“Good.” Rowan set me under the covers and tucked the blanket gently under my chin. “And don’t forget. No matter where you go, I will find you. Believe that.”
I meant to say that I believed him, yet the words didn’t come. Instead, my body felt heavy as I drifted off into what promised to be my deepest sleep in years.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When I closed my eyes, my dreams took me back to the Midnight Cloister once again. Ada and Veronique were running through the stone hallways and laughing. Veronique looked the way I’d imagined she’d been when she first met Amelia—a bright-eyed and willowy girl with long blonde hair. Her buttercup-yellow gown had an empire waist and billowed around her as she ran.
And Ava was the sweet moppet I’d first met at the Midnight Cloister. Dark, straight hair, exotic eyes, and a smile that dared you not to return it. She wore her gray Novice’s robes as Veronique chased her through the halls.
I tried my best to keep pace with them both. Every fiber of my soul wanted one last embrace. It wasn’t fair that I’d only seen a pile of ashes. That couldn’t be goodbye.
No matter how fast I ran, though, I couldn’t keep up with them. Soon, they raced on ahead of me. I could hear their laughter but couldn’t find them at all. Somehow, I ended up at the door of Petra, my old Mother Superior. Blue light flared through the keyhole. Smoke wafted out from under her door. My eyes widened as I realized what this meant.
A spell. Petra was summoning me through my dream.
For days, I’d been meaning to send another message to Petra. Things kept getting in the way, though. And now? After so much excitement, what I needed was rest, not to confront my old Mother Superior. I’d hoped the few scraps of information I sent before would be enough to satisfy her. Obviously not.
And I especially didn’t want to see her not face-to-face. I’d changed so much since I left the Zelle. Petra would not approve. Necromancers were supposed to control their emotions, especially when it came to sexuality.
She’d never understand Rowan.
The door swung open. Blue light poured into the hallway around me.
“Come in, Elea.” Petra’s reedy voice echoed from the room beyond. I took in a deep breath, straightened my shoulders, and crossed the threshold.
Petra’s room was small and spare, with a tiny cot, writing desk, and wooden trunk. She lay under a thin coverlet, her long gray hair spreading across the pillow like a halo. Her body looked as frail as a child’s.
My breath caught. Petra didn’t look well. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and her skin was so pale it was almost colorless. I rushed over to kneel at her side.
“Mother, what’s wrong?”
“I’m getting older, Elea.”
I ached to comfort her with a hug, but good Necromancers weren’t weak in that way. “What can I do?”
“Nothing. It’s the way of things.” Petra let out a rattling breath. “It’s been a rough winter at the Zelle Cloister. Only eight of us left.”
I fought hard not to show emotion. However, there was no avoiding the quiver in my voice. “Who went on to the Sire of Souls?”
“The Zaft sisters. Olga, Klara, Gita, and Frieda.”
Images of their faces appeared in my mind. The Zaft sisters were elflike ladies who loved to clean the chapel while finishing one another’s sentences. Olga was over ninety, but still seemed strong enough to lift an oxcart. Klara, Gita, and Frieda worked in the kitchens and always brought me fresh bread when I’d forgotten to eat while studying.
Now, they were gone too. My eyes stung with held-in tears.
“Don’t abandon your training. They go to a better place, as will I. This is no time for mourning or shows of frivolous emotion. You must find trained Necromancers who can keep our ways alive.”
A bitter taste crept up my throat. “There’s no chance of that, I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean? Last I knew, there were thousands of Necromancers under the Vicomte’s control. He couldn’t have killed them all so quickly.”
I set my hand over my mouth. It was better than sobbing. “He did. They’re all gone.”
There was a flicker of rage in Petra’s eyes before her features settled into a mask of calm once more. “And what did he do with their power?”
Leave it to Mother to ask the right question.
“It’s stored inside a totem ring.”
“Like the one in the witness watch that Amelia gave to you?”
“Almost the same. Only the totem ring in the vortex watch can actually transfer the magick.”
Petra wheezed out a slow breath. “To anyone?”
“Once there’s enough power, yes. The vortex watch will be fully charged tonight. After that, anyone can be infused with its power.”
Petra half-closed her eyes. Her lids looked thin as the most delicate lace. “That’s why he’s using your Sisters from the Midnight Cloister. He needs to drain the last of their power and activate the ring.”