Emberlynn kept her hands clasped in her lap as she made her way down the stairs of the dungeon. Her dress quietly hissed against the stone, and the backs of her freshly polished heels clicked with each step she took. When she came to the bottom of the stairs, she found Chi standing at a distance, arms crossed, back against the wall. Chi wordlessly moved to stand beside Emberlynn as she came to the first cell on her left.

  “Good morning, my daughter,” Emberlynn said. Chains scraped against stone as a figure crawled on its hands and knees toward her. Deep violet eyes peered out of the shadows, digging into her fiercely. Waves of red hair tumbled over the shoulders of the woman in the cell. She reached out, and her advance was stopped short by the collar that kept her shackled to the wall behind her. “I pray that you slept well.”

  Ravyn’s eye twitched. “Like a kitten,” she growled.

  “Hm. Has she eaten?” Emberlynn asked Chi.

  Chi nodded. It was impossible to read her expression behind her mask, but Emberlynn could picture her stoic gaze and the thin line of her lips beneath it.

  “I’m right here,” Ravyn said.

  “Chi tends to you, so I ask her. She won’t lie to me.”

  “Don’t trust your own daughter?”

  “As of current? No. I do not.”

  Ravyn rocked backward to a seated position and scoffed. “Typical.”

  Emberlynn motioned to Chi, and Chi retrieved a stool from farther down the corridor. She set it snugly against the wall, and Emberlynn took a seat.

  “I wanted to resume our conversation from the other day,” Emberlynn said.

  “The one you skipped? For all that time you spent claiming you loved me, you sure have a hell of a way of showing it.” She spat on the ground. “You’re a real gem, Mother.”

  Emberlynn narrowed her gaze. On the morning following Ravyn’s capture, she had implied she would visit her again that evening. Problems had arisen, and she was physically at her limit. Simply walking down the stairs that morning had taken everything she had, and she would not allow her composure to break under her daughter’s gaze.

  “There were complications,” Emberlynn said slowly. “I hope you will forgive me for my absence.”

  “You say that like I have a choice.” Ravyn waved her hand and wrapped her arms around her legs, perching her chin between her knees. “Well, get on with it, then.”

  “Perhaps it is a waste of my efforts, but I thought you might answer some of my questions.”

  Ravyn shrugged and barely shook her head. “I’m waiting.”

  “Who helped you get back into the estate?”

  “No one. I got in by myself.”

  “What of that vulgar familiar of yours?”

  Ravyn smirked. “What familiar? You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”

  We’re going to play that game, are we? “Do not get smart with me. You know the one. The blue bird you refuse to dismiss,” she said, punctuating each word. “The one that shouts obscenities and breaks the venerable air of our home.”

  Ravyn snickered. “It really bothers you, doesn’t it? Knowing that there’s something outside of your control. To know that I refuse to be under your thumb.” The chains clinked as she raised her head. “Why would you care where Ball Gag is, Mother? He’s going to disappear soon enough, anyway. I can’t maintain him forever. So, why are you scared of him?”

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  Emberlynn’s professional side—the one that managed the estate and its wealth—demanded that she ask the pertinent questions. What would Ravyn’s terrible familiar do in her absence? Who was Ravyn working with? Who else had she told regarding her findings?

  And yet…

  “A proper [Sorcerer] knows when to let their familiar go.” Emberlynn’s maternal side won her over. “I cannot imagine the toll he has taken on you.” Maintaining a familiar for any length of time was a considerable drain on the summoner’s Myana. There were plenty of Skills, potions, and Spells that could abate the drain, but relying on the use of such things for a prolonged length of time would have permanent repercussions on the summoner. “Dismiss him, Ravyn.”

  “I will when I run out of Myana.” A snide smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “[Myana Focus] is maxed, and his drain on me is minuscule at best. I made sure to take every Skill available to ensure his longevity.” Her smile widened. “He’s going to be around for a while, Mother. And who knows what he’ll do?”

  Emberlynn clenched her teeth. “I ask that you do this for yourself. Not for me.” Her maternal instincts were dashed away in an instant, and the fear of what the familiar may do was rekindled. “I worry what his extended presence may do to you.”

  “Stop it. I am so fucking sick of hearing the lie that you care about me. I’m exhausted from these conversations. I don’t want to have them anymore.” She sighed, then licked her lips.

  “That is not for you to decide.” She drew a deep breath, then rose to her feet. Her dress brushed against the stones as she approached the bars. She looked down her nose at Ravyn. “Who else knows what you found?”

  “No one.”

  “Do not take me for a fool.”

  “Oh, I would never,” Ravyn said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “That would bring dishonor upon our family. Goodness, Mother, please think better of me.”

  Emberlynn’s upper lip twitched. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Who else have you told?”

  “No. One.”

  Damn it, you brat! “Very well. I will find out myself. And when I do, you can rest assured that I will not be as accommodating with them as I have been with you.” Emberlynn glowered down at her daughter. “There is little one needs to keep intact to stay alive.”

  Ravyn held her gaze for what felt like minutes. Emberlynn had hoped that her threat would break the silence, reveal some other side of her daughter’s plot to expose her. Not a single inflection on her face gave any hint of where they would go from here.

  She is my daughter, after all. Emberlynn shook her head. “It is unfortunate that we should part today on such terms.”

  “Not my fault.” Ravyn shrugged. “I’m not the one who used a Defiled to kill catgirls.”

  “Do not speak of things that you do not understand,” Emberlynn hissed.

  Ravyn smiled a grating, toothy smile. “There you are”—she pointed at Emberlynn—“just a little bit. The real Emberlynn.”

  Emberlynn and Ravyn stared at one another for a while. Black circles had reappeared beneath Ravyn’s eyes. The cuffs had cut and blistered the skin on her wrists. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her tail had swept the dirt from the floor. For one fleeting moment, Emberlynn wanted to take the collar off, remove the chains, embrace her daughter, and apologize for everything she had done up to this point. She wanted to laugh at dinner, find out more about the new man she’d been traveling with, and be a part of her life again. She wanted to be healthy and whole.

  But the fates are cruel, and Saoirse has decreed that I am unfit to live for much longer. Emberlynn looked at her bony palm. It trembled. “We will have this discussion again tomorrow.” She looked back at Ravyn. “Chi. See to it that she gets some tea.”

  “Yes, Mistress Emberlynn.” Chi’s words were slightly muffled behind her mask.

  “So, that’s it?” Ravyn asked as Emberlynn turned to leave. “You come in, threaten me, scoff like I’m a child again, and leave? Is this a dance we’re going to have every day, or… ?”

  “Yes. Because I want to see you every day.” Emberlynn didn’t feel a need to explain further. Any attempt would be met by snippy remarks and foul language, anyway.

  “Same cave, same time?” The chains clinked. “Oh, right. I can’t fucking leave.” Ravyn rose to her feet and shuffled to her bed.

  Emberlynn left the chambers and shuffled up the stairs. Chi walked around her and made for the kitchen when Emberlynn caught her by the shoulder. “Find that damned bird. No matter what.”

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