How had Pansy spent her night? Sleep must have proven impossible.
“Yes,” the witch said, heading for the door. “I’ve left a small breakfast on the table.”
Had it only been yesterday that I’d been starving, or a hundred years ago? Alone in my room, I padded from the bed to examine the meal. My stomach soured at the sight of scrambled eggs and buttered toast. The thought of eating when only a few hours ago Hyacinth’s heart had beat its last beneath my hands…
I dashed to the bathroom, plunging my hands into the sink. The blood had been washed away, but I could still smell it, still sense it coating my skin. Tears plopped into the water as I soaped up my hands, the evening’s events playing on a loop in my head. I couldn’t block it out, couldn’t stop questioning myself or my actions.
What if there’d been a way? What if I’d missed it? What if I’d never gone into that fucking cave?
Only when my skin was stinging did I rinse the soap and splash my tears away with a handful of water. I had to get it together. I had to be strong for Pansy. She had no father and now, no mother. I was no substitute, but at least I could be her friend for another week. The silver lining to agreeing to Anwir’s request.
Taking deep, soothing breaths, I left the bathroom and peered into my sparse wardrobe. The lilac dress was too cheery for such an occasion, but I couldn’t show up in clothes drenched in Hyacinth’s blood. Thinking longingly of the high-necked, form-fitting black dress hanging in my bedroom back home, I donned my shorts and t-shirt, shrugging Jacques’ jacket over the top. At least it was black. With my hair brushed and my feet stuffed back into my wretched, filthy hiking boots, I made my way down through the castle.
I’d never been to the beach before, but I had no problem finding my way thanks to the steady stream of forlorn witches, all dressed in muted colours, leading the way out into the grounds. I followed them past the neat lawn and toward the wilder clifftops, where tall, whip-like grass swayed, and enormous daisies were buffeted by the brisk wind. The choppy sea stretched as far as the eye could see, glittering in the afternoon sunlight, breaking through the grey clouds. It might have been beautiful any other day. A dirt track led the way down a steep slope, zigzagging back and forth, and at the bottom, a small beach of golden sand waited. Plentiful white rocks scattered the shoreline, some slick and green with seaweed, others as smooth as eggs. Nestled amongst them, laid out on the sand, was a muslin-wrapped body. Pansy huddled at her mother’s side, shoulders hunched and head bowed. She clutched a candle in her hands, her body turned to protect the flame from the wind. Sage waited at her side, her face smoothed of any emotion, and clinging to her arm, leaning heavily on her stick, was Granny.
How the old witch had made it down the slope, I had no idea, and I certainly couldn’t imagine how she’d make it back up, but at least she’d come. As High Priestess, would she conduct the ceremony?
I accepted a candle from a group of witches handing them out and picked my way between the rocks to Pansy’s side. She lifted her wet, red-rimmed eyes to me and attempted a smile, but her lip quivered, and she dropped her gaze, tears splashing down her front. My own eyes pricked with moisture and my throat tightened. I couldn’t find any words, and wouldn’t have trusted myself to speak regardless, so I took Pansy’s hand and squeezed. She returned the gesture.
Before long, the princes appeared, taking their places opposite me, with Hyacinth laid between us. Anwir gave me a small, close-lipped smile, but Idris stared down at the wrapped body, his face paler than usual. Was he plagued by guilt too? Had he spent his night wondering if things might have somehow been different if only he’d pulled the belt tighter? Though placations would have done nothing to lessen my own guilt, I longed to tell him that he’d been brilliant. Unexpectedly so. That nothing he could have done would have changed the outcome. That he should be proud of himself for trying, but with the crowd around us building, and with his red-rimmed eyes firmly downcast, I had no opportunity to relay my empty comforts.
A shadow passed over the beach, and I glanced up at the gathering clouds, greyer than they had been on the walk down. Rain seemed appropriate for a funeral, somehow, but for Pansy’s sake, I hoped it held off. Maintaining candles in a downpour might be problematic.
When the last witch had taken her place, Granny hobbled forward to stand at Hyacinth’s head, refusing Sage’s offer of support.
“My sisters,” she said in her thin, reedy voice, her eyes making a slow sweep of the assembled crowd before pausing on the princes, then me. “Honoured friends. We have come together today to say our final farewells to two of our own.
“Sisters Meadow and Hyacinth bravely gave their lives for a cause we can all consider our own, and though Hyacinth leaves behind her much-loved daughter, Pansy, both our sisters will live on through the continuation of our work, which would not have been possible without their sacrifice.”
Her voice faded as a buzzing filled my head. Whatever pretty words she found to explain it, the deaths were pointless. The curse had already been broken when the barghests attacked. Both witches should be alive and well, spending today relaxing and recuperating, preparing for a celebration, not beginning their eternal rest.
Idris seemed to be struggling to accept it too. His shoulders rose and fell in deep, sharp breaths. Beside him, Anwir was the very picture of respectful sorrow. Calm, collected, yet mournful. I didn’t dare look at Pansy, who clung to my hand as though, if she let go, she might be forever lost.
When Granny had finished her rambling, she called Pansy forward. The witch extricated her hand from mine and stepped to her mother’s side. She looked much smaller than usual. Even her bun drooped under the weight of her sorrow. Pansy muttered something, too quiet for me to catch over the wind, then placed her candle at Hyacinth’s side.
Sage went next, her eyes fixed on the body. “You were a true friend when I needed one.” She placed her candle beside Pansy’s.
Anwir stepped forward. “Thank you for your sacrifice, Hyacinth. It will never be forgotten.” He laid his candle, returning to his place.
Distant thunder rumbled, and a drop of cool rain burst on my forehead. I ignored it, too transfixed by Idris, who followed his brother’s lead, his jaw clenched. The little flame wavered as his hands shook. “I’m sorry.” His voice cracked on the simple words, and when he placed his candle down beside Anwir’s, he was clumsier than I’d ever seen him. He’d really taken the death badly, worse even than I had.
“Aliza, would you like to say a few words?”
I startled at Granny’s voice, pulled from the puzzle Idris had presented, and lurched to Hyacinth’s side.
What to say? I hadn’t thought I’d be called upon like this. I hadn’t had time to prepare. If the rolls had been reversed, Hyacinth would have known exactly the right words. She’d have been ready, just like she’d readied me to break the curse.
“Thank you for lighting my way,” I said. If not for her lantern, I’d never have made it to the princes at all. They’d still be sleeping, and I’d be dead in the tunnels. Hyacinth would be alive and well.
The injustice of it threatened to engulf me as I crouched to tuck my candle into the forming cluster. The wetness of my eyes blurred the flames into one dancing light, not unlike that which had protected me on my journey to the tower.
As I stood, I dashed my tears away, resuming my place in the crowd.
One by one, the entire coven spoke their final words to their sister, until the sea of candles grew, forcing us to step back. By some miracle, though the wind tugged and dragged the flames, they all remained lit. Even the threatening rain held off. After the last witch had paid her respects, the crowd began to disperse.
“I think I’ll stay for a while,” Pansy whispered at my side.
“Do you want company?”
She shook her head, setting more tears loose. “No. No, I think… I need to be alone.”
My face threatened to crumple under the weight of my pity. Instead, I pulled Pansy into a hug, squeezing her tight. “You know where I’ll be if you change your mind.”
She sniffed, nodding, and patted my arm. I took it as my signal to leave, joining the crowd filtering onto the narrow path.
Something dark caught my attention on the far side of the cove. Idris, sneaking off alone.
I hesitated. Maybe he wanted to be alone too, or maybe he was up to something. Though I no longer suspected him as a traitor, he certainly had a shifty habit of sneaking away. It was none of my business, as he’d undoubtedly remind me if I asked him where he was off to, but the thought of returning to my room, of stewing over my guilt and misery, was intolerable.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I abandoned the queue for the path and set off after the prince.
25I’m Flying, Jack!
The cliff path on this side of the beach was much steeper and more precarious. In places, I was forced to my hands and knees to avoid falling to my death. I lost sight of the prince, but with tough grass and thorny shrubs growing on either side of the trail, there was no way he could have veered off course.
Breathing heavily, I stomped higher, trying to ignore the burning of my thighs. I’d definitely made the right choice in not wearing a dress.
I rounded a bend in the track and there was Idris, lounging idly on a rocky outcropping with his face tilted to the sky. I dropped low, grimacing, hoping he hadn’t noticed me.
