Page 111 of This Witch Is Not Wicked

I straightened my shoulders. “I’ll go.”

Cillian tilted his head while Enid said, “That makes no sense.”

“I can do it,” I said. “I can pretend I’ve been Enid’s prisoner, maybe. Tell them that she found some kind of magical plant that casts invisibility and planted them around the border of her home.” I was thinking so quickly I wasn’t even sure this made sense, but I was desperate to keep Enid safe within the limits of Fairwitch Isle. “I’ll tell them I escaped after I killed her. It’ll be simple. I’d have no reason to lie.”

Cillian stroked his jaw. “It might work.”

“We can at least try it,” I said.

“I don’t like it.” Enid shook her head. “It’s risky. If they recognize you as the person they saw entering the city, they could turn on you.”

I stroked her cheek with my thumb. “They’d have no reason to turn on me. Not like they would you. I’ll be safe. I promise.”

She bit her lip and pushed out of my arms, backing toward the counter. She was likely angry about this, but I didn’t care. I’d do anything to protect her.

“Okay, then. I will talk to the council and see what they say about this plan,” Cillian said. “If they approve it, you’ll have to leave as soon as possible.”

I swallowed. “I’m ready whenever.”

Cillian nodded and left.

I turned to face Enid, her hands behind her back as she stared down at her boots.

“Hey.” I walked toward her and put my hands on her arms, giving them a small squeeze. “It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to worry about me. I can handle those people.”

“I could use my magic against them,” she said.

“But then you might drain the rest of it.”

“No. It would take far more magic than that to drain it all.”

“But then they would see you using magic. That would put you in danger. The whole point of this bog, your life here, has been to protect your identity. You can’t go use magic in front of a huge crowd of people to scare them off. That’ll ensure they’ll never stop coming back, never stop looking for you. Especially the brotherhood.”

Possibly Lor. My heart ached as I thought about my older brother working for the enemy. Choosing to side with them over coming home. But I couldn’t think about that right now.

“I could send Vine to scare them,” she said.

“And risk hurting it?”

She flinched, and I knew if anything happened to Vine, it would kill Enid.

“No,” I said.

“You’re right. I couldn’t send Vine out to face those monsters alone.”

“Then we agree this is the only option. I go out there and deal with this. It’s a good plan, Enid.”

“Actually, we do have one more option.” She finally lifted her head and met my gaze, an apology on her face.

“What—”

“I’m sorry,” she said, and then she brought a needle out from behind her back.

Before I could react, she jabbed it into my neck, and I sank into darkness.

CHAPTER 45

Enid