I had no idea what Queen of All Witches meant, but by Thea’s reaction—her heart skipped a beat, then began hammering against her ribs—I would guess it was either really good or really bad.

“That’s impossible,” Thea whispered, her eyes wide. “The Queen of All Witches is a character from stories older witches tell to scare little girls, to make them behave.”

Bagatha let out a deep laugh. “Scary? Me? No, my dear, I’m not scary. Not anymore.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, not liking how uneasy Thea felt right now.

Bagatha opened the door of her cottage. “Come in. We can talk while having some tea.” She disappeared inside the cottage.

I turned to Luana. “Who is this woman?”

“I just told you,” she said. “Bagatha, former Queen of All Witches.”

“Is that even a title, or some lie she told you?”

Luana rolled her eyes. “Drake, lose the attitude. Remember I told you she probably knows about your bond.” With that, Luana entered the cottage.

Beside me, Thea was still frozen in the same spot. “What is it?”

“I … I don’t know,” she whispered. “I can feel the magic pouring out of her, but I don’t know. Queen of All Witches? That was a myth, a legend.”

I took her hands in mine and made her face me. “Do you want to leave? Just say the word and we’ll leave right now.”

She glanced toward the cottage’s door, then returned her gray eyes to mine. “I’m just stunned. We’re all right. I think she’s all right. Besides, what other choice do we have? We need to talk to this woman.”

I leaned into her and pressed my lips to her forehead. Her hands squeezed mine. “All right. But stay close to me.”

A small smile spread on her lips. “When don’t I?” She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine.

A sigh ripped out my throat. This woman …

I put Thea’s hand on the crook of my arm and walked in the cottage with her. As expected, the inside was small and simple—a living room with a stone fireplace and two ragged couches, a wooden table for four, and a small kitchen to the side. In the back, an archway led to what looked like a bedroom and bathroom.

“Please, sit down,” Bagatha said from the kitchen. Luana was in there helping her.

Thea and I took one of the couches. A minute later, Luana brought over a tray and placed it on top of the small coffee table between the couches.

She grabbed a mug and handed it to Thea. “Bagatha said this one is for you.”

Thea wrapped her hands around the steaming mug, but didn’t drink it. “What is it?”

“I’ve put some herbs in it that help with tiredness and nausea,” Bagatha said, coming to the living room. “Here.” She handed me a dark glass. “Blood from a deer.”

I frowned. “Do you always carry blood with you?”

Bagatha laughed. “Of course not, dear. I knew you were coming, so I went out and collected some. It’s from this morning, so it’s not fresh, but I hope that’s okay.” She sat down beside Luana and took a mug for herself. “Now, what do you want to know first? About me being the Queen of all Witches, or about your bond?”

I stared at Luana. She raised her hands, palms out. “I didn’t tell her anything. I swear.”

“If you really are the Queen of all Witches, then nobody would have to tell you anything,” Thea said. “Start with that.”

Bagatha glanced down at the mug in her hands. “We have been at war with vampires and werewolves and fae, and all other kind of supernaturals for many millennia now. Not to mention with hunters too. Ever since the beginning of time, really. And, as wolves know well, our strength lies in groups. So, the witches on this side of the world got together and created the most powerful coven ever. And I was the witch queen.” Did that mean she had been alive for thousands of years? And here I thought she was younger than she looked. “As the war with each species went on, the witches started bickering among themselves—about everything, but the main topic was on how to defeat the other supernaturals. The witches were killing each other. So, trying to prevent a war within my coven, I separated them into factions—the Blackmarsh, the Bluemoon, the Silverblood, the Wildthorn, and the Bonecrown. I appointed a leader for each of these covens, while I became the queen of all witches. We had a common council and periodic meetings so I could check on how each coven was doing.” She sighed. “My plan backfired. Separated like that, the covens became enemies. Besides the war with other supernaturals, the witches were now at war with each other. Many, many witches died, and even with all my power, I couldn’t stop them. The leaders of each coven now called themselves witch queen, and they created ranks with princesses and councils inside their own covens.” She took a sip from her tea before continuing. “In a last attempt to bring peace between the covens, I poured half of my power into the five witch queens, hoping that with that much magic they would be satisfied, they would forget about fighting with the other covens, they would realize they were equals, and they would turn toward the vampires and werewolves … But once again, it backfired. The witch queens turned against me. They used my power to banish me. That was over a thousand years ago.” She gestured to the cottage. “And here I am. Living in exile in a small corner of the world.”

Was Thea buying all of that? For all I knew, this woman could be an old witch who had gone crazy.

“In the stories, the Queen of All Witches had an actual wand,” Thea said.

“Oh, yes.” Bagatha twisted her hand and a long black stick appeared in her open palm.

Thea stared at wand. “This is incredible. Does it work?”

“No, my dear. It was always only for show.” Bagatha pointed the wand to the fireplace. Fire roared to life. “I never needed it.”

So, this was for real? This old woman was really the Queen of All Witches? And she had been banished over a thousand years ago … that was why I had never heard about her before.

“In the stories I was told when I was little,” Thea began, “you were depicted as the devil. You stole magic and tortured witches who misbehaved.”

A sad smile appeared on Bagatha’s lips. “I didn’t think they hated me that much.”

“Perhaps they don’t,” Thea said. “They just took advantage of your banishment and created such a nasty tale to scare us.”

“It makes sense.” Bagatha nodded.

“How about you two?” I pointed to Luana and the old witch. “How did you two meet?”

“That was what, twelve years ago? Maybe thirteen?” Luana glanced to Bagatha. “That doesn’t really matter. I had always been fascinated with the scouts in my pack. I wanted to be one. Once, when I was still little, I watched their training in the woods, and after they were done, I tried it out. And I got my paw stuck in a bear trap.”

“I heard her howls,” Bagatha said.

“But aren’t you banished?” I asked.

“I am, but that means I was cast away from the witch covens. I can still go anywhere I like, as long as I don’t go near the covens,” Bagatha explained. “Besides, Luana was close. I didn’t have to go too far. I brought her in and healed her paw.”

“And we’ve been friends ever since,” Luana said with a smile. “Bagatha told me who she was when I met her, but because I like and trust her, I haven’t told anyone about her.”

“Until now,” Thea said, her voice low.

I paid attention to her. Her breathing was growing shallow and her hands were shaking. “Are you okay?” Stupid question, I knew she wasn’t okay.

Thea smiled at me, but I could see her eyes weren’t focused. “I’m fine.”

“The hell you are,” I snapped. She always told me she was fine, even when she wasn’t. She lied to me about it all the time. It drove me mad.

Her heartbeat sped up. “You’re right. I’m not.” She closed her eyes and her hands dropped like jelly. I caught her in my arms before she fainted and slid down the couch.

I held her tight against me and stared at Bagatha. “Since you’re the Queen of All Witches, then you’re probably powerful. Can’t you reverse this curse?”

Bagatha’s brows knit together. “Curse?”

“Yes. I think Princess Morda from the Silverblood put a curse on Thea.”

A loud cackled echoed through the cottage. My anger rose and my fangs elongated. “What’s so funny? Can’t you see she’s sick? Help me?”

Bagatha’s laughter faded, but a smile stamped her face. “It’s not a curse, my dear. It’s the baby.”

I froze. “W-what?”

“Thea is pregnant.”