Queen of the Night (The Revanche Cycle Book 4) by Craig Schaefer Page A

be promising. Don’t kill her until I get back.”
    Nessa slipped through the underbrush. As she disappeared, Gazelle looked up at Hedy, desperate.
    “Hedy. We were friends . You can’t let her do this to me.”
    The young woman bit her bottom lip and looked away.
    “She told you what would happen.” Hedy’s voice was weak. “You were told the rules, then you broke the rules. You made your choice.”
    “I didn’t know ! Who could have believed the Owl could actually fight the Dire Mother and win?”
    “We did,” Hedy said. She still couldn’t look at her.
    “Liar. You were right next to me in the coven glade. You didn’t cross the line. You didn’t stand with her. So why do you get to live and I don’t? Tell me that. You owe me that.”
    Hedy’s shoulders clenched as she struggled for an answer.
    “I…came around, later. I learned. She forgave me. She’s my teacher now.”
    “Then why can’t she forgive me ?” Gazelle’s head sagged, a ragged sob escaping her throat. “I don’t want to die.”
    Mari, who had been standing in stoic silence, stepped over to Hedy. She put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and leaned in, her voice soft.
    “When it happens, turn away. You don’t need to see this.”
    Despina took off her mask, fixing Mari with an irritated glare.
    “She most certainly does need to. Don’t coddle her, Sister.”
    “They were friends,” Mari said. “Hedy shouldn’t have to watch this.”
    Despina sighed. She strolled up and lightly put one booted foot on Gazelle’s back.
    “It appears you need a lesson in taxonomy.” She pointed at herself, then her brother, going around in a circle and ending with Gazelle. “Witch, witch, witch, coven knight, cattle .”
    With that, she slammed her boot down, shoving Gazelle flat on her belly. The girl grunted and squirmed under her foot.
    “Cattle aren’t friends. They’re playthings at best.” Despina nodded to Hedy. “In fact, I think she should kill her. It’s a good learning experience. Hedy, you should start by skinning her. Trust me, you won’t see her as your friend when she isn’t wearing a face anymore.”
    “You’re being cruel,” Mari snapped.
    Despina laughed at her. “You’re just noticing now? That’s what we are, Mari.”
    “Not to each other .”
    Despina blinked. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
    “Not to each other,” Mari said again, softer now. “We’re supposed to be a family. A real one, not like it was under the old Dire. I know…I know I’m new here. I know I’m out of line saying this. But there’s only five of us now. We have to stand together.”
    Despina stepped off Gazelle and strode toward Mari, her lips pursed in a bloodless line. They stood nearly toe-to-toe, silent, Mari’s steely calm meeting Despina’s frozen glare.
    “You are insubordinate, infuriating, and under coven law I would be within my rights to have you whipped.” Despina paused, glancing away. “You…also have a point. Hedy, I recognize that you may be feeling some distress right now. I taunted you for it. I’m sorry.”
    “It’s all right,” Hedy murmured, staring down at the dirt.
    Mari started to say something, cut silent as Despina raised a finger and locked eyes with her again.
    “But I have a point, too. Hedy is learning, Mari. And our lessons are hard ones. I understand that you want to protect her, that you want to protect all of us, and that pleases us—but when you try to shield Hedy from something like this, you’re not helping her. You’re making her weak.”
    “I guess.” Mari hesitated. “I guess I’m learning too.”
    The woods rustled, branches swaying aside like charmed snakes to make way for Nessa’s return. She wore a beaming smile, a fresh spring in her step.
    “I think we’ve all earned a bit of fun,” she said.
    Vassili pointed the tip of his knife at Gazelle. “I thought that was the idea?”
    Nessa put her hands on her hips and looked down at the fallen witch, eyes