The Vampire & Her Witch Chapter 1824: Finding Her Place (Part One)

"If there’s time, come spring. But maybe, by then, you won’t need me to come along at all..."

Heila’s statement cracked like the whips she was so famous for, and for a moment, Jocelynn’s mind went completely blank as she tried to think of what she had ever done to have provoked such a barbed response from her sister’s lady-in-waiting.

She didn’t know.

They’d only met briefly during the day she spent in the Vale of Mists before setting out with Nyrielle’s retinue. At the time, while Heila was slightly brusque in their interactions, Jocelynn had attributed it to the overwhelming number of details her sister’s lady-in-waiting was responsible for as the Vale’s forces prepared to march.

Clearly, however, there was more to it than that.

Whatever it was would have to wait. Jocelynn could already see Rastlan’s brow wrinkling as he watched the discussion growing sharper while Loghlan looked like a man who’d fallen between the boat and the breakwater, waiting for the next wave to either crush him between the two or free him from his misfortune.

For better or for worse, Jocelynn’s next words were certain to be that wave, so she chose them with great care.

"I don’t think it’s possible to pursue a project like this without your help, Lady Heila," Jocelynn said, wearing a soft expression with a welcoming smile that had seen her through countless tea parties among the young noble ladies of Trevarthen Duchy.

"You’re right that I haven’t joined big sister’s coven yet," she said, firmly establishing the place she intended to claim before immediately yielding ground. "I may yet die in the attempt, and even if I succeed, I won’t have the benefit of the time you and Ash spent studying potions with the Mother of Thorns," she added, ensuring that the halo of prestige she borrowed encompassed her sister as well.

Jocelynn didn’t know how much respect the Eldritch held for the Great Witch who had taught her sister, but since Ashlynn had mentioned her when praising Heila’s abilities as a warrior, Jocelynn doubled down on invoking the powerful name, hoping it would have the effect she wanted.

Across the table, Loghlan Dunn set his cup down without drinking from it.

It was a small thing, and Jocelynn would have missed it entirely if she hadn’t been watching him since the conversation first turned sharp. He’d gone very still, the same way her father did when a report started with the loss of a ship while he waited to hear about the fate of the crew, and she recognized the same look in Lord Loghlan’s eyes even though she didn’t want to see it, or acknowledge that she had.

"Forgive me, your Highness," Loghlan said, losing the polished, carefully practiced tone of a nobleman and speaking more like a father who had just heard grim news. "You said that you might die in the attempt to join Lady Ashlynn’s coven. Is it really that dangerous?" Loghlan asked.

"It is," Ashlynn said quietly, before Jocelynn could answer. "Heila nearly died when she received her seed of witchcraft from me, and it was the same for Ollie. Becoming a witch isn’t an easy thing, and I’ve told Liam as much as well," she added, glancing briefly at the table where the young lord had just stood to welcome Captain Albyn, placing Jocelynn’s stalwart protector ironically close to Heila’s loyal guard.

"Then why would you..." Loghlan began, glancing over his shoulder at his son before shaking his head and turning back to Jocelynn. "Forgive me, your Highness," he said again, more quietly. "I’m sure you have your reasons, and it’s not my place to ask."

"It’s a fair question," Jocelynn said, and she gave him the same warm, forgiving smile she’d given a hundred women who had asked her something they shouldn’t have, though it had never been anything as grave as an impending threat to her own life.

"I owe my sister more than I can ever repay, Lord Loghlan," Jocelynn said, glancing briefly at Ashlynn before looking back at the baron with a determined gaze. "And I’d rather be useful than safe."

"But that takes us a bit off the topic at hand," Jocelynn said smoothly, moving and redirecting the attention of the table away from herself and Lady Heila. "

"Captain Rastlan," Jocelynn said. "I know so little about your people. In Blackwell, skilled midwives are always in demand but never so much that anyone would kidnap one. Can you help us understand why this is such a problem for your people?"

"It’s not a problem for my people," Rastlan said, frowning slightly at the human ’princess.’ "It’s a problem for the Swift Hooves, and to a somewhat lesser extent, for the Long Horns," he said, bristling slightly before he felt a stern tap from Dirar under the table.

The High Lord hadn’t even turned away from his conversation with Lady Nyrielle and the others on her side of the table, but it seemed like he was paying at least some attention to his herald, and he clearly didn’t approve of Rastlan’s current course.

"The Swift Hooves and the Long Horns face two threats in birthing," Rastlan explained patiently, as if he was speaking to a young child. Then, before Dirar could tap him a second time, he paused, glancing briefly at the far end of the table where the silver-haired witch sat as if to remind himself what came from looking down on the humans gathered at this table.

He could look down on the lesser lords and warriors who thought themselves mighty for clashing with small hunting bands at the northern border of the Southern Steppe, but these humans were a different matter entirely.

"The first is a threat to the child," Rastlan continued in a more neutral tone. "If they aren’t positioned properly when the birthing begins, they must be guided out of the birth canal quickly, or they’ll suffocate in the birthing sack. Skilled midwives can help with this, but they work blind with only their hands to guide them, and it’s difficult to know if there is a problem or not before the birthing begins..."