Unease curled slowly through my stomach as I realized my hesitation had lasted far too long.
“I see that look,” the Priestess murmured.
“That’s not a look,” I argued quickly. “That’s me realizing you ask questions exactly like the villain in every story.”
“I’m not the villain.” The Priestess closed her eyes briefly as though summoning patience from another realm entirely. “You make everything difficult.”
“I’ve been told it’s one of my defining qualities.”
The faintest hint of amusement touched her face before vanishing again so quickly I almost thought I imagined it, but something shifted.
The warmth disappeared from the room so gradually that it took me a second to realize the fire had dimmed lower beside us. Shadows stretched farther along the stone floor, while the corners of the study darkened beneath a strange heaviness that pressed against the air.
“You should be careful mocking things you don’t understand,” she said quietly.
Every instinct inside me hit at once.
Because the shadows weren’t moving toward her anymore.
They were inching slowly across the floor toward me.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The Priestess stood and walked over to the window while I lifted my teacup to see what had been placed on the saucer. It was a note, possibly from Barlen. He didn’t watch me slide the tiny, ripped paper onto my lap. It was half the size of my palm, but the scribbles said everything.
You have help waiting. Just show a sign to the sky when you’re ready.
I rolled the paper into a ball and slid it slowly into my pocket. But I couldn’t leave Shadowick yet.
Or the Academy.
“Maeve, this could all be yours. Stonewick too. Imagine if we had the same goals and shared dreams to unite Shadowick and Stonewick as one. We’d be the most powerful faction in magic. We could take over other factions one by one and help guide them to see the vision.”
“Your vision,” I pointed out.
She turned to me with her eyes narrowing quickly. “Our shared vision, Maeve. I’m not getting any younger.”
“You’ve survived unnaturally long as it is,” I mused. “What’s not to say it will continue?”
“You foolish child,” she nearly hissed. “Don’t play like you don’t have the answers.”
My spine stiffened. “What answers?”
“Don’t play coy with me.” She shook her head. “You have the stone in your possession.”
Stones, I thought to myself.
“But once you find out the power of what it offers, you won’t willingly return it to me. I know that. It will be yours.” She smiled. “Perhaps, you’ve already claimed it.”
“Is that why you want to partner with me rather than destroy me?”
A wicked expression crossed her features. “No, I want what’s best for magic, and that is joining forces, even if it means putting my own personal pursuits aside.”
“You mean immortality?”
She laughed and sat at her desk again. “That stone doesn’t provide immortality, just a lengthened stay, if you will.”
“I think you and I have very different definitions of lengthened stay,” I said, setting the teacup down as carefully as my shaking fingers allowed.
