Page 40

The Emerald City is the biggest city in all of Oz. It not only holds the Emerald Palace, but the halls of governance, along with industry and education and the arts. It was a place she only read about before now and she’s sad to be leaving it so soon without exploring it more.

“What were you and the Wizard talking about?”

Cleo blinks away from the dizzying smudge of golden light outside the window. “What?”

“In the library. When I came in? What were you talking about?”

Cleo’s hand slips into her pocket, her thumb rubbing over the smooth crystal of the cat figurine. Should she share the cat with Glinda? Now that she knows what it might hold, she’s terrified of someone taking it away.

Did Delphine know? She must have. She probably assumed Cleo would never know what might be held inside of it.

“I only want to protect you,” Glinda says, lowering her voice as if they’re sharing a secret. “The Wizard is mighty and he is powerful, but sometimes his own ambition can get in the way.”

As the city disappears behind them, Cleo decides there is no harm in sharing the conversation or the cat. “He told me that a mushroom crystal on his bookshelves was meant to hold a memory.” She pulls out the cat figurine and reveals it in the palm of her hand. “I have one similar to the mushroom. It was the only keepsake from my early life that I was allowed to keep.”

“May I?”

Cleo nods and the witch reaches across the valley of her skirts to take it gently between her fingers.

“Did you show this to the Wizard?”

“No.”

“Good of you. Smart.” She holds it up to the light leaking in through the window from one of the carriage’s lanterns. “You don’t know if it holds a memory?”

“I didn’t know until today that memories could be stored.”

Glinda nods. “Do you want my assessment?”

“Oh … of course.”

“I think it’s very possible it does hold a memory. It feels warm to the touch and a little tingly. Have you noticed?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Cleo considers sharing the detail about the taste of the crystal and then bites it back. How can she admit to a Cardinal Witch that she licked the crystal currently in her grasp?

“Perhaps someday you will unlock its secrets.” The witch hands the cat back.

Cleo has held the cat hundreds of times before, but now she’s focused on any sensations it might bring. It is warm, but that’s because it was sitting in her pocket. Does it make her skin prickle? Not really. But then Cleo isn’t a witch.

“How do I get the memory out?”

“What did the Wizard tell you?”

“He only said by magic.”

“He’s right, of course. It takes a lot of power to access stored magic of that nature.”

“Can you get it out?”

“I’m afraid not.” Glinda’s shoulders drop as she turns her gaze to the window. “I’m afraid I’m powerless these days.”

“Oh.” That seems like a very big secret to reveal, but then Cleo is used to the secrets of Cardinal Witches. She knows how to keep them. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s a choice I must make for the greater good.”

Silence stretches between them as the carriage clatters on down the Yellow Brick Road.

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