Witch of Iria

The grove

The room is still tainted in rot and incense. The scent dances around me, strong and then faint, as if her curse is still taunting a witch. Elise sits upright on her velvet bed, her hair oily and her face solemn. The fading sound of Idris, Grindel and her father going leaves us in an eerie silence. Far away, I hear the cry of an owl.

My eyes burn from tiredness. But inside I am full of anticipation, desperate to solve a piece of the puzzle. Even if...even if Idris hates me again. I scowl slightly, annoyed that I care. Even if I did just save his sister. Again.

"Never mind my brother," she says softly and my scowl vanishes. She's more perceptive than I realised.

"I don't care about your brother," I say and a ghost of a smile flits over her face. As if she doesn't believe me.

"He is...complicated. That witch, your mother, left many scars."

I flinch. We aren't supposed to be talking about Theodora. I've thought about her far too much today.

"We're not talking about that," I snap. "We're talking about you. And I can't help you, my lady, unless you tell me the truth."

She bites her lip, the bags under her eyes growing darker.

"I-" she begins, but I stop her.

"There is no point in lying to me again. Your family is gone. I know you weren't at the edge of the forest like a good girl."

I want to know how Finn is involved in this. Then I want to sleep for about three days. I still have to figure out how to get Dorcha free.

Elise sighs and clasps her hands together. She looks tired again, as if the curse is about to return and finish her off. I can almost hear that horrible voice again, calling my name. Gwyneth...I clench my fists. No. It's just my imagination.

"I wasn't in the forest at all." The words burst out of her and I tense. "Or...well, not the way you think I was."

What? What does that mean? But now she won't look me in the eye.

"What do you mean?" I ask calmly.

"There is a grove in the middle of the palace. They wouldn't have told you, what with you being a witch. It's a cluster of trees in an open space at the very centre and we...the ruling family...only we have access. Us and those we invite to it."

Dread festers in the pit of my stomach.

"Who did you invite, Elise?" I ask.

"He-he knew my brother. Finn invited him and we all had a secret picnic within the trees. We used to do things like that, away from my father and...Idris. He never would have approved, you see."

She looks at me helplessly, her innocence shining in her eyes. Oh gods. How could Finn do this to his sister?

"Who was he, Elise?"

"He was...he was...fae. He came through the trees, we would meet him, you might know him...he has eyes that are green like circles..." She smiles at the thought of him. As for me, I think I'm going to be sick. I sway slightly, exhaustion dragging me down.

Cailaen. Finn brought Elise to Cailaen directly.

"You said you had a picnic?" I whisper and she nods. I can almost see it. The three of them eating and drinking...the perfect place to slip powder in someone's cup...and also possibly the way Cailaen got into Iria at all. This grove is more than a grove. But why is he involved? I still don't understand what is going on at all.

"You don't think it was anything to do with him, right?" Elise asks, her voice trembling. "Finn was so upset, he blamed himself. Being around the fae can be dangerous, he said...humans have bad reactions around them. It's not on purpose."

What a load of crap Finn had fed her! Cailaen was definitely behind this and so was her awful brother.

"Elise..." I start, unsure how to say this. "The fae are dangerous. Finn may think he knows Cailaen but they have their own agenda always and...humans don't have bad reactions, whatever that means."

Her lip trembles.

"But he said he cared about me," she cries and a tear snakes its way down her cheek. "He said we could find a way to be together. I met him more than once, you know. Just us. Until I was too ill."

And then he discarded her. I'm so angry for a second that all the colours in the room sharpen. That cruel, terrible...prick. But in this world that's all men do. They hurt and hurt until no one can trust them. Maybe that's what all people do.

"I'm sorry," I say, the words sounding hollow. "We've all been tricked by the fae. At least once."

My thoughts stray to Braden, who had once been my friend. Or so I thought.

She's crying quietly, the water coating her blackened veins. At my words, she glances up into my eyes.

"You've been tricked too?" she asks.

"Yes," I reply, not saying anything else. But her tears stop flowing. "And you were ill after meeting him?"

"It started slowly. I thought it was nothing at first, just a mark on my arm. But after the second time, it got worse. He said it would be okay." She lets out a shuddering breath. "Eventually, I could barely move and father done everything he could...I never heard from him after that. Finn said he hadn't either but he blamed himself. Then this stupid competition started when my brothers were fighting..."

But why hurt Elise at all? What did Cailaen get out of this? For Finn, it was obvious. He had manipulated his father and used Elise's illness as a way to host this competition for the city. Maybe he planned to catch me from the very beginning. Maybe the fae were supporting him. But the fae had no stake in Iria. So Finn had something else they wanted.

"You won't tell my father about this? Or Idris?" Elise begs, her hands shaking.

"No," I say. I'm still Finn's pet witch, in his eyes. Idris hates me and I don't trust him anyway. But this grove...I would need to see it.

"How do I get to the grove?" I ask and she stills.

"You need an invite," she says nervously. "I could get you one. I might be able to go there if I insist."

I nod, my tired mind trying to make plans. The owl lets out another screeching cry and I jump in the semi-darkness. I feel as if I'm tangled up in a spider's web, a thread from every player spinning around me. Spinning, like Cailaen's eyes.

"Do you know Lord Nivin?" I ask, the question dangerous. Would Elise recognise her lover underneath his glamour?

"Not really," she replies, surprised. "I've only met him once or twice and I've never spoken to him. Why?"

"Nothing," I say, my eyes turning to the door. "Thank you for telling me this."

"Thank you for saving me tonight. You will come if it happens again?" She looks so small on the bed, so pale like a ghost. Her brown eyes are like those of a deer I know so well.

"Yes," I mutter, throwing her a small smile. "Let me know about the grove."

She signals a guard to guide me back to my room. Idris is long gone. But I leave her there within the rot and I wonder what the truth really is. I wonder what lies inside that grove and where it leads.