Before I had a chance to do anything, Maxx stepped up to me, his exaggerated white robe whipping in the air. His cropped silver hair clung to the top of his head, contrasting with the bright shade of red his face had turned. There was nothing but malice in his dead, beady black eyes. He was inches from my face, his index finger jammed below my collarbone. “You seem to mistake yourself for someone of significance, girl. You would do well to remember your place and quit meddling in matters that do not concern you!”
Shoving his finger away from me, I looked around at the villagers, anger roiling inside me. “You all think it’s fine for a woman to be beaten in public for buying bathing oil? Are we expected to beg for the Children’s permission for every little decision we make?” I made eye contact with any person within sight who chose to standthere and do nothing. “What are they going to do when we all say we’ve had enough?” Heated, I turned around and stared down Maxx. “You are nothing but a coward and a bully.”
Straightening out the arms of his robe, he scoffed, “And you are nothing but a blasphemous witch! We are made in the perfect image of the Mothers.” He tilted his head up, looking down his nose at me. “We do not require the assistance of charlatans such as yourself.”
I let out a breath, trying not to let Maxx’s arrogance get to me. “How can you say that? The goddesses can’t be everywhere all at once. Why is it so awful that we help one another? I think the Mothers would approve of that.”
“Every illness, pregnancy, and broken bone is part of the grand scheme the goddesses have laid out for us,” Maxx spat at me. “They are tools to reward the strong and remove the weak. Your potions and poisons are a direct violation of their will.” His lip curled up into a snarl as his face began to turn a deeper shade of red. His rage-filled eyes locked on me, as if everyone around us no longer existed.
If I had been a smarter person, I would have taken this as my cue to retreat, but I couldn’t. Every internal system was begging for a fight. Even my magic was calling for blood. It was sitting at the surface, waiting, anticipating something I wasn’t sure I was capable of.
“You are banned from selling your paraphernalia in this village from this day forth, by order of the Children of the Celestial Mothers and His Majesty King Alexander. Do you understand me? If you disobey my order, you will be dealt with fiercely and to the fullest extent of the goddesses’ laws!” Then he turned his attention toward Magda. “And if you are caught supporting or helping her in any way, you will be dealt with just as swiftly!” He gestured to the crowd. “You have all been warned! Anyone seeking her assistance will be punished!”
The rain started to fall harder.
“You can’t do this!” I cried, balling my fists at my sides, trying to ignore the calls for violence from within.
“Disobey me again, and you’ll find out how serious I am,” Maxx threatened. “I will make it my life’s mission to ruin you and anyone you have ever come into contact with. Test me, Aurelia Brooke. I dare you!”
My anger was uncontrollable. My body was vibrating; my vision darkened, and my skin felt electric. My magic was begging to be let loose. It had never reacted this way before. I was teetering on the edge of restraint, seconds away from letting it loose. A part of me I never gave much mind to wanted to find out what would happen if I loosened my grip. Before I could oblige, Magda crossed my mind, and how heartbroken she would be if I did something reckless today.
Maxx looked down at me with smug triumph as I stared back at him, still trying to process what the fuck had just happened. As he sauntered back into the sanctuary, I realized that I had taken too long and missed my chance to do something incredibly stupid. Maybe that was for the best.
After the village square cleared a bit, I hurried over to Magda. “Get rid of everything you have from me. I don’t need you getting into trouble over this nonsense.” I started pacing back and forth, thinking of all the immediate things we needed to sort out. “If anyone does come to you for help, just send them directly to me. It might be better if they come at night—they’re less likely to be seen.” I couldn’t believe that this was where we were currently at. How had we allowed things to get so out of control?
Magda gently held my hand, stopping my pacing. “It’s probably best that we are not seen speaking to each other for much longer, child. Just go home.” The diminutive woman looked up at me lovingly. “They are finding new ways to justify hurting people. Let’s not give them any reason to do that to you here.”
I knelt and hugged Magda as hard as I could. “Please stay safe.”
“You too, child. Now go. Get out of here.” Her watering eyes were the only remaining sign of emotion as Magda exited our embrace and pushed me away.
Chapter 3
Imade it home about an hour later. It would have been sooner had I not needed to visit several shops just to purchase a few bits of food and personal supplies. Word travelled fast in our village, and being banned by the Cult of Children had a far-reaching impact. It felt like everyone I passed was gossiping about what had just happened between Maxx and me. Some whispered, while others did not care to hide their thoughts. After being yelled out of several shops, I managed to find one who would serve me. Their only words to me: “Grab what you need and get lost.”
As hurt as I was by the judgment, I couldn’t fault them. It was self-preservation. Shun the witch, and live to see another day. Understanding their behaviour didn’t make it hurt any less, though. If anything, it helped turn my anger and frustration into hardened resolve. The Cult of Children would not get away with this. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet. Thankfully, I had nothing but time on my hands to sort it out.
Walking over the threshold into the cottage, I felt an immediate difference in the energy in my home. There was the telltale magical energy—thrumming, warm, familiar. It was accompanied by a heavy pressure, similar to what I had encountered last night in the Nightwood. Something capable of wielding magic was in my home.
“Nocturna? Astra?” I called out, slight panic to my tone.
Astra raised her head sleepily above the top of the sofa, while Nocturna came out from the main bedroom and settled into a deepstretch. Whoever or whatever was here clearly did not have these two bothered. I dropped everything on the floor and walked as quietly as I could further into the living room to start investigating who or what was in my home. I headed toward the fireplace to grab the poker for protection.
As I rounded the sofa, I looked down at the rug Nocturna and Astra were now sitting on either side of, and between them, curled up on the floor, was a very large naked man. I pointed the poker in the stranger’s direction. What was happening right now? Who was this man? How had he gotten in here? Why was he sleeping on my living room rug naked? And where was the red fox?
I gently poked the man in the chest to see if he would react, but he didn’t budge. Using the poker to push aside the messy chestnut hair covering his face, I didn’t recognize him as anyone from the village. I knelt down to get a closer look at his face and noticed a bit of skin poking through his hair. Curious, I pushed his hair back even further, exposing his ear, which had a strange severe point to it. My stomach dropped to the floor, and I felt like I was going to pass out.
“There’s no way this is happening right now,” I whispered to myself.
It took me a moment to realize where I had read about pointed ears. I got up from my crouched position and hurried over to the bookshelf where my grandmother had kept all my children’s books. I pulled out a fraying midnight-blue book full of nursery rhymes and fairy tales. After furiously flipping through the pages, I found what I was looking for. On the page in front of me was a tale about forest fairies who kidnapped children. The one remarkable feature they shared with the exposed man on my floor: pointed ears. I rubbed my eyes to make sure what I was looking at was actually in front of me. I looked at Nocturna and Astra—why were they so calm about this?
“You two are terrible at your job. You know that?” I hissed at them.
I put the book down and went back over to examine the situation before me further. Looking at the fae man’s face a little closer, I noticed on the side of his head what appeared to be a mostly healed wound. I quickly scanned his body to see if he had any other injuries, and on his wrists and ankles were what appeared to be healed burn marks, similar in size and shape to the chain I had removed from the fox. My head started to spin at the place my mind had decided to wander to.No, this can’t be.There was no way this was possible. The red fox I had rescued from the Nightwood could not be the fae man I was looking at right now.
I paced the living room for what felt like ages, certain I had begun to wear a stress path into the large area rug. “What do I do? Do I try to wake him? Do I go and get some help?” I looked over at Nocturna and Astra. “You’re both more than welcome to step in at any moment and help.”
I’d officially lost it, talking to the two mountain cats like they had a clue what I was saying or could help me in any way.
