“That was until a witch on her street opened another millinery shop and worked faster than she ever could,” Prilla said.“My mother spent endless sleepless nights trying to compete with that creature.That witch sewed like a demon.Mother said her needle was but a blur.A multitude of hats and gloves, all completed in less than a day.She looked a lot like you, coincidentally.”
Grandma had opened a millinery shop back in her day.Could it possibly be the same one Prilla spoke of?Did Mrs.Lewis’s grudge go further back than I’d thought?Reeling from this revelation, I put my hands on my hips, hoping I looked more composed than I felt.“What about it?It’s hardly our fault humans can’t keep up.”
Prilla’s eyes flared with rage.“It’s because ofyourkind that my mother lost her love for her life’s work.It was a blessing to us all when King Humphrey banned you creatures from the kingdom.She was happy again.We didn’t have to scrounge up coins for meals.Then, everything fell apart when that fool King Maximus decided to end the Non-Magic Age.”
“I don’t think it’s wise to call your king a fool,” I said.
Prilla scoffed.“The crown has failed us.We deserve a new crown, one made by the people,” she said haughtily.“A crown that serves justice and promotes equality.We vow to drive you witches out of Olderea again, and this time, we’ll clear you out underground.”
I narrowed my eyes, recalling that Mrs.Lewis had met with a strange man in the alleyway who claimed that she was no use to the crown.They weren’t talking about the royals.It was the name of an organization.“So,” I said.“There’s another anti-witch group.You dare to call yourselves The Crown when you’re actively against it?”
Prilla smiled, though there was no humor in it.“We do not go against the laws of our king.Our operations are perfectly lawful.Perhaps we rent a crumbling building to an entrepreneurial witch girl that grows more and more inhospitable by the day.Perhaps we erase her achievements with misinformation in the press.Perhaps we make an emissary’s experience in Witch Village a living nightmare.”
I curled my hands into fists, as her words sank in.All this time I had blamed my bad luck when in fact it had been Prilla Lewis and her odious organization that had caused so much trouble.“You had no right,” I seethed.“I worked hard to get where I am—”
“So did my mother,” Prilla shot back.“And yet she was outdone by a witch milliner who had no consideration for any of the humans around her.”
“You’ve interfered with a royal assignment,” I said.“Edmund de Clare was supposed to experience Witch Village as it is, not as you caused it to be.You pushed him.You broke his ankle and made him sick.You murdered Manuel Greenwood and caused the blackout.”
Prilla barked a laugh.“You give me too much credit, witch girl.I only placed a handful of peanuts in a stew.That old man and his wife were careless, leaving their window open.You witches are quite loose-lipped, so it was not difficult to find out about his allergy.The rest?Your precious emissary must’ve had terrible balance,” she said, a nasty smile on her lips.“And the fever was a delightful surprise.Though I figured you witches werediseasedin some way or other.”
I felt my magic roil under my skin.“What do you intend to do, then?Prevent Edmund from going aboveground?”
Prilla shrugged.“I’ll do no such thing.When your emissary turns in his report to the King's Council, he’ll do most of the work for me.”
“Did you write your own slanderous report and switch it with his?”I demanded.
Prilla laughed again, this time doubling over with so much mirth that the branches around her shook.“Witches justloveto blame everyone but themselves.No, Giselle.How can you possibly think that your emissary will submit a glowing report of Witch Village when his time here has been nothing but miserable?The darkness, a broken ankle, a fever, inhospitable living arrangements, rude hostesses...the list goes on.Did you eventryto give him a good experience?”
I fumed, unable to come up with any words to refute her.“You’re coming with us to confess your crimes to the crown prince.”
“Crimes?”Prilla clasped her hands behind her head and scoffed.“Haven’t you been listening?I did nothing in contempt of the law.”
“Youmurdereda witch,” I said.
“I put peanuts in his stew,” Prilla said.“I didn’t force him to eat it.”
Hopelessness washed over me.There really was nothing I could do.There was no evidence I could give that proved she deliberately poisoned a witch—not without her direct testimony, which I doubted she’d be willing to give.
Prilla straightened and jumped down from the tree, brushing off the loose leaves on her patchwork skirt.“Well, I suppose I should be off now.It has been interesting to see these unfortunate events unfurl for you, but I do miss the fresh air.”
She began to walk past me, but I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back with more force than I knew I possessed.Prilla gasped as I spun her around.
“What?Are you going to beat me?Use your hypnosis on me?”she said with a savage smile, revealing glistening, crooked teeth.“By all means, go ahead!You’ll only speed up the inevitable.Another witch, gone mad.Just like that opera singer last winter.Imaginetwoderanged witches in prison.Maybe that’ll be enough to convince King Maximus that letting your kind back into the kingdom was an idiotic idea after all.”
Anger coursed through me, hot and intense and threatening to explode.I pushed her away.“Leave!You’re not welcome here!”
Prilla Lewis straightened the sleeves of her jacket.“Gladly.”
I drew in a breath, then exhaled hard, watching her disappear into the darkness.Prilla Lewis, a mere human, had managed to completely wreck an emissary’s experience and plunge Witch Village into darkness.But I shouldn’t have been surprised.Humans had always ruled this kingdom, had always been in the position of power, even if they didn’t possess magic.
I didn’t know how long I stood there before pattering footsteps sounded from the path behind me.
Maddox held a witchlight lantern, bathing our surroundings in golden light.“You were gone for a while,” he said.“Nasha told us to check on you.”
“Gigi, who were you talking to?”Christabella asked from behind him.A shawl fluttered around her shoulders and she drew it tighter when she came toward me.
I looked away, clenching and unclenching my hands.“An unwelcome human,” I said bitterly.“She’s been meddling in our affairs.She caused the blackout.”
