"Trust me," I said with a hollow laugh. "That is one thing we can agree on."
Her eyes narrowed, but then she spun on her heel and walked out with a toss of her blond hair, continuing the Leos' tradition for dramatic exits. I wondered what she took most offense with—me being a Cancer originally, or my half-breed heritage, or that I'd been involved in her mate's death. Either way, it was nice to know there was some contention among the Leos about me becoming one of them. With any luck, I'd be able to use that to my advantage.
Another day passed.
I woke up feeling gross, for lack of a better term. I’d been in this situation before, locked up without a shower for days on end, and I’d forgotten just how awful it was. I ran a hand through my tangled hair and shuddered at the feel of the greasy locks between my fingers.
“Are you planning to let me have a shower anytime soon?” I asked my ever-present guards. From what I could understand in the time observing them, they went in shifts of eight hours, changing three times a day. It was a good way to pace the time, and they were my only clock in here. At least the Ophiuchus prison had a window.
The guards didn't answer, and I smiled humorlessly at the two figures. I didn’t know if Jordan had instructed them not to talk to me, or if it was of their own volition, but I had yet to hear a peep from any of the guards.
I passed the time going through my exercises, trying to keep my body as fit as possible so I could be ready to escape or fight at a moment's notice. Also because it was the only thing to do in a small cell like this with no other entertainment or company. They could have given me a book or two at least. Was Jordan trying to wear me down through sheer boredom?
I stopped when I heard the sound of people walking toward me, and I tried to look like I’d been sitting on my cot this whole time. The moment the figures entered the room, however, I threw that tactic out the window and went on high alert mode. Three Sun Witches stood before me, dressed in their warm-colored robes, all of them beautiful and terrifying. I blinked a few times, wondering if I was so bored that I’d just straight up hallucinated Sun Witches, but then one of them motioned for the guard to open the door with the jangly keychain again. He opened it, and all three of the Sun Witches stepped inside my cell—and were securely locked inside with me.
This can't be good, I thought, as I sat up straighter.
The middle Sun Witch was familiar, with eyes so pale they looked colorless, and platinum blond hair falling to her shoulders. Her robe was burnt orange and threaded with gold images of the sun along the neckline and around her wrists. I vaguely remembered her giving me a blanket at the Convergence. The other two witches, wearing robes the color of Dijon mustard, seemed to defer to her as their leader, even though she was younger than them.
“My name is Roxandra,” she said. “I am Evanora’s daughter.”
That explained a lot. Evanora was the High Priestess of the Sun Witches. Was she here too? I sure hoped not. “I’d say it's nice to meet you, but the circumstances are less than ideal.”
Roxandra looked around the cell, perusing it slowly as she talked. “We’re here to learn about your powers.”
"Powers? What powers?" I clasped my hands in my lap, hoping they wouldn’t shake. Lying to Jordan was one thing, but even though I now knew that the Sun Witches weren’t the perfect paragons I’d grown up believing them to be, they were still powerful beyond measure, and I didn’t know if I could fool them.
“You have Moon Witch powers.” She turned those strange eyes on me, and they dared me to lie. “Tell us about them.”
“I don’t know what you mean." It was surprisingly easy to choke the lie out.
Roxandra stepped forward and bright light filled her eyes. "Don't lie to me."
I spread my hands wide, trying to look innocent and calm, even as my heart raced. "If Jordan told you I have magic, he's wrong. He just can't believe a girl like me could get away from him in the woods, but I've spent my life escaping bad situations. It's what I do."
And I'll escape this one too, I mentally added.
Roxandra's glowing eyes narrowed. "Who is your mother?"
"I have no idea." It was nice not having to lie about that, at least.
"The Cancer alpha must have told you something about her."
"He told me she was human, and that she abandoned me when I was a baby. That's it. Trust me, I wish I knew more about her."
Roxandra pursed her lips and glanced between the other two witches at her side. Then she turned those sunlit eyes back on me. “If you had just cooperated with us, I could have made this a lot easier for you."
I clenched my jaw, wondering what exactly was going on, but before I could open my mouth to ask, the three of them began chanting. All of their eyes glowed, making the room light up like we were outside at noon on a cloudless day. I shielded my face from the sudden brightness, a sharp contrast to my dark cell, and that's when I felt the spell settle over me like a straight jacket, pressing and squeezing, as if it was trying to eek something out of me. I opened my mouth to scream as silvery light shot out of me, right from my chest. What the—
It felt like an explosion, and when my vision cleared, all three Sun Witches were on the ground. Roxandra looked shaken as she stood up, and she shouted a word in another language I didn't recognize. The other two Sun Witches scrambled to their feet and advanced on me. I held my hands up, too confused and disoriented to fight back as they grabbed hold of my arms. Before I could respond, they pulled me off the cot and pushed me to the floor.
"What was that?" Jordan's voice called out.
I’d been so shocked by the explosion of power that I hadn’t even heard Jordan approaching, but when I looked up, he stood outside of my cell door, eyes on Roxandra.
“Our suspicions were correct,” Roxandra said, as she smoothed two slim hands over her robes and pulled herself back together before standing tall once again. “She’s part Moon Witch. Strong, too. Whoever her mother was, she was powerful.”
My mouth fell open. Kaden had said my mother was probably a Moon Witch, but there had been no proof of it, and with my father dead, there was no one to ask either. Now there was no doubt in my mind Kaden had been right. Of course, that changed nothing. I still didn't know who she was, or where she was now, or why she'd abandoned me. All this knowledge did was leave me with more questions about my past.
“What caused her powers to awaken?” Jordan asked.
“They must have awakened when she gained her wolf," Roxandra said.