The Witch of Ellesmere by Kirsty Inic

Author:Kirsty Inic [Inic, Kirsty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kirsty Inic
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Julien had been gone for what felt like hours, but I couldn’t be too sure as time didn’t seem to pass the same way in the Ironwood. The branches and leaves of the trees were so tangled together, nothing could break through their mangled barrier.

Theo looked around helplessly while he sat on the knotted roots of the tree Grugo had perched on. He hadn’t moved since Julien stormed off into the dark, and I suspected he was feeling somewhat responsible for the situation we were in. As silly as he was for bringing a grimoire into the Ironwood, I couldn’t blame him for what had happened. It was my fault. I should have listened to Julien before running off. The weight of my recklessness hung heavy over my head as I realised I may have ruined any chance we had of reaching Ellesmere Castle in time to help my mother. The pain I felt was all-consuming and it tore at my heart, leaving me breathless. Seeing Theo was occupied—digging through his backpack—I slipped behind the first row of trees and let my pain take hold of me. Bile rose in my throat, and I doubled over, hands on my knees, struggling to catch my breath as the image of Morrigan’s floating orb appeared before me. My mother was rotting in a dark and dirty prison cell. Closing my eyes, I tried to block out the image, remembering Maeve’s technique when it felt like the world was crushing down on me.

It seemed like forever ago, but it had only been just before my induction ceremony. I had finished a lesson with my mother in the cramped back room of our apothecary when Maeve found me on the floor of the room, hugging my knees tight to my chest, as if letting go would cause me to fall apart entirely. The lesson had passed without issue, but it was what happened afterwards that had caused the attack. She had told me that, after my induction ceremony I would need to learn how to be the head of the Coven. It was my birth right and everyone would be counting on me when the time came for my mother to step aside. I’d nodded along to what she said, but when she left the room—a smile on her face at how happy she thought I was—this was when I had spiralled. The pressure of her expectations had weighed heavily on my shoulders.

Maeve had come into the room and pulled me into her arms. She’d brushed the hair back from my sweat-slicked face, and, taking my cheeks in her steady hands, she’d told me to take a deep breath and focus on letting the breath out. As I did this, the tension had left my shoulders and the weight that had settled on my chest seemed to slowly ease away.

Hearing Maeve’s strong and steady voice in my head now, I kept my eyes tightly shut and took a shaky breath in through my nose.

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