Page 63 of Witch's Fate

She was so screwed. Like, an all-time level of screwed. She’d failed. She’dreallyfailed. “We need to evacuate the village. Get everyone out before they come. How many days do we have left?”

“Three.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Damn it. Convincing everyone is going to be nearly impossible. They’ll want to fight.”

“Can’t they?” Warren asked.

“Sure,” Sofia said. “But we can’t win. The High Witches are too strong. They destroyed the population of an entire afterworld to build their home.” The memory of the desolate afterworld made her shiver. “The stories my mother told...” As a teenager, all she’d wanted to do was fight. To break free of these chains. “We can’t win against them. Not if they could kill everyone in a whole afterworld. They destroyedsouls. How is our village supposed to stand up to that? And my ancestor apparently put us in this position.” Tears pricked her eyes. Damn it. She’d always thought that her line had volunteered to protect the village. That was how the story was told. But to learn that her own family had sold her up the river?

“The village is fated to be destroyed, is what you mean?” Aurora asked.

“Basically. It wouldn’t be a normal fight. We don’t stand a chance,” she said.

“Then we evacuate,” Malcolm said, his voice clipped. “Once everyone is convinced, it’ll take no time for them to leave. Many can aetherwalk and those who can’t shall go with the other. The village shall be clear in minutes. And we have three days.”

Sofia wanted to sink under the table and curl up in a ball.

Instead, she placed her palm on Kitty’s back for a bit of strength, then stood. “I’m going to go home. Talk to the leaders of the village factions, convince them to leave.” She looked at everyone. “Thanks for your help. Really.”

They nodded.

“I can come help at your village if you need me,” Inara said. “I mean, I don’t really have any responsibilities now that I’ve ditched my coven.”

“Thanks,” Sofia said. “Yeah. That’d be good.” She spun and left the room, walking blindly toward the hall.

She’d barely made it out the door before Malcolm caught up with her. He pulled her into his arms. She shuddered as his warmth closed around her.

“We can mend this,” he said against her hair.

“Really? Because it seems hopeless.”

“Yes. I’ll do anything to fix this.” His voice grew rough. “I swear, Sofia, I had no idea this would happen when I kept your dagger.”

Fates, how could he have? He was selfish, but not that selfish. She knew she should be angry with him, and she had a feeling that would come, but right now, she was so overwhelmed by what was coming at her that she didn’t have time for anger.

She sucked in a shuddering breath. Instead, she would focus on what she could do to fix this.

The first thing would be to take what strength and comfort she could from Malcolm. Shore up her defenses for what was to come. And there was a lot of strength that she could take. He’d shared that with her. He might have gotten her into this awful mess, but he had permanently diminished his own magical power to share it with her.

And she was going to use it. She’d have to.

Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. This was not going as planned. He, Sofia, and Inara had come to her village after breakfast and arranged a meeting with the faction leaders. Though Sofia was the Protector and the strongest Mythean in town, from what he could see, each group of immortals in Bruxa’s Eye had a representative. There were no central leaders. Just Sofia and half a dozen Mytheans of a variety of species who made up the village council.

It had taken a few hours to round them all up, but they now sat in a small tavern at the edge of town. It was dimly lit, with a bar along one wall and tables and chairs along the other. The locals had cleared out and the council members now sat in chairs that had been pulled around to face the bar.

Sofia stood in front of it in her Crone form, explaining what had happened with the High Witches. She omitted any mention of Malcolm, for which he was grateful. He wouldn’t have any trouble taking on the assortment of Weres, fae, vampires, and other immortal beings, but if he was going to have a shot at convincing Sofia to spend the rest of her life with him, having her village hate him would be bad.

“So you see why we have to abandon the village?” Sofia said. Kitty sat on a barstool next to her and her hand hadn’t left the familiar’s back the entire time she’d been speaking.

A hulking Were rose to his feet. Nearly seven feet tall and built like a bull, his face was beat in like a prize fighter’s.

Malcolm started to step forward, but the Were bowed deeply, then spoke, his voice like gravel, “Honored One, you have carried this burden for centuries. It is time we picked up the mantle. We will fight these witches and break the curse upon our village forever.”

A small woman with sleek black hair stood, then bowed deep. When she spoke, her fangs flashed. “I agree with Hamish. You’ve carried this burden long enough. The vampires will join the Weres in fighting the High Witches. When they come here, we will be ready. If we kill them all, the curse will be broken. You’ll be free.”

“It’s not an option,” Sofia’s voice was sharp. “I appreciate the sentiment, but we cannot win this.”

A tall, slender woman with sparkling wings folded at her back stood and bowed deeply. “I am sorry, Honored One, but I do not agree. I believe that we can beat them if we are all united. Particularly if we can bring the fight to their door. I can call upon other fae who do not live in Bruxa’s Eye who owe me favors.”

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