Silver Moon (Colors of the Moon #3)

Chapter 29

Not only that, but she would be stripped off her magic. There was a reason why channeling life magic was not only forbidden, but also despised among our kind. No one would support a High Priestess who gained power from the suffering of her own people.

And for Darlene this would be a fate worse than death. Killing her would be too merciful for everything she had done.

I won.

"I suggest you gracefully accept that you've been beaten. Maybe this way the others will go easy on you."

Darlene continued to glare at me for another couple of heartbeats. Then her fists relaxed and her shoulders slumped. I expected her glare to remain, which is why my every muscle stiffened in alert when a slow smile crooked her lips. Something wasn't right.

"While you might have come here on your own, I wasn't stupid enough to make the same mistake."

As if on cue two witches parted from the last line of houses and began walking toward us. I recognized one of them as the middle witch from my acceptance ceremony—the one who had blocked my path for the longest time.

Despite the heavy weight in my stomach, I kept myself planted on my spot. No matter whose side the two witches were on, I was still their High Priestess.

They both walked by Darlene and stopped on either side of me. Barely a step was left between them and me.

"I am your High Priestess." I glanced from one to the other and then turned back to Darlene. "She is channeling life magic, and we all know how dangerous that is."

The two witches moved and I threw Darlene a smug look. I fully expected the revelation to sway them, which is why I was caught off guard when they clasped their cold hands around both of my upper arms.

"Let go of me!" I twisted and turned, but nothing worked. Their hold on me was vice-like tight.

"There's no point in struggling. You're only hurting yourself." Darlene took a step closer to us, but stopped the moment I sent a nasty glare in her direction.

"What did you do to them?" I was sure she must have used some kind of spell on the two witches. They wouldn't have laid a finger on their High Priestess otherwise.

"I did nothing. They just know where their loyalties should lie."

I didn't look at either of them because I was too busy glaring at Darlene. I couldn't believe she was doing this. Was she really this desperate?

"And what do you plan to do now?" I ceased my struggles. "I'm still the High Priestess. You can't hurt me."

"I may not be able to physically harm you while you hold the title of the High Priestess. But," a twisted smile formed on her lips, "I can help you do what you do best. Disappear. After all, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to believe you skipped out on us. You've done it before."

While that might be true, she had forgotten to count the new people in my life. I was sure none of them would believe I had run away.

"You can't keep me locked up forever." No matter where she decided to put me, we both knew one day I would escape. Either on my own or with additional help.

"I don't need to. I just need to keep you away long enough for me to become the High Priestess." A deep laugh shook her fragile body which soon turned into a fit of body-shaking coughs. "After I'm the High Priestess I can have you executed for speaking against me."

Her words showed how little she knew about the position she was craving so much for. The High Priestess didn't have the power to execute anyone. And if the rest of the witches and wizards deemed her unworthy or to be misusing her power, they could strip her of her title. She just needed to look back on what happened to her grandmother.