Page 157 of Traitor Witch
Instead of antagonising my mother, my outburst seems to have the opposite effect. She stops her frenzied pacing and swims to face me, dark eyes boring into my own.
"Speak your mind."
The predatory look in her eyes is one I'm all too familiar with. It's the look my mother gets when she's plotting.
It's also a look which promises severe repercussions should I disobey.
"She's small, but fierce. She faces every fear she has, like one of our warriors would. She's so stubborn she could move mountains and so strong it drives me crazy just thinking about her. She treats me like an equal, like her friend."
Every word I say only makes my mother's expression shutter further.
"Then I look forward to meeting this Nilsa," she says, her voice ice cold. "I'll tell Adella that the fight will be on the surface. I'm sure she'll enjoy the challenge."
She doesn't bother with goodbyes. Why would she? She swims from the room with all the speed her tail grants her.
"Well, that wasn't as bad as it could have been."
Cassie's voice is always quiet, but recently she's gotten worse. My beautiful sister is the only one of my mother's eight children who's an even greater disappointment to her than me.
A male can be married off, used to gain political leverage. A daughter who not only dislikes combat, but is incapable of fighting thanks to her Fate-touched blindness, is useless to a warrior empress.
She's still my favourite sister.
The rich, rainbow hues of her tail swish behind her, creating a current that pushes the door closed. Her fins are another embarrassment. Cassie is beautiful, when she should be deadly, and I am a warrior, when I should be a pretty ornament.
If the two of us had been born into each other's bodies, perhaps my mother would be happier.
I embrace her as soon as she's close enough, but she'snever been a tactile person. Before long, she pulls away, settling in front of me in a subtle hint that I automatically pick up. I start braiding her hair as she likes, tiny crisscrossing patterns in a waterfall across the back of her head.
It's been our ritual since we were small, and it grounds us.
"She'll honour the mate challenge."
"Nilsa is imprisoned," I retort. "You never mentioned that." Even now, I'm debating taking my chances against the warriors outside my door again. The thought of my mate, stuck in captivity in that state...
"You know I don't see everything."
"I know," I pause. "Have you seen your mates?"
Cassie smirks. "Why? Going to frighten them off?"
Maybe, but I'm not going to tell her that.
"No, baby brother, I think I'll keep them for myself a little longer." She hums happily at the thought. "Nilsa's future is in flux. So much hinges upon her decisions. The visions are cloudy and change so much."
"What happens happens," I reply, sweeping the last braid up and tying it in with the others before releasing her. "All we can do now is wait."
Cassie smiles. "She'll be worth it."
"She already is."
Chapter Forty-Three
NILSA
Ice cold water drenches me, forcing me back to the land of the living just in time to avoid the bucket which clatters to the ground where my head was seconds ago.
My cell is a dark, cold hole in the ground, covered with iron and silver bars etched with anti-magic sigils. Immortal guards peer down at me, their constant, unending vigil a prickle against my sensitive, healing skin.
