"Then what, what would it be like, if I became a witch?" Jocelynn asked. "If I wouldnât become strong like you, then..." she started, only to stop herself short.
Sheâd been about to say âthen what good is itâ but becoming strong enough to rescue herself was only one reason she needed to become a witch. More than that, becoming a witch meant balancing the scales between them... Ashlynn said she might still die, that it would be painful and... and that sheâd be marked, just like Ashlynn was.
Most importantly, sheâd have a chance to make amends for the wrongs sheâd done. If it took a hundred years, or longer... Since witches lived a long time, she would spend however long she needed to in order to make things right, and to make it up to Eleanor, too.
"The seed I chose for you is different from anyone else in the coven," Ashlynn said, placing a hand on her chest just above the scar where sheâd placed the seed to nurture it next to her heart. "My teacher, Amahle, the Mother of Thorns, warned me not to use a seed like this one for my first witch because it could come to be a curse..."
"I was worried about how long I would live because of my bond with Nyrielle," Ashlynn explained. "And so I thought I could choose a tree for Heila that would help her stay with me for a long time. But Amahle warned me that I would be cursing her to outlive the other people she loves."
"Maybe it would have been for the best if I had," Ashlynn added, pursing her lips tightly for a moment as she considered the cruel hand fate had dealt her lady-in-waiting. "The person she fell in love with is a vampire, Ignatious, so it would have been a good thing to give her more time, but... We couldnât have known."
As it stood, Heila would at least have several decades more than ordinary members of the Horned Clan, and that helped soothe the ache Achlynn felt at knowing how things would end between her first witch and the man who had captured her heart, but she still wished sheâd been able to give Heila more. After everything the diminutive Willow Witch had done for her, she deserved an eternity of happiness with the man she loved, but it was too late to give it to her.
For Jocelynn, however... Sheâd chosen something even more potent than the seed sheâd once considered for Heila.
"The seed I chose for you is an even stronger seed of longevity," Ashlynn said, looking directly into her sisterâs eyes. "It was a selfish choice because Iâm going to live so long and... Even though there is suffering that can come from this, after you hurt me, I decided I didnât care enough to hold it back. I donât know how to make everything right between us again, but I wanted all the time in the world to try, no matter what it cost, so..."
"I donât mind," Jocelynn said, offering Ashlynn a fragile smile as she saw how conflicted her sister was about the decision sheâd made. "I donât want to marry anyone anymore anyway, so itâs fine," she said.
Jocelynn swallowed down the words that almost followed, that no one would want a woman who had done the things sheâd done, so it didnât matter anyway. She knew that she was unworthy of the chance that Ashlynn was offering her, but she couldnât help but cling to it. If that came with pain and suffering and loss... She deserved all of those things, so that was fine too.
"You say that now," Ashlynn said, stroking Jocelynnâs hair and giving her a knowing smile. "But you may find love in surprising places one day. The person you fall in love with one day may not even be human," she said with a knowing look.
Whether it was Heila and Ignatious, Zedya and Lennart, or her own relationship with Nyrielle, Ashlynn had seen more than enough proof that love could bloom in unexpected places to believe that it would never find her sister.
"When that day comes, if it ever does, you may come to resent me for what Iâve chosen for you," Ashlynn warned.
"Maybe," Jocelynn said, even though she struggled to believe that love would ever find her. "But thatâs a problem for the future," she said, trying to put the topic aside. The thought of marrying anyone was just too painful to consider. Sheâd gotten things so wrong with Owain, and people had died because of it. The notion of opening her heart to another man after what she had been through with Owain was just... just too impossible to consider.
"So what, what kind of seed did you choose?" Jocelynn asked, trying to change the topic away from the idea of romance. "What kind of witch would I be?"
"I chose a seed from a tree thatâs all but impossible to kill, so long as the root survives," Ashlynn said. "And one that bears fruit thatâs far more than just food to eat."
A small smile tugged at the corners of Ashlynnâs lips as she considered the seed sheâd chosen for her sister. Jocelynn might not have wanted to marry into one of Blackwell Countyâs prosperous guilds, but it was impossible for her to fail to understand the significance of the tree Ashlynn had chosen for her and the myriad uses for its fruit.
It was a cornerstone of Keatingâs wealth, after all, and one that rivaled Blackwell Countyâs thriving whaling industry. Ashlynn might have chosen the tree first for its longevity and the power it would have to protect her sisterâs life, but Ashlynn hadnât forgotten about her goals to change the world she lived in, building peace and prosperity for a kingdom where humans and the Eldritch could live side by side.
All of her witches would have a role to play in that future, and just like Isabell was the best person to harness the power of the Hemlock tree to engineer the future, Jocelynn would understand the powers of the fruit sheâd been given and how to transform it into prosperity than anyone Ashlynn knew.
"If, if you decide to accept the seed," Ashlynn said. "Then youâd become the Olive Witch."