Chapter 22

A night filled with pleasant dreams gave way to a most unpleasant visitor by the time the moon and sun traded places in the sky.

At first, Evelyn assumed the tapping against the window was from Archie, and pulled the covers over her head, grumbling into her pillow. The second round of tapping was hard enough to rattle the glass in its casing, and Evelyn realized her small owl companion wasn't capable of such force.

Bolting upright to a sitting position, her gaze snapped to the small window and came eye-to-eye with an imposing looking falcon. Her stomach sank to her toes, her legs reduced to canned jelly, as she surged to her feet and raced to throw open the window for the elegant falcon .

"Fiadh!" she exclaimed as the large bird flew into the loft.

The falcon landed on the floor at the foot of Evelyn's bedroll, her sharp black eyes missing nothing. Heat prickled at the back of Evelyn's neck. "I did not expect Rona to send you all this way," she said, picking at and twisting the long sleeves of her linen nightgown as she pictured the coven leader's severe face. "I—I take it this means she received my letter."

Fiadh's head snapped toward her, not quite as flexible as Archie's, but with the same severe look of disapproval that only cats and birds could manage. "Of course she did."

Evelyn didn't bother asking how the falcon knew to find her shop, as it was a detail she'd left out of the letter to Rona. With the esteemed coven leader, the answer to such questions was almost always magic .

The bird directed her beak downward, the slight curve at its tip pointing to a thin tube fixed to her leg, its exterior made of stretched hide and meant to repel water and debris. "This is her official reply."

Evelyn's pulse quickened. "May I?"

"Well, I'm not going to be able to remove it myself, am I?" the bird said waspishly, lifting the leg stiffly into the air.

Evelyn worked with deft fingers, careful not to make a mistake as she untied the slim package. Fiadh hopped away the moment it was removed and clacked her beak, much in the way Archie did when he was holding his tongue.

The parchment inside the tube was scrolled around a thin glass vial, and Evelyn frowned as she raised it to the morning light filtering through the window. "It's… dirt," she said.

"Of course it is!" Fiadh squawked. "Read the letter, girl!"

Evelyn set the vial on her bedroll, nestling it within the tossed-aside quilt. "Would you like some water? Or something to eat? You've had a long journey."

"I suppose that would be the least you could do."

Evelyn bit back a heavy sigh. "This way."

She climbed down the steep staircase and puttered to the small kitchen. The morning was warm enough to not warrant starting a large fire, but she decided a cup of tea was in order, and so after getting Fiadh a shallow dish of water, she set about starting a small fire to heat the kettle.

After taking a few drinks, the falcon hopped over to Evelyn's worktable and craned her head this way and that, considering the notes and sketches and frustrated scribblings. Unlike Archie, Fiadh could, in fact, read, and she eyed Evelyn's work with a keen understanding. Evelyn wasn't sure how old the falcon was—she did not know the true age of Rona, either, for that matter—but the bird had several decades' worth of magical knowledge and experience .

While the bird continued to silently appraise her work, Evelyn unrolled the letter from Rona and began to read.

Evelyn,

While your letter was most unexpected, it is nice to hear from you. I do hope this response finds you well. It sounds as though you are in a most precarious situation. Despite our past discord, I would be most honored to lend you my wisdom as you seek to serve not only the crown, but Caele. You are quite right that her forests are to be preserved and protected at all cost.

"So, this is Lady Kilgour's doing?" Fiadh interjected, her tone sharp and impatient.

Evelyn paused her reading. "Hmm? Oh, yes. But no one is supposed to know. I'm only to reveal my true identity if I can break the curse. Well, what I now know to be a curse."

"It seems to me you would prove more useful at Crownvale Castle than all the way out here," Fiadh said, her black eyes considering Evelyn. "Unless there is more to the story than what you put in that letter of yours. Which, naturally, is what Rona suspects."

Evelyn sighed. It would be easier if she just told the blasted bird the whole thing, if for no other reason than she wasn't likely to leave until her full curiosity had been satiated.

"This is all rather interesting," Fiadh replied slowly when Evelyn finished an abbreviated retelling of the night she left Benenfar.

Evelyn's brows knit together. "Not the word I would choose," she muttered.

"Why would the king's advisor get in the way of you killing the one true threat to the crown?" Fiadh asked, continuing as though Evelyn had not spoken. "It seems she should have let you brew the poison to kill the one they call usurper ."

"I wasn't going to brew a poison for the king!" Evelyn said, more than a little insulted that the bird assumed she'd planned to go along with it. Fiadh knew the sacred vows as well as any full-blooded witch. "Were you even listening to me? Lady Kilgour sent me away in an effort to keep my blood off his hands. Rona may not like me very much, but even she would have trouble staying out of it if I were to be killed without so much as a proper arrest or trial."

Fiadh considered this, but did not look convinced. At least, Evelyn did not think she looked convinced. It could be hard to tell with birds.

"What?" Evelyn snapped, more sharply than she'd intended.

The falcon's eyes glittered. "Or perhaps Lady Kilgour does not wish for Ivor to be killed."

Evelyn blinked. "Of course she does. Or, at least, dealt with in some way. He's an enemy to the throne."

"Or he is the rightful heir," Fiadh replied. "It depends on who you ask, girl. There are whispers on the winds that reach our sacred glade."

After a moment, it became clear the bird did not intend to expand on the matter. Evelyn grunted a frustrated scoff and returned to her reading.

The soil enclosed is from the base of Caele's monolith, the most sacred place in all of Everspring Glade. As you know, magic often needs a channel to reach its destination. Apply the enclosed cleansing spell to the blessed soil before using it to banish the blight from the earth.

Go with the blessing of Caele and that of your sisters.

Rona

A smaller scrap of parchment was enclosed, with a rather complicated potion. "A cleansing spell?" Evelyn looked up and found Fiadh watching her intently. "This will work? This will break the curse?"

"I cannot say for certain, but it is the solution proposed by Rona and the others. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to wait around while you make your best effort with it, as I must get to the Silver Tide Isles."

Evelyn startled. "The Silver Tide Isles? What for?"

"It does not concern you," Fiadh replied, her tone sharp once more.

Evelyn forced a smile. "Well, don't let me keep you." She crossed to the back door and threw it open for the unpleasant bird.

Fiadh stayed rooted on the table, her talons splayed across Evelyn's notes. "What will you do if you break the curse? Will you return to Everspring?"

"Are you asking, or is Rona?"

Fiadh clacked her beak. "We are of one mind, girl. Now answer the question."

Evelyn lifted her chin. "I have no plan to ever return to Everspring. Whether I earn my freedom now, or in eighteen months?—"

"Assuming the castle does not fall," Fiadh interjected under her breath.

"In either event, I will make my own way henceforth."

"I see. Well, then in that case, you should not need to call upon Rona in the future."

With that, Fiadh spread her wings and cut through the shop, swooping out into the early morning light.

Evelyn exhaled when the bird was out of her sight, and was about to close the door when Archie appeared. His feathers ruffled as he took a beat in mid-air, seemingly surprised to see her, before he swooped through the opening and went to the mantel. "Was that Fiadh I just saw?" he sputtered.

Evelyn set the letter and the spell down on the table, securing both in place with a bottle filled with cursed soil. "It was."

"She flew out of here like her tail feathers were on fire!" Archie added, his tone clearly annoyed. "Not so much as a how-do-you-do." When Evelyn didn't respond, he hopped from the perch and marched along the mantel until he stood at its end, his golden eyes narrowing. "Well, what did she say?!"

Evelyn lifted her eyes from the kettle as she set about making her tea, and pinned her familiar with a flat look.

He shrank back, the feathers around his neck ruffling. "All right, all right. You win! I apologize for my tone when we last spoke. However?—"

Evelyn's eyes narrowed.

Archie held her gaze. " However ," he repeated, "I was only trying to look out for you, which is, in fact, my duty. You may not like it, and you may even find me overbearing from time to time, but I am doing my best. I don't want you to spread yourself too thin, or find new things to chide yourself over if they do not work out as planned."

Evelyn's expression softened. She never could stay angry with Archie. "Your apology has been accepted. I am sorry for not being more charitable."

A smile bloomed as she turned away and went to her satchel. She ran a finger along the inside pocket, and a small glass jar pushed to the surface. "In fact, I was out yesterday and bought you this, to make amends."

Turning, she presented the owl with a jar of orange marmalade. Archie flapped his wings and clacked his beak. "All is forgiven, indeed!" he cooed.

Evelyn laughed and dished up a sizable glob for the bird to enjoy. While he was busy indulging, she slipped upstairs and retrieved the vial of sacred soil Rona had sent with her prickly familiar.

If Evelyn hadn't already planned to make up with Archie, the unpleasant falcon's visit surely would have spurred her on, as a stark reminder of how lucky she was to have a—mostly—amiable companion.

"What's that? More jam?" Archie said, his eyes gleaming as she reappeared.

Evelyn held up the vial of dirt and smiled. "This is the key to breaking the curse."