Ilondrel shook her head. “I don’t feel that merciful today. Someone’s waiting for you.”
Osalor had dirt on his robes, and his hair was tangled andfrizzed. But he whimpered at Ilondrel’s words. “Please. Have mercy. Have pity!”
Ilondrel didn’t care. She looked over the crowd at someone behind them all. “Welcome, Iggwilv. Or is it Zybilna, or Tasha? Which one do you prefer these days?”
The witch who had dogged Saeldian’s heels stepped into the clearing, now rioting with primrose and hyacinth blossoms. “It’s Tasha to you, my dear. But for you, Osalor, it’s ‘my witch-queen.’ ”
Saeldian froze, staring at the witch, who tilted back her wide-brimmed hat and smiled at them. “You’re—you’re Iggwilv.”
“I am,” Tasha said, with a little nod and a smile. “My apologies, my dear. When Ilondrel told me about her plan, I just had to be part of it. Osalor used you to hide from me for a long, long time, but his bargain has finally come due.”
“It was an act,” Jubilee said. “You weren’t actually trying to hurt us.”
“Sometimes a clowder of cats needs herding,” Tasha said, shrugging. “It was fun, like play-fighting a pack of adorable children.”
“Right. I’m not going to be mortified by that,” Saeldian muttered.
“It’s for the best,” Tasha soothed. “If I’d actually wanted you dead, I’d have killed you. You certainly knew how to nearly kill me with suspense when you refused to just flatten that dire troll.”
“I didn’t know I could,” Saeldian said.
“Oh! Well, no harm done.” Tasha shrugged and forgot them, turning back to Ilondrel. “May I take him now?”
“He’s yours,” Ilondrel said.
“Splendid! I am satisfied. Our bargain is ended?”
“Our bargain is ended.”
The witch—no, the legend; archfey, demon-binder, witch-queen of many worlds, Tasha—beckoned. Osalor rose in the air and gently lowered to his feet. His tear-reddened eyes widened with horror as his body moved in response to Tasha’s wiggling fingers, but the witch-queen only smiled wider.
“You owe me a great deal, Osalor. But you can work hard, andone day, I’ll let you sweep up the stables. On that day, you will thank me on your knees.”
Osalor’s jerky steps brought him closer to Tasha while she learned how to tune his motions more finely.
“Do stop for tea one day, you and Jadiris,” Tasha said. “It’s been a long time since I made a new friend. Ta-ta!”
“Wait!” Saeldian cried. “One last thing.”
Tasha nodded. “Last words, then? Go ahead.”
She stirred her fingers, and Osalor turned around, beside himself at his fate.
Saeldian walked out of Kell’s protective hold to stand near Osalor, close enough to slap. One Kell Redsong–trained swing and they’d feel the crunch of Osalor’s perfect nose, or his jaw.
But Saeldian waited for him to look them in the eye before they said, “I forgive you.”
Everyone went quiet. Osalor stared at them for a long moment.
“I know I was just a tool to you; I know that you deceived me all this time, and I hurt everyone who ever tried to get close to me because I wanted what you promised to me. But I forgive you. You were in pain. And I didn’t have to follow your lead.”
Osalor’s laugh was bitter. “Did you think those words would fix me?”
“No,” Saeldian said. “But I think those words fixed me.”
Surprisingly, it wasLorzok and not Kell who swept Saeldian into a joint-cracking hug after those words. Saeldian hugged back. “If I scared you, I’m sorry.”
“Only for a few moments. You were magnificent. I knew you could do it.”
