A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones, #1)(46)

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing!” But the deafening pitch of her voice said otherwise. We stood there in rare silence until finally we were served our brisket. Tender, caramelized, and smelling of spice and sweetness—I couldn’t wait to stuff my face. We sat down in a corner lit by both lantern flames and fireflies that sometimes drifted into the hall from the courtyard. Their flickering glow danced across Mari’s preoccupied eyes.

“If you aren’t going to tell me what’s really going on with you, how am I supposed to tell you about the disaster that was the day I spent with the king yesterday?” I feigned genuine puzzlement and took a huge bite.

“What? When?”

I shook my head as I chewed.

“Fine,” she relented. “I’m trying out some spells and have not had… much luck.”

My mouth hung open. Mari was a witch?

She had said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, but only those with a witch or warlock in their ancestry could practice witchcraft. Magic wasn’t uncommon, but I had only met a handful of witches in my life, their spells used for crafting or cooking, sometimes to make sleeping potions or tonics for luck that only worked half the time. Though I imagined, knowing what I did of Mari, she didn’t intend to perform such common witchcraft, but rather, something far more impressive. Far more powerful.

“I finally figured out how to fix the issue, but it’s a little tricky.” I got the feeling admitting defeat physically pained her.

But I was still hung up on the magic part. “Spells? You have witch lineage?”

She nodded. “My mother was a witch.”

Mari hadn’t spoken much of her mother, and for someone who talked as much as she did, there must have been a reason it was a sore subject. I wanted to know why and what she was keeping from me but swallowed my curiosity. I wasn’t ready to tell her about Powell yet, so it didn’t feel fair to pry.

“How can I help?” I asked instead.

Mari shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do.”

“Come on, I’m happy to be a test subject. Want to try a wakefulness spell on me? I’m exhausted.”

She laughed, then chewed on her lip, and I knew if I waited there was a good chance she would open up. I had a suspicion that secrets didn’t last very long in Mari’s internal vault.

Finally, she caved as I had hoped. “All right. What I need is Briar’s amulet. It’s a relic that belonged to one of the greatest witches in history, Briar Creighton. She lived hundreds of years ago, but she’s still alive today, as fair and youthful as she ever was. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. She put quite a bit of her sorcery into this locket before she was rumored to gift it to… Well, you can guess.”

I already feared the answer. “King Kane Ravenwood?”

“Yes! Apparently, they were lovers when he was young.”

“Of course they were.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. I wasn’t judging Kane for sleeping with a hundred-year-old witch who probably didn’t look a day over my age, but still. I suddenly had a terrible headache. “So you want me to ask him for it?”

Mari’s eyes nearly jumped from her head. “No! Holy Stones, Arwen, of course not. He’d never give that to you, or to me.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank the Stones, because I was done with anything related to—

“I want to steal it from his study.”

Now it was my eyes that bulged. “Tell me you aren’t serious.”

“You asked me to be honest with you,” she said with a shrug.

I massaged my temples. My headache was becoming a full-blown migraine.

“It’s too dangerous,” I said. “King Ravenwood would have your head for far less.”

“He’ll never know. He’s out in the woods today—the blacksmith told me this morning in the library. It’s the perfect time.” She bit at her lip, before turning her pleading eyes on me. “The only time.”

Guilt squeezed my stomach. I had pushed Mari to be honest with me. We had only been friends for a few weeks, but I knew with absolute certainty that she was going to enact this idiotic plan with or without me. And truthfully, I felt braver now than I ever had before. I had survived a lot worse than sneaking into a study.

“I’m going to do it either way,” Mari said, as if she could read my thoughts.

“All right, fine,” I conceded. “What’s your plan?”

Mari’s answering smile was so pure, so joyous it pulled a reluctant grin to my cheeks as well, despite my exhaustion, and fear that this would be a complete disaster.

“It’ll be easy,” she beamed. “And then you’ll tell me all about your day with the king. Follow me.”

“Now?” I said, but she was already up and bounding down out of the great hall. I cursed under my breath and shoved one last forkful into my mouth before following after her.

We leaped up the sprawling stone staircase, through the gallery above the courtyard, and past the apothecary, locked for the evening.

I wrestled to slow my shallow breathing as we walked with urgency.

We’d be in and out in no time.

“How do you know the amulet is even real, let alone in his study?”