it is. I’ll deal.”
“Hold on. We ought to check if she’s still there.”
“Alright. You do it.”
“Me? You do it.”
“No, you.”
Ken gave an exasperated sigh. “How about we both do it?”
