Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
The house had let her get this far, which meant it didn’t currently perceive her as a physical threat to Emberlyn. That didn’t mean that the High Priestess hadn’t come to pester her again.
Reena quickly lifted her hands in a placatory gesture. ‘I’m not here about the will or the manor or anything related to those matters. Nor am I here to cause any sort of trouble. I’m here because, well, I don’t know who else to consult about this.’
Emberlyn felt her eyes go squinty. ‘Expand on “this”.’
Reena licked her lips. ‘I wanted to talk with you about the rebellious faction in my coven.’
Huh. Not what Emberlyn had expected to hear. It could be a ruse, of course; a way to convince Emberlyn to speak with her. But that wasn’t really Reena’s style.
There was only one way to find out just how genuine the High Priestess was being.
‘I have twenty minutes before I need to leave for work,’ Emberlyn told her.
‘This shouldn’t take that long.’
Emberlyn gestured to the porch table, and then she and the other witch sat across from each other much as they had a few weeks ago.
Seeming somewhat hesitant, Reena braced her elbows on the armrests of her chair and interlinked her fingers. ‘There has always been a rebellious faction, you know. Probably always will be. Because there will forever be witches who want to explore or at least understand the forbidden. In the past, the faction was never destructive; never caused problems within the coven. This time round, however, I cannot say the same.’
Emberlyn frowned as she read between the lines. ‘Not-so-nice things have happened to coven members?’
‘Yes,’ Reena admitted, her voice low with mental fatigue. ‘No physical harm came to anyone, but possessions were destroyed. Secrets were exposed. Arguments were caused. It was all rather petty, really, but still damaging.’
‘A little like some of the things I was accused of doing that I swore was not me.’
Reena exhaled heavily. ‘Yes.’
Emberlyn couldn’t say she was necessarily appeased by the High Priestess’s admittance that she’d effectively been used as a scapegoat, but it was a welcome change from having her claims of innocence dismissed. ‘Do you know who’s part of the faction?’
‘No. I’ve questioned many potential suspects but felt forced to clear them of any wrongdoing – I could find no evidence to support my suspicions. Since hearing about the curse jars, I’ve redoubled my efforts to identify the faction members, because it seems likely that one or all of them are responsible.’ Reena gave a tight, self-deprecating smile. ‘And I have been entirely unsuccessful, as have those who I recruited to help.’
‘Who were those recruits?’
‘My inner circle – Ward, Tyra, my sister Penelope, Getty and a few others. They’re as eager to unmask the faction members as I am, and they’re equally frustrated by how fruitless our attempts have been.’
Emberlyn tipped her head to the side. ‘Why come to me? And why be so forthright about everything?’
‘Because’ – Reena took in a shaky breath – ‘with regards to the curse jars, I think I was the target, not Millicent.’
Emberlyn felt her brows snap together. ‘Why?’
‘The damage to the land didn’t really impact her, did it? She found the jars an annoyance, nothing more. The only person who would be truly affected by the land being poisoned is the person who had great plans for it. Me. I’d been cooking up those plans for several months. I think that someone wanted to sabotage them. So much so that they kept replanting jars, even though they knew what Millicent would do if she caught them – that is a huge risk to take. But they did it anyway.’
Mentally running through it all, Emberlyn nibbled on her lower lip. She hadn’t considered this possibility.
‘My coven was angry with me due to the promises I was unable to keep. That anger eased when I came up with the alternative of refurbishing existing houses. But then Lincoln was bespelled, and my plans were foiled again because Carver dropped the project. So, once more, anger is rampant in the coven – made worse by how the wolves now all look upon us with suspicion. I’m being pressured by all three Alphas for answers I just don’t have.’
Pausing, Reena looked down at her fingers. ‘Carver and I were friends. He won’t give me the time of day now. He doesn’t see how I could not know what’s going on within my own coven. He thinks I’m covering up the truth.’ Her gaze lifted to meet Emberlyn’s. ‘I’m not. I’m truly in the dark here.’
Searching her eyes, Emberlyn believed her. ‘So you think that though Lincoln was bespelled and placed near here, the witch or witches responsible weren’t so much interested in harming me as they were in making your situation worse.’
‘Yes. I believe they wanted to turn the clans against the coven, knowing it would leave my hold on my position shaky. I’m supposed to protect my witches. But right now, they feel unsafe.’