Ashes tilted her head, and Sapphire wondered if, only for a moment, she had fractured the wall between them.

The witch placed a cold palm to Sapphire’s cheek, and it took everything inside the princess to not hum with satisfaction as Ashes drummed her long, thin fingers against her skin.

‘Because.’ The witch leaned in closer, and Sapphire was transfixed. ‘If anyone gets to take your life, it will be me.’

The words hit Sapphire sharply and she stumbled backwards as she reached for the magic that lived inside of her.

‘Why were you risking death to find me, princess?’

Sapphire’s words stuck in her throat and she swallowed hard. Rashness had cost her so many things. Her dignity, her secrets, the upper hand.

‘I need to talk to your coven.’

Ashes laughed so loudly that Sapphire cringed. To calm her nerves, Sapphire rubbed her thumb roughly against her palm. The witch watched her with intrigue.

‘Little lamb, what reason could possibly exist for you to seek out such a thing?’

‘Answers.’

An expression Sapphire couldn’t identify flashed over the witch’s face.

‘Answers – what answers, princess?’

‘About my birth,’ Sapphire started. ‘And my disappearance.’

Ashes stepped back, staring.

‘It’s the beginning of the cycle of storms.’ She motioned overhead, her eyebrow twitching in frustration or amusement, Sapphire couldn’t tell which.

‘So?’ Sapphire pushed back stubbornly.

‘So, that means I can’t take you there tonight.’

‘Because of a storm?’ Anger fuelled her words now.

Ashes shook her head.

‘These are not just any storms; our ancestors created them. A cycle of three to flood the lands and cleanse the ground of bloodshed. For all that we have lost. Tonight is the first.’

A bolt of lightning struck nearby like a warning shot.

‘Your ancestors?’ Sapphire questioned.

‘Yes. Led by Ryvinika, the honoured one.’

‘When will you take me?’

‘Tomorrow.’ A boom of thunder filled the air around them. ‘The storm is almost here. It’s time to go now, princess.’

‘But how –’

The witch reached forward, absorbing the shadows into her body, and Sapphire gaped when she realized she was only a stone’s throw away from the lake.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered into the empty air as she headed towards the shore.

The girl’s shadows did not linger as Sapphire dived into the water.

As she swam, she kept one eye on the storm as it closed in on the world around her.

She pushed until her muscles ached, and she broke for air to pouring rain pounding the surface of the lake. A crack of lightning split the sky in two and she flinched.

She was close when she heard it.

A sound so deafening that no one could hear the scream that escaped her lips. She watched as another bolt of lightning sprang from the sky, striking downward and connecting with the water. She gasped for air as a searing heat wrapped around her, squeezing tightly.