The Last Daughter of Elysia

Chapter 30

Morgana and Aelys were seated at the kitchen table when Briar disappeared into an adjacent room. She left the door ajar, and Morgana craned her neck to peer inside. The room had teetering boxes full of old clothes and knick-knacks. There was a dusty bookcase in the corner where Briar was pulling a book down from a shelf.

Aelys stared into space and played with a biscuit until a small pile of crumbs formed on her plate. Steam curled from her tea.

"Are you okay?" Morgana eyed the crumbs on Aelys's plate. But Briar emerged from the room at that moment, and Aelys dropped her biscuit.

Morgana followed Aelys's gaze, and her stomach flipped as she stared at the grimoire in Briar's arms. It was huge and magnificent with a leathery cover the color of caramel. A strange force crackled between Morgana and the grimoire, it was an electric charge that seemed to slow down time. A light breeze raced around the room.

Briar placed the grimoire onto the table, and after an awed silence Morgana placed her hand on the cover. She ran her fingertips over the coven symbol, a gold waxing moon encircled by blue and purple gems. The whispering became louder and clearer, it was the voice of witches' past.

Morgana's hair floated around her face and she felt as if lightning crackled through her veins.

"Morgana," Aelys's voice trembled. "What's happened to your eyes?"

There was a large, stained mirror on the wall opposite. Morgana's irises glowed amber and looked like cut crystal. They were strange. Inhuman.

Briar smiled. "It's been a while since I've seen eyes like that."

"I've read about it," Morgana murmured. "When witches used all the elements at once, their eyes glowed."

"It's an effect from channeling Elysia's combined elements."

"How am I doing this?"

It is in your nature to channel Elysia's magic.

Morgana swallowed, and glanced down at the grimoire, feeling as if she were on the precipice of something important. Morgana pulled the grimoire closer. Then glanced over at Aelys, whose eyes were wide.

"Only a witch who is descended from the Maiden Coven can open that grimoire," Briar said.

Morgana placed both hands on the cover and felt a strange pull, as if the grimoire was sucking her energy. She closed her eyes, and the grimoire began to vibrate. The table shook, rattling the cups and biscuits. Briar's teacup smashed onto the floor.

"Morgana?" Aelys's voice was shrill.

In her mind's eye Morgana raced through a dark tunnel, to where there was a door at the end, a door framed with light.

It was a way out.

A new beginning.

Sweat beaded her temple as she ran through the darkness, chest burning. It got closer and closer, and she smiled, victory within reach. It was like she was on a rocky ship approaching a lighthouse in the dead of night. Morgana slowed to a jog and after what felt like hours she was finally at the door. Everything in the cottage stopped shaking and silence followed. Light pulsed around the door like a heartbeat, and beyond it were hushed voices, warm and inviting. The Maiden Coven.

Morgana pushed the door open and there was a loud click of something releasing, of a great weight lifting.

She opened her eyes and raised the cover of the grimoire. It made a cracking sound because it was the first time the grimoire had been opened in a thousand years. The whispering voices heaved a collective sigh.