“Are you all gonna stand there and just watch me?”

“Yes,” Luana was the first to answer. She was leaning against the open door of the guest bedroom-slash-workshop, her arms crossed, and her eyes narrowed.

I chuckled. “At least one of us is sincere.”

Keeran stepped to my side and handed me the vial with white crystal powder. “Here.”

I took it from him. “Thank you.”

I opened the vial and measured the powder. Then, I mixed it with the other ingredients in the mortar.

“Are you sure it won’t take too much energy from you?” Drake asked for the hundredth time. He paced in front of the table, but I decided to ignore him since that was his favorite pastime the last couple of weeks.

Luana groaned. “Ask that one more time and I’ll bite you.”

Drake glared at her.

“Stop you two,” I said, my tone firm. “If you keep bickering, I’m gonna kick you both out of this room.”

Keeran snickered. “You know you’re talking to a vampire and a werewolf, right?”

I glanced at him. “Which side are you on?”

“If I say yours, what do I get?”

I punched his shoulder, and he had the decency of pretending it hurt.

When I looked at Drake, he was staring at me, a small smile on his lips. Heat spread over my cheeks.

With Keeran’s help, and under Drake’s and Luana’s guarded gazes, I mixed the rest of the ingredients and used a small amount of magic to get the potion going.

I dropped the pestle and stared at the mortar and the thick white liquid inside.

“What now?” Luana asked.

“We should go outside for this next part,” I said.

Keeran took the mortar and Drake took my hand. We went to the backyard, where there was a larger lawn area. Per my request, Luana brought two mirrors. One was a mirror the size of my open hand, and the other was the larger mirror from the half bath.

“What do I do with these?” she asked.

“Put them down, side by side, mirror turned to the sky,” I explained. She did as I said. “Now, I’ll pour the potion over the mirrors, and supposedly, we’ll be able to see them.”

Drake stepped to my side. “Do you know what you’re gonna say to them?”

“I think so,” I said, feeling a little intimidated to meet with the witch queens like this. I wasn’t requesting their presence. I was demanding it.

They could snap their fingers and break my neck.

I pushed those thoughts and fears aside and focused on what had to be done. We didn’t have much choice here.

Taking a deep breath, I poured half of the white potion over one mirror, and the second half over the other.

Next, I lifted my hands over the mirrors and channeled my magic. A small flicker answered and retreated. Come on, I begged. I called it again, but only a spark appeared. It started warming my veins, but a second later, it was gone, leaving only cold behind.

I sighed, realizing I might not have the power needed for this spell.

One more time, I focused, calling my magic. I gritted my teeth and implored for it to show up, to hold, to help me. My arms shook.

“Thea …” Drake’s voice was a low growl, a warning.

I ignored him and pushed. If I fainted, so be it. I had to call them.

Then, a big hand landed on my shoulder, and strong, pure magic flooded my veins. I gasped as Keeran lent me his power. Damn, he was strong. But I didn’t have time to marvel. Instead, I channeled his magic and called on the witch queens.

A white light shone from the mirror, and a thin veil appeared on top of them—a faint image on the mirror, but instead of reflecting what was in front of it, it showed two figures.

Queen Rosilla of the Bluemoon coven and Queen Sarah of the Blackmarsh coven.

“What is it?” Queen Rosilla asked, her tone harsh.

“Who dared summon me?” Queen Sarah asked, her voice equally cold.

While Queen Sarah looked like the ice queen with her fair skin and long silver braid, Queen Rosilla looked like the summer empress with smooth, black skin and full black curls. And, even at this time of the night, both of them were dressed in full gowns, as if ready for a ball.

Keeran stepped away, so the queens only saw me. “I’m Thea Harrington from the Silverblood coven.”

“You!” Queen Sarah hissed. She lifted her hand, showing off the red marks on her skin. “You did this to me.”

I pushed aside the exhaustion falling over me and faced them, head held high. “I apologize for that, though I won’t lie when I say I wouldn’t have done differently if I had the chance.”

She clicked her tongue. “What do you want?”

“I want to propose an alliance,” I said.

Queen Rosilla laughed. “What? Is that some kind of joke?”

“I don’t know how much you know—”

“I know enough,” Queen Sarah cut me off. “I heard how you betrayed your coven, hid the heart without telling anyone, and then turned against Princess Morda, saying you’re the Witch Queen.”

“I heard the same,” Queen Rosilla said. “And now you’re hiding, afraid of Princess Morda’s wrath.”

“Do you know what Princess Morda calls herself these days?”

Queen Sarah’s fair cheeks turned red. “Queen of All Witches. What a joke. Don’t try to tell me she’s right.”

“She’s delusional,” Queen Rosilla said.

“She is delusional, and I can prove it,” I said.

Queen Sarah narrowed her eyes at me. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not the witch queen as I first thought.” I rested my hand on my belly, a gesture that was become a habit. “My daughter is.”

“W-what?” Queen Rosilla barked. “What nonsense is this?”

“I’m pregnant, and recently I learned my daughter is not only the witch queen of the Silverblood coven, but she’s also Queen of All Witches.”

Queen Sarah gaped at me. “That’s absurd. There hasn’t been a Queen of All Witches in centuries. Over a millennium, actually.”

“And you’re saying your daughter is the next one.” Queen Rosilla scoffed. “How would you know?”

“Because Bagatha told me.”

Both queens turned pale.

“W-what?” Queen Rosilla asked.

“But … we assumed Bagatha died long ago,” Queen Sarah said.

“Well, until a while ago, I assumed the Queen of All Witches was a fictitious title used in stories to scare little witches. But turns out, she’s real and still alive and powerful.”

Queen Sarah’s eyes tuned hard. “If she’s so powerful, then she should come out of hiding and defeat Morda.”

I shook my head. “She’s powerful, but not that powerful anymore. Her magic is fading now that a new queen is about to come to life.”

Queen Rosilla crossed her arms. “You said you would prove what Morda is saying is a lie, but what you’re telling us now may very well be a lie, too.”

Queen Sarah’s eyes widened. “That’s right. Who says you’re not lying now?”

“I’m not lying,” I insisted.

“That’s not convincing anyone,” Queen Sarah said.

What could I do to prove to them my words were true? I couldn’t show them that Bagatha was alive. Even showing them my growing belly wasn’t enough, because this could be a normal witch pregnancy. There was no way to show them the Immortal Vow.

I frowned, worried I wouldn’t gain their trust, or even a minute more of their time.

A force burst inside me.

I gasped with its strength. The force, the pure magic, filled my veins and moved my body by itself. My arms extended in front of me and white light shone from my palms. In sync, the queens’ eyes turned white. They stood frozen, while the magic acted—a magic coming from my daughter.

After a minute, the light faded and the power retreated.

I opened my mouth to ask them if they were okay, to ask them what exactly had happened, but Queen Sarah put a hand over her heart and said, “I can’t explain what that was other than a strong, pure magic. It poured over me and I felt it. I felt her. I felt the Queen of All Witches.”

“Me too,” Queen Rosilla said, her voice a thin whisper. “I couldn’t see her, I couldn’t grasp the magic, but I felt her as well. I now believe you’re carrying the Queen of All Witches.”

Hope bloomed in my chest. “Will you help us now?”

The queens took a moment, thinking.

“I propose we put our differences aside and come together in two full moons to see if we can really work together,” Queen Sarah said.

Two full moons. That was almost two months away. By then, I would be on the sixth month of pregnancy. From what we knew, I would be weak and hurting all over.

“Why not earlier?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound that desperate.

“Because this can’t be taken lightly,” Queen Sarah explained. “And I would rather have some time to think and talk to my advisors.”

“Agreed.” Queen Rosilla nodded. “Even if you have us convinced, if we don’t do this the right away, we can arouse a rebellion inside our own covens, and that’s what we least need right now.”

I understood their points, but they didn’t understand mine. I wouldn’t waste my time explaining to them that my pregnancy would be even worse than a normal witch pregnancy because of the Immortal Vow. I was already grateful they were willing to meet us and try to work together. I would take whatever I could.

“Where do you suggest we meet?” I asked.

“The Undying Well,” Queen Rosilla said.

“A sacred placed where our magic was first wrought to earth,” Queen Sarah muttered. “No witch can be killed on sacred ground, which makes the Undying Well the perfect place for our meeting.”

I nodded. “See you on the second full moon.”