Page 71 of The Endless One

Sybil stood at the head, her arms braced on the wood, heavily marked from years of knives cutting into it. Her head was down, her shoulders curved in.

“Clearly we arrived at the correct time,” Jessamine said as she joined the others. “Just how bad is it?”

There was a long moment of silence at the sound of her voice. A few witches even flinched, as though something about Jessamine’s return terrified them.

But her gaze was on Sybil. On her dearest friend, who froze at the words. Sybil slowly looked up, and Jessamine had the distinct pleasure of seeing hope fill her dearest friend’s eyes.

“Jessamine?” she whispered, before her eyes landed on the shadowy figure behind her. “Elric?”

“In the flesh.”

Giant tears formed in Sybil’s eyes, rolling silently down her cheeks as she stared at the two of them. “We watched you both die.”

She hummed in agreement. Jessamine allowed her magic to flood her body. She lifted her arms, allowing the fissures to glow bright golden in the light. “I have been remade.”

Sybil swallowed hard, the sound echoing in the room as though her throat was so dry it clicked when she swallowed. “We cannot be certain this is not a trick. Ajax may have discovered us, and he knows… They all know how much we want them back. I don’t trust whatever mirage is in front of us.”

Agnes immediately nodded. “I agree. No one has returned from death like that. We felt the connection to the Deathless One sever. We all knew he was dead, and having him standing in front of us now is entirely unlikely.”

She should have known they would question it. What they were seeing with their own eyes was never going to be enough proof. Jessamine would love to have claimed she’d taught them well, but these women hadn’t needed training. They were aware, capable, and impressive.

Jessamine planted her hands down on the table and started spewing out information that only she would know. “Sybil, beside your bed in the old coven house, you kept a small plant alive. It was a nettle plant, you said, because it was the first herb you learned about as a child. The thorns frightened you, but you knew the plant could be used for healing. Agnes, you feared that Hugo would leave you in your old age when he fell in love with that young man from across the street. But he chose you instead of that love, and you’ve felt guilty about it ever since. Elissa, the love of your life is a parrot.” Her lips twisted in a soft grin. “We couldn’t change her back, but you still keep her safe in your bedroom.”

She kept going for nearly every witch in that room. Because she had always listened to every word the coven said; they just hadn’t realized that. Maybe they hadn’t known how much she cared when they talked. Maybe they didn’t understand how much she loved them all.

At the end of revealing all of their secrets, she sighed and said, “I spent my entire life in this castle learning how to be a better version of myself. And now, I realize I had always taken that as proof I wasn’t good enough. No matter how hard I worked, what I learned, or all the effort I put in, I was never going to be enough. Until you. Until this coven formed around me and I realized I was perfectly fine just as I was. I have all of you to thank for that. All of you to thank for the reason I was willing to fight so hard to get back here.”

There was another long pause before all the women in the room lunged for her. Suddenly, Jessamine was drowning in hugs, tears, and women who were gripping her. She could feel her throat closing up with emotion and hope burning in her heart that she had found a group of people who cared if she was here or not. It made everything so much better. And so much worse.

She had to fight for them. She had known that for a long time, but now? Now she would destroy the world for them.

And then finally, she stood in front of Sybil. Her dearest friend’s cheeks were drenched, unsurprising considering she likely hadn’t stopped crying since Jessamine walked into the room.

They folded into each other’s arms. She wasn’t sure who moved first, but it didn’t matter. She held on to Sybil with a grip that was likely painful.

A choked sob came out of Sybil, pressed right against Jessamine’s throat. “We can’t win without you,” she cried. “I’m so sorry, we tried to do it, but there is no way to stop him without you.”

“I’m here now,” Jessamine whispered into her hair. “We’re going to stop him, Sybil. I’m getting you that small cottage by the sea with a garden. You have my promise on that.”

When they finally pulled apart, she handed Sybil over to Elric. And just like that, her friend broke down again. Sybil reached for Elric’s cheeks, holding on to him so she could look him over like a mother who was seeing her son for the first time after years at war. Then she wept in his arms all over again. Even if Elric looked decidedly uncomfortable, he held on to her a little tighter than the rest of them.

Finally, her family was back together. An entire coven of capable women, each of them with more talent in their pinky than most people could ever dream of, and she knew this was the moment when they all needed to be brought together.

That was her job. She’d fought her way back to them, and now it was time for her to be a gravesinger one more time.

So she headed to the kitchen island and stood there as the others joined her. One by one, they all made their way to the table as they waited for someone to give them direction.

It was Elric who spoke first, the god they had dedicated their entire life to, and who had gifted them with power. “Tell us what has happened.”

Sybil sighed. “Ajax learned from his failed attempt with you. From what the ravens have told us, he is now seeking willing people for the ceremony. Apparently, because you were so unwilling to host the Huntress, that was why it went awry.”

Jessamine snorted. “Oh, how wonderful. Well, the Huntress is still very much interested in my body.”

The goddess’s screams weren’t ones she was going to forget anytime soon. The Huntress had been enraged, which meant Ajax likely hadn’t tried to bring her a new body. At least, not yet. Jessamine’s was the only host still available to her.

“All right,” Jessamine said quietly, trying to wrap her head around the idea of an entire host of gods and goddesses to deal with. “So he’s seeking people who will willingly become the Huntress. Just like Leon did. Is there any suggestion that my ex-fiancé is still in that body, or has he been expelled?”

A few of the witches looked at each other, and she knew there was more than they wanted to tell her. They hesitated, and that made her want to tear out her hair.