Estela steps forward. “Punished? We don’t know all the facts yet. If she did this, then something is deeply wrong. We owe it to her—and to Diego—to findout why.”
“While I do mostly agree,” I start. “I was there. I saw her holding the knife. I am sure that her body, cursed or not, caused that awful scene.”
Mother Liana joins me at the table. She’s draped in jewels, her presence almost as bright as Estela’s.
“I do not know how I didn’t see this coming,” she says.
No one responds for a second.
“When I was held captive in Zlosa, I spent time with The Six, a group ofbrujas,” she starts. “I remember what the magic felt like. What I felt in that room was the same, oily and sticky.”
I incline my head. “Yes. Dark magic. I’ve seen it on the battlefield.”
Teo looks at me, nodding once in agreement. There was a demon god, one who some didn’t even consider an official deity, Abhartach. Many of the human witches had begun to worship him. He offered eternal life in return for gifting him souls.
The thought of Arlet sullied with his darkness was abhorrent. It couldn’t be true.
Estela looks up. “So when did abrujacome in contact with Arlet?”
The air shifts.
Liana approaches the queen’s side. “From what I know of this magic, we would be able to tell if there is a mark. Some sort of curse glyph.”
I grind my teeth as Teo and I are pushed away from the table. It is impossible to be parted from her in this moment, so I shield her from anyone else as they move around her nightgown, searching her blood-stained skin.
“Vann, can you find me a blanket to help cover her?” Estela asks.
“Ask someone else,” I manage. I don’t want to leave her alone again.
Estela and Mother Liana exchange glances, their unspoken language shifting between them in flickers of expression. Liana moves out of the room swiftly. When she returns, she holds a covering.
They drape it over Arlet, and then Estela continues searching her skin.
“Liana” Estela starts, no longer speaking to me. “I don’t see any bite marks or words.”
Mother Liana joins her, pulling back the hem of Arlet’s night gown, exposing a delicate, freckled ankle.
There, above her bone, is a small, twisting snake etched into her skin.
Queen Estela gasps.
“No…” She looks up, color draining from her face. “The witches in Zlosa had a snake.”
My breath hitches.
The black is deeper than shadow, absorbing every trace of light that touches it. It's like a void pressed into flesh. The more I look, the harder it is to tell where the ink ends and where the world resumes.
“That’s a tattoo, no?” Liana asks, voice edged with curiosity. “Like the ones the giants wear.”
“No, I’m sure. This must be the mark,” Estela says immediately.
My hands clench so tightly my nails bite into my palms. A chill rises up my neck, my vision sharpens.
“Curses are vicious things,” Liana starts. “If that is a mark, then it could be activated from time to time, putting her in a state of frenzy. It would be like a tool—one our enemies would use to get to you. They could kill you and Teo?”
Liana looks at Estela.
The queen stares at her, processing. Teo curses under his breath.