“The girl clearly needs a firmer hand,” Prenny said. “I tried to tell you she wasn’t ready for an Apprenticeship yet.”
“Why, Senna?” Coyel asked, a hurt look on her face. “Why were you stealing potions?”
Handling Prenny’s anger was so much easier than Coyel’s disappointment. “Because I had to.”
Chavis took the belt from Coyel and carefully pulled out each vial. Her eyebrow slowly rose. “These are all the potions I’d take if I planned on going to war.”
The other Heads all looked startled—all except Prenny, who had begun to look uneasy.
“What do you mean?” Coyel demanded.
“She’s pestered each of us in turn to lift the curse. I think it’s clear where she was going.” Chavis’ dark eyes pinned Senna to the ground. “Do you deny it?”
Senna wished she could disappear like ice on a midsummer day. “No.” Going to Tarten was only part of it, but she wasn’t about to tell the Heads that.
“Where was she going?” Drenelle asked.
Prenny snorted. “She was going to attempt lifting the curse on her own.”
Chavis gestured towards Tarten. “What could you possibly think to accomplish except to get yourself killed?”
Drenelle eyed Senna. “You’re lucky you didn’t succeed. If you had, we would have been forced to banish you.”
Which would provide a perfect opportunity to take me captive, Senna thought.
The lantern’s dim light cast deep shadows that hid Coyel’s eyes. “There’s something more, isn’t there, Senna?”
Senna stared at Coyel, wanting so badly to trust someone.
“Senna, please,” Coyel asked again. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”
Maybe Senna was wrong not to trust the Heads. Especially Coyel. Maybe they really would help her. But she couldn’t shake Reden’s warning. “There’s nothing, Head.”
Coyel took a deep breath. “Senna, this was wrong, but I can understand why you did it. You will give Prenny back her potions. We’ll decide your punishment tomorrow. As for the Tartens, that is not something you need concern yourself with. We are dealing with it in our own way.”
Senna ground her teeth. She needed those potions if she was going to Tarten, but now she was going to have to do without them. She started to back away, determined to find Reden and leave as soon as possible.
A voice stopped her. “She’s not telling you everything.”
When had Arianis wandered over? Senna gave a minute shake of her head, silently begging the girl to hold her tongue.
Arianis looked away. “She’s been secretly meeting with the Dark Witch.”
And with those words, Senna knew her world would never be the same.
15. Plant Song
Coyel’s expression crumpled. “Senna, this can’t be true.”
Senna wanted to run, hide. But she was tired of deceit. Tired of lies. “I went to Espen for answers.”
“She’s lying. Trees tell no tales,” Chavis said darkly, her thumb absently stroking the butt of her pistol.
Senna met the older woman’s gaze. “She scratched her answers in the dirt.”
“And what did the Dark Witch say?” Coyel asked softly.
“She said I could Travel because I’m Creator-touched. And she gave me two names, promising me more information if I come to her.”
“What names?” Prenny asked.
“Lilette and Calden.”
“You’re a fool and worse,” Chavis said.
Drenelle rolled one of her rings around her finger. “Or the traitor we’ve been searching for.”
“Why would I have myself attacked?” Senna cried.
Drenelle glared at her. “To throw us off, maybe.”
Their words cut Senna like an avalanche of glass. She met Chavis’ intense gaze. “Before I turned her into a tree, Espen tried to warn me about some other threat. She hasn’t lived in isolation on Haven, so I hoped she would know something. She told me of Lilette and Calden. I think some of the Witches escaped the destruction, and they’re threatening us now. If I want more, I have to go to Tarten and ask Espen.”
Prenny shot the other Heads a look of disgust. “Don’t mistake misguidance for maliciousness. Remember, Espen tricked us all once.”
“Why didn’t you come to us?” Coyel asked.
Senna trembled with humiliation and impotent anger. “Because I overheard you saying you wouldn’t tell me anything. And I believe there’s another traitor—someone who let my attacker on the island and kept them here. Someone with the power and knowledge to orchestrate all of this. My best guess is it’s one of you.”