Belladonna.”
“Belladonna?” Jaxen repeats hesitantly.
“It will relax her mental state so her aura can branch out and connect with the Witch she’s looking for. So long as the talisman works, she’ll have no problem finding and disrupting the connection safely.”
“Have you done this before?” he asks. “I mean, of this magnitude.”
“No,” she says, “but I know that Faye can.” She grabs a small, wicker basket off the table and begins pulling down the ingredients we need from the Witches cupboard. She has to reach on tiptoes to find the Belladonna, which is tucked behind Moonwort and Burdock Root. “Can you grab the candles?” she asks Jaxen. They’re on the very top of the cupboard.
It takes him barely any effort.
“Thanks,” she says as he sets them in the basket. “It looks like we have everything, so I’ll handle the talisman and get everything ready for the tea for when you return from Ethryeal City. Sound good?”
I nod.
“Good,” she says, mustering up a small smile. “I guess that’s it then.” She moves quickly, almost awkwardly, between us, and then heads out of the room.
“She’s never really dealt with her mother’s death,” he says when she’s far enough away. “She doesn’t know that I know this, but from the few times I’ve been in her mind, I know she blames herself. She thinks if she had stayed and attended the Academy over in France, then maybe her mother would still be here.”
“That’s so awful,” I say, wishing I could console her.
“Yeah,” he says, pulling me into a hug. “Her mother had an affair with another Hunter. After her dad found out, he ended up securing a grant to legally abandon her after they failed a few missions due to the unresolved emotional problems between them. In Jezi’s head, he was broken. And he needed to get as far away as possible, so she went with him, because she didn’t want him to be completely alone. But by doing so, she had to abandon her mother, who didn’t take the idea very well. She viewed Jezi as dead to her. And then she died.”
“Someone came between her parents’ affinity bond, and death and sadness was the result of it. No wonder she was so resentful to me in the beginning.”
His head hangs a little. “Yeah,” he says, his eyebrows gathering in. “I haven’t always been the easiest to be around, even with knowing her past.”
I run my hand up his arm. “At least there’s still plenty of time to make it right.”
WE ALL AGREE THAT WELDON and I should leave for Ethryeal City after dinner.
It will give Weldon enough time to feed so he can be at his fullest strength, and because that’s when most Elites and Watchmen are out hunting… though I’m sure with everything that’s happened, Clara will remain on the lookout. Probably heavily guarded.
“Look,” Cassie says, standing in front of the refrigerator in the kitchen. “I may not agree this is the right move, but I don’t want to fight over it. We’re a team, and I don’t know what got into me earlier. I think all the stress has rattled my nerves. Let me make you dinner. Anything you want.”
She’s looking at me. Apologizing. Being the Cassie I’ve come to know.
“I’ll take a T-bone. Rare,” Gavin says, rubbing his stomach.
She shoots him a look, and he grins like a child.
“Well?” she asks me. “Is there anything you’re in the mood for?”
I haven’t really thought much about food, but just the mention of it makes my stomach roar to life. “Pot roast?” I ask, thinking about my mother. About the meal she made the night before my Culling and how much I miss her smile. Her hugs. Her love.
Homesickness wraps its arms around my heart.
“Done!” she says, turning back to the fridge to gather all the ingredients. Jezi moves in beside her, pulling pots and pans out wherever she can find them.
Jaxen turns to me at the table, grabbing my hand. “I want to show you something real quick.”
“Okay,” I say,
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