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“Because it’s the only way to stop what’s coming!” Lilian shouted. “On the morning of May fifteenth, King Elijah Zlodia was slaughtered by his own people, and his queen fled the fae’s capital. If the fae are ruthless enough to kill their own king, then they’re capable of putting someone worse than Elijah Zlodia on the throne. If you think it was terrible that they hung witches on their own soil, you have no idea what they have in store for us next. The fae are in the middle of a power shift, and if our people come together, we can overthrow the fae while they’re vulnerable. You have no idea of the powerful resources that would become available to us. We could bring an end to the fae once and for all!”
“You want to slaughter an entire people!?” I balked. “There are innocent fae in Malovia.”
“No fae is innocent,” Margaret growled. “You never saw the aftermath eighty years ago when the fae attacked. My parents lived through the Great Supernatural War. We must take every precaution to ensure that never happens again.”
“Attacking the fae will start a war,” I pressed. “Do you truly think the coven will support this? Tell them the truth, and see what side they stand on.”
Margaret stood and held her shoulders back. “By the end of this, there will only be one side, and we will end our war with the fae before it begins. One way or another, the Miriamic Coven will unite. Consider us compassionate for giving you one last chance to decide what side you’re on. Join us or not, Nadine, but choose your side wisely.”
She sat down calmly, putting her back to me. It was a rude indication that I was no longer welcome. I left the Imperium headquarters fuming. Isa jumped on my lap when I got into the car. She rubbed her head against my chin, trying to soothe me.
It didn’t work, though.
I returned to the school and met my friends in the Gravestone. I told them about what had happened with the priestesses.
“We should leave town,” Miles suggested. “We can split off, create a new coven.”
“That’s not what Mother Miriam would want,” I said. “Wherever we stand on our issues, the coven belongs together. If our magic is dying now, imagine what it would do if we severed ties with one another.”
“We’ll create new ties,” Miles said. “The coven has survived with fewer people before.”
“But it’s never disavowed its own,” I reminded him. “Even in times when witches lived in smaller communities, they cooperated and supported one another.”
“You can’t argue with these people, though,” Miles insisted.
“We’ve spent all semester gathering supporters,” I said. “The priestesses can’t hang us all at once.”
“You’re willing to become a martyr, then,” Grant said.
“If it brings change to the coven, then I suppose I am,” I replied. “When we started The Coven’s Shield, we agreed that we were all in—that we were willing to die for our cause. I would sooner die than watch my fellow coven members be stripped of their basic human rights. The priestesses have already taken their bodily autonomy by failing to provide healthcare. If the priestesses win, they’ll control their magic, too. I’d die for each of these items alone. Together, it’s not even a question.”
I wasn’t sure my friends were buying what I was saying. Part of me wanted to leave town like Miles suggested, to just stop fighting and let the coven figure it out on their own.
But I knew what the priestesses would do to the coven if that happened. People who had helped us before would be hurt in unimaginable ways. I couldn’t abandon them.
“Nadine, you have to be absolutely sure that this is what you want,” Miles said firmly. “Because as it stands, we’re the only ones fighting for the coven anymore, and if we’re gone, there’s no one left to save it. You have to consider if sacrificing your life is good for the coven long-term. It might feel like the right thing to do, but it could be a selfish choice.”
“Nadine’s offering to sacrifice her life for other people! How is that selfish?” Lucas asked.
“Because if Nadine dies, all she becomes is a symbol, and that’s not enough to change things here,” Miles growled. “If this is the way things are going to be, we stand a better chance of creating a new coven elsewhere. Or at least continuing the fight from higher ground, where we can stay alive long enough to end this. What do you want, Nadine? Do you want to win, or do you want to become some sort of marble statue that people worship, but that fails to move people’s hearts toward making any sort of change?”
I turned away and muttered, “I don’t know.”
“I hate to say it, but I’m with Miles on this one,” Talia said. “If we perish, our cause dies with us, and then there will be no one left to oppose the priestesses.”
“People will always rise up against tyrants,” Lucas said.
“Yeah, but how many bodies do you want to throw at their feet before something gets done?” Miles challenged.
Grant looked between us, unsure of who to side with. Lucas gave me a look that told me he’d die wherever I asked him to—either by my side here, or on the road, running away from it all.
I didn’t like making that kind of decision, not for Lucas, or my friends. I didn’t even want to make that decision for myself. There was no way I could face it. At least, not yet.
“Maybe we need to run away.” I shrugged. “But I’m not going to make that kind of call on a whim.”
“We don’t have time to waste,” Miles insisted.
“Just give us a couple of days,” Lucas promised. “We’ll come to an agreement.”
