31. Trust issues

Verina didn't like that man. She suspected he was a knight from the very beginning, and his victory over the Beast Witch was the final proof she needed. He wasn't just a knight, he had to be a Master! Because neither she nor Beata knew his face, and that would've been impossible if he was a mere soldier. After long years on this island she'd seen all soldiers, while the faces of the Masters remained hidden.

But what would a knight Master want from Sky? He couldn't be under her spell, all the knights were protected against any sort of magic! Was it a trap then? But no matter how hard Verina tried, she couldn't figure out what he could gain from it. If a knight Master wanted to hurt Sky, he would come and do it! He wouldn't be punished for it… not seriously, at least.

She didn't want to trust him… Well, and she didn't trust him, to be fair. But in the situation they were all in, she had no other choice but to follow him.

She could smell all the witches in the house – there weren't many of them here. It appeared that the Day Witches lived separately from everyone else. They took an entire floor for their bedrooms, and it was most likely protected better than the rest of the house, a place where they could stay till their powers returned in the morning.

Luckily, Verina and her companions didn't have a single reason to go after them, the Beast Witch could already smell Sky, she was close. Even though she was a valuable resource, Garance left her on the servants' floor, the windows of her room facing the garden.

No-one protected her, and she was asleep when they came in. That wasn't normal! Night Witches are very active during the time of their magic, and Sky used to be that way too… But not anymore. She was lying flat on her back on the narrow bed, like she was dead, not asleep. Verina could tell Beata and Stranger were actually scared for her, they thought she was really dead… But the Beast Witch could sense Sky was alive and even healthy. At least, her body… It was hard to tell what happened to her mind.

Sky was in a nightdress made of silk and lace, her hair was loose, she was prepared for sleep, and yet she was still wearing that necklace. Not like they needed any proof… But now it became obvious.

Verina hoped it would be simple, all they needed to do was walk to Sky and take those damn stones off her… But it was probably naïve to hope for anything easy in this situation. Once they stepped closer, Sky opened her eyes and sat up on the bed.

It was Sky – but at the same time, it wasn't her. Verina wasn't her friend and she didn't know her too well, but even she could see that the Night Witch changed. Her eyes were different: cold and cruel, a lot like the eyes of Garance.

Before they could say anything, the room around them was suddenly cast in flames. The fire appeared everywhere, and it felt so real Verina nearly screamed. Like most Beast Witches, she was afraid of fire. She could already feel it burning her, she was ready to run, to forget about Sky, to forget everything… But Beata stopped her.

"It's not real!" the Flower Witch told her.

"It is!"

"It's an illusion, Verina! Night Witches can cast illusions – but they can't cast fire!"

True enough, when Verina calmed down a bit, she remembered how Sky saved her by casting the illusion of phoenix. She was doing pretty much the same thing now!

And while Verina was scared and Beata was a bit nervous, Stranger remained unaffected by the fire. He didn't make it go away, though he probably could, he just ignored it. He took a step to Sky, but she moved off the bed fast and stopped by the window.

"Don't come any closer!" she hissed. "Get out of here, you don't belong here!"

That was bad… She couldn't use magic against knight Master. Even if Aydelline was strong enough for that, there was no way Sky could reach the same level of power just yet. But she could break the window and hurt herself or run away. What instructions did Garance give her? That Day Witch was vicious enough to order Sky die rather than leave this house!

Stranger probably knew all of that, Verina could tell he was a wise man. So he acted carefully, but he didn't move back. Why, why, why? That question kept returning to Verina over and over again.

"Sky, do you remember me?" he asked, and Verina was surprised by how softly his voice could sound. "Do you know who I am?"

She shook her head no, and yet there was something new in her eyes, something strong enough to make her stand still in the fire. Verina wanted to use that moment to attack, but Beata got in her way again.

"Don't," she said quietly. "Let him handle it."

"We don't even know him!"

"But she does, and I think right now he has better chances of reaching out to her than we."

Stranger stretched his hand to Sky, as if offering to take her away from here. She remained immobile, as if frozen, but the fire around them started to die down. That was for the better: if it remained as bright, it would wake someone up, and all of them would be in huge trouble.

Verina wanted it all to be over as fast as possible. But Stranger acted annoyingly slowly. He stretched his hand to Sky – like she was hanging on the cliff or something and he wanted to save her.

"You need to remember. You've met me."

"I don't know you!" Sky exclaimed, and it sounded dangerously loud in the sleeping house. "Go away!"

"You don't want this," Stranger noted. "And you don't want to be here. They made you stay."

"They're my friends!"

"These are your friends," he pointed at Verina and Beata. "And I am your friend too… and more. Don't you remember? I can't believe they made you forget!"

She didn't answer this time, she looked confused. Sky was frowning – like a person trying to remember something long forgotten. That was clearly progress! Verina didn't want to think about what happened between these two, but she had to admit it was working. Maybe the knight was using his power to neutralize magic… or maybe he was just important enough to Sky so she started fighting Garance's artefact again.

He stepped closer, and this time Sky didn't move away. Her eyes were wide in shock, like she was afraid of him – or of something else? Verina could tell she was trembling. But the illusion of fire disappeared completely.

"Sky, listen to me," he smiled at her. "I know you've been avoiding me since… that happened. I'm not mad at you. I missed you. You can trust me."

Verina wouldn't trust him in any case – because she didn't trust men in general, and especially knights. But Sky thought differently… When she last met Beata and Verina, she wasn't that deep under the spell, but she didn't even try to fight it for them. But for him, she was ready to risk it all, even though the artefact was probably hurting her for disobedience. Stranger was right, it was more than mere friendship.

Sky wasn't strong enough to return to her real self. But she managed to raise her shaking hand somehow and put it into Stranger's hand. That was all he needed. He used it to pull Sky close to him, he hugged her tight, pressing her entire body to him. She gasped, but didn't try to fight him, she remained stiff and uncertain.

And he didn't wait for what she would do next. He grabbed the necklace and tore it in one strong quick movement, little white stones flying all over the room.

It was a powerful artefact – if it could control a Night Witch. If Verina or Beata tried doing the same, it would most likely hurt them. But it couldn't do anything to the knight, Stranger was perfect for that mission.

Once the artefact was gone, Sky didn't have to fight it anymore. She simply collapsed, unconscious, and Stranger held her in his arms.

"Is she okay?" Beata asked nervously.

"She will be, she's free now," he replied, looking only at Sky. "But if we all want to stay free, we need to get out of here. Chances are high Garance felt the moment when her little toy was broken. We need to hurry – or we'll have to fight everyone there is in this house!"

"Garance will understand what happened here," Verina commented. "She'll never forgive us for that!"

"Not like you've been friendly with her before… You're right, she'll want to avenge this, she probably had big plans for Sky. We don't know what she'll do, but from now on, we must be ready for anything!"