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“There’s a school board who will argue otherwise,” Lucas pointed out. “Most of them side with the priestesses. They’ll do anything to keep the coven in line.”
“And they’re getting better at it,” I pointed out. “Everly’s been gathering support, and the priestesses have realized the threat of an execution isn’t enough. People like us—like Everly—are a threat because we can’t be controlled. Miriam’s Chosen is designed to separate us and eliminate the threat. Creating a common enemy is the most effective way to control the masses.”
“Then why don’t they just blame the fae?” Grant asked. “They’re an enemy we can fight against. We’ve united against them before.”
“Because they don’t want to unite with us, as long as we think differently from them,” I said. “They already have a use for the fae, and that’s to scare people into turning against each other. If they turn this into an us versus them scenario, they eliminate compassion for anyone who doesn’t join their movement. The burnings and hangings will only get worse, and people will allow our suffering, because they’ll learn to hate us. If you thought the priestesses were using executions as a threat before, this is worse. These people will be calling for them now.”
My attention was stolen by a group of people in black cloaks leading a woman on stage. They weren’t like the cloaks the priestesses wore. These ones had long sleeves and pointed hoods. Though the hoods were meant to hide their faces, I could easily make out the features of their jawlines. Ryan and James held the woman by the arms, and Mira pointed a wand at her back threateningly. Except it wasn’t a threat at all, because Mira didn’t even have magic yet.
The woman’s hands were bound in front of her by metal cuffs, and she wore a bag over her head, so I couldn’t tell who it was. Around her neck hung a noose on a short rope that acted as a sort of symbolism. She walked alongside the others with a steady step, like she had gone willingly—like she was confident in the midst of her demise.
People booed as they passed, and a man threw his coffee at her. It had to be hot, but she didn’t miss a beat in her step.
Beside him, a woman sneered, “She’s a non-believer! Expel her from the coven!”
I realized in horror that it was Lucas’s mother. Lucas gaped, but his shock only lasted a split second. The next moment, he was crossing the square toward them.
“Lucas,” Grant hissed.
I ran behind Lucas. Grant and Talia followed, but they stayed a few feet behind us, ready to back Lucas up at any moment. By the time we reached his parents, Ryan and James were already past with the woman, parading her around as others yelled obscenities at her.
“Dad, what the hell?” Lucas demanded.
His dad crossed his arms. “Rich of you to show your face around here.”
“I’m trying to help the coven,” Lucas insisted.
“You think we’re not doing the same?” his dad snarled.
“We’re not the ones putting nooses around people’s necks,” Lucas snapped. “Goddess, why don’t you people just listen?”
His mother gasped. “Have some respect for your father! Jay—”
His dad held up a hand to his mom, silencing her. “No, Margo. Let him talk. Perhaps his big mouth will earn him the noose next.”
Lucas’s nostrils flared, and I thought he might punch his father out right then and there. For him to say that, after the way Eric died, was the lowest blow possible.
“Why should any of us meet the noose, Dad?” Lucas raged. “Don’t you get how wrong this is?”
“It’s necessary,” his father said, before turning to watch the Executors’ display. He looked pleased as Ryan and James pulled the woman on stage and forced her to stand in the center.
Cody pointed a finger at her, and his voice rang out over the square. “You think the fae are our enemies? Our true enemies have been lying in wait, awaiting the opportunity to tear our coven apart from the inside out. This is what an apostate looks like!”
Ryan yanked the bag off the woman’s head, and I gasped when I saw it was Everly. Not a beat passed before Lucas and I were rushing toward the stage. Cody barked into the microphone, but I didn’t hear his voice as four figures stepped in front of us, blocking us from reaching the stage.
“Where are you going, Nadine?” Priestess Margaret asked innocently.
My teeth gritted at the sight of the priestesses. Claudia wore a dark cloak like theirs, as if she belonged, though she hadn’t been inducted yet.
“You’re just going to let this happen?” I demanded.
“You want us to silence our own people?” Lilian asked. She was mocking me.
“You were right,” Margaret said, a hint of a smile twitching at her lips. “We must let the public decide.”
They were pleased to see this play out, because they knew now that the coven would believe their lies and deception. Nothing we said mattered, because people would believe whatever they wanted to believe.
“You cannot unite our people forcefully! We are here to serve our people, not control them,” I said. “You’re asking people to give up their friends and their families to pledge themselves to your cult.”
