“I’ve never been here.”
“Don’t lie. I know you were the one who rescued Gideon,” she said coyly, turning toward the iron doors. “Pieces of your magic were left behind.”
I couldn’t hide the surprise that crossed my expression.
“Oh, is that another little thing no one told you?” Her smile widened. “We all leave a little bit of ourselves behind when we use magic.”
My hands curled at my sides.
The Priestess drifted toward a door with irritating elegance and brushed her fingers along the frame. The iron groaned in response, but the door didn’t open.
“Your mother stayed just behind here,” she said. “Briefly.”
My jaw tightened until it hurt, and I stared ahead.
“She was really unhelpful.” The Priestess sighed, sounding almost bored. “I’d hoped time might harden her or, at the very least, make her interesting. Sadly, she remained frightened, indignant, and shockingly committed to misunderstanding everything.”
“I think she understood more than you know.”
She turned to face me. “I hope the same doesn’t come of you, but I feel like you might have a little kick in you yet,”
“Well, being kidnapped tends to make people less receptive,” I told her.
“She wasn’t kidnapped. She came on her own.”
“You should hear yourself sometimes.” I shook my head. “You obviously wouldn’t let her leave.”
“I have.” She smiled faintly. “My voice carries beautifully. And your mother foolishly thought she could trick me. Once she realized she was wrong, I made it clear she shouldn’t leave. That’s not kidnapping.”
I stepped closer to the door, though I didn’t touch it. The air around it felt stale, heavy with the kind of fear that clung even after the person had been removed.
My mother had been here in this cold little cell.
The same one where Gideon had been locked away.
“How poetic, don’t you think?” the Priestess asked, as if reading the thought from my face. “Gideon occupied this space before her. He paced. Brooded. Whispered threats. Very dramatic. Your mother mostly sat in the corner, silent and far less entertaining.”
I turned toward her slowly.
“Careful.”
Her brows lifted, and for a moment, she looked pleased.
“Or what, Maeve?”
That was the terrible part.
At that exact moment, I didn’t know. I felt like one big, empty threat, and all I could do with my time was try to learn.
And that had to count for something.
My shadow mark had changed again as we neared the cells. It felt almost as if the mark recognized this corridor and wanted me to press my palm against every door until it found what it was looking for.
I didn’t trust it.
I didn’t trust anything in this place that felt like recognition.
A low scrape sounded somewhere below us, and I froze.
