Ashlynn lay in Nyrielle's embrace, soaking in the warm, cozy afterglow of the moment for as long as she could. Eventually, however, the time came to tell Nyri what had happened since her duel with Owain, including what had happened with the seed she was nurturing for Jocelynn.
"So your sister is coming here," Nyrielle said as she gently stroked Ashlynn's soft, silky hair. "Because you do not trust your heart around her."
"It's not my heart that I don't trust," Ashlynn protested. "It's the seed that I've… Poisoned," she said after hesitating over the right word. A witch was supposed to nurture a seed of witchcraft for future members of her coven, but Ashlynn felt like the Olive Seed had become so toxic she could only call it poisonous.
And it was her fault that it had turned out that way.
