Lilette took a step back. “What?”
The woman stepped into the room. Behind her came two others—a balding guardian, his gaze sweeping the area as he maneuvered ahead of her, and a sour-faced wastrel.
The first woman’s gaze locked on the wastrel from the bathhouse. “Who are you?”
“W–what?” the girl stammered
“Never mind,” the woman said. “Get out. Your services are no longer needed. Doranna” —she motioned to the wastrel behind her— “take care of the tray.”
“Don’t,” Jolin said, her face ashen.
Doranna gathered up the food tray and dumped it out the front door.
The first wastrel finally found her voice. “I was assigned here. You can’t just—”
“Well, I just unassigned you,” the woman interrupted, sitting down on one of the chairs.
“And who are you to—”
“My name is Bethel,” the woman replied as she brushed some crumbs off the table. The wastrel’s mouth made a popping sound as it shut. Without another word, she hurried out of the room.
“Bethel?” Lilette looked between her and Jolin. “The famous Bethel?”
Jolin sank into a chair, her eyes hidden under her hand. Lilette looked to Han for an explanation, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off the guardian. “Jolin, who is this?” Lilette tried. “What’s going on?”
Bethel motioned to the staircase. “Check the bedroom and then fetch us some more food.” Doranna started up the stairs.
Lilette sat down. It felt awkward, being this high from the floor, and she wished for soft cushions to sink into. A thousand questions flooded her mind. She blurted the first one to make it to her mouth. “I was going to eat that.”
Bethel snorted. “You don’t know better. You” —she shot Jolin a stern look, even though Lilette’s friend was still hiding behind her hand— “you know better.”
Jolin finally lowered her hand. “Not everyone is trying to poison us, Mother.”
“It only takes one,” Bethel replied.
Lilette’s astonished gaze settled on Jolin. “She’s your mother?”
Jolin groaned.
Bethel’s eyes met Lilette’s. The only soft thing about her was her hair, woven into a loose braid over her shoulder. But her steel-gray eyes did resemble Jolin’s. “Never eat anything without knowing where it came from.”
“You think we’re in danger?” asked Lilette.
“I know you are.” Without turning, Bethel spoke to her guardian. “Is he proficient?”
Lilette took in the glaring contest going on between Han and the guardian, who seemed to be making up for his baldness with a thick coating of black facial hair. “Shall we find out?” His voice held a challenge.
Sensing the violence about to break out, Lilette half rose to her feet. Bethel kicked her injured shin. “Stay put.”
Sucking air through her teeth, Lilette sat hard and grasped the still-swollen lump from where the elite had hit her.
Han and the guardian moved, their swords snaking from their scabbards. As they sparred, the sound of clashing swords rang in Lilette’s ears. She gritted her teeth, wanting to stop the fighting, though she didn’t think either man was really out to hurt the other. This was about proving something.
The men broke apart as suddenly as they had begun. “Well, Harberd?” Bethel said.
The guardian grinned. “He can handle himself.”
Bethel grunted in approval and leaned back in her chair, her hands laced over her stomach. “No—I don’t know who exactly you’re in danger from. All I know is that someone in the inner city is flinging curses around—curses she’s managing to keep hidden from all but the most powerful of witches.”
Jolin laughed nervously. “If someone were singing curses, the whole city would know.”
Bethel didn’t take her gaze from Lilette. “Curious isn’t it, that the most powerful witches have either been sent away or have ended up dead?”
“They send the strong witches on assignment,” Jolin replied, “and accidents happen.”
“How many?” Lilette rubbed her shin. “How many have died?”
Bethel’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “Three so far. One found dead in her bed, one from an infection, one simply disappeared.”
Jolin sighed. “Three women, Mother. Only three.”
“And how many level sevens do you think there are in Grove City?” Bethel asked softly.
“Ten, maybe fifteen.”
“There are three left,” Bethel said. “Two of them are in this room.”
Bethel was a level seven? Lilette’s eyes widened. The silence that followed took on a life of its own, growing like shadows after sunset.