person. If the rumors were true, he would be loud, short-tempered, impatient, autocratic, borderline abusive, unwilling to listen, and would fight to get his way at all costs. Whether it was true or not remained to be seen. Stepping out of the tub, she wrapped herself in her bathrobe and brushed her teeth using the basin beside the bathroom sink. Life was easier when the water ran freely from faucets, but it had been close to nine years since the region used anything but well water.
She returned to her room and dressed quickly in what had become her public uniform of sorts. It comprised of a simple, cream, knee-length tunic top, covered by a dark gray, floor-length hooded robe, thick black stockings, and black leather ankle boots. Coco flew inside from the open window as Kiera was twisting her long hair into a knot at the back of her head.
“Excellent timing,” Coco squawked from her perch on the bed post.
“You had better hurry,” Kiera replied. “We need to be downstairs by ten o’clock.”
“I need very little time, dear.”
“Thank the stars for that.”
Coco leaped to the floor, and as usual, took her human form within seconds, stepping over to the chair for the clothes she had laid out. “See?” she announced, pulling her black, long-sleeved, floor-length gown over her head. She did a half turn in each direction after the fabric fell down her naked body to the floor, covering everything up to the top of her neck. “I’m ready. Even my hair is done.”
“It is,” Kiera agreed, admiring the long, dark, curly tresses that fell around Coco’s shoulders as she zipped up her white knee-high patent leather boots. “You cast the best personal grooming spells all around town.”
“I’ve had centuries of practice, darling.” Coco came to Kiera’s side and locked arms with her. “Shall we go?”
Nodding, they left her room near the top of the tower and descended the four flights of long, narrow staircases leading to the main floor of the fortress. The stone walls were cool to the touch as she skimmed her hands over it. Winter would be here soon.
On their way to the kitchen, they passed room after room on both sides of the long, torch-lit hall. Classrooms, meeting rooms, a large assembly hall, the Chancellor’s private study, four conjuring rooms, and two laboratories which housed beakers, chemicals, jars of preserved various salts and animal parts, along with several long tables where the scientists worked. At one end of the long, stone building was the main library, a large room extending five stories high. It held every dusty book, parchment, grimoire and scroll recovered from before the first destroyers arrived, along with every book and text written in the years since. Witches such as herself relied on the more recent documents most of all since they provided insight into the development and usage of spells —although there was always something to be learned in the books from the past, too.
One of Kiera’s favorite pastimes was spending late evening hours reading about life before the destroyers. She would sneak into the main floor library and read by candlelight long after curfew passed, after everyone else in the fortress had retired to their sleeping quarters. Coco would keep watch, so whenever the Chancellor’s personal guards did their rounds, Kiera would snuff out the candle’s flame and hide until it was safe to continue. So far, they had never been caught, although there had been a few near misses. Since then, they kept their visits to a minimum. The punishment—three days of seclusion, and only bread and water—was not worth the risk, nor was being out of favor with the Chancellor.
At the other end of the long hall was the kitchen, with the dining room extending from it. Most of the fortress witches had already eaten an early breakfast. Kiera did not mind the empty eating room. She was usually in no mood for making small talk with the majority of the fortress residents, and today was no different. She and Coco settled in at a small prep table with bowls of porridge, two apples, and glasses of warm milk.
Years ago, the kitchen used to be her favorite place, even more so than the library had become. The warmth and bustling activity would help her relax. Her mother was an excellent cook, and took great pleasure in showing Kiera everything there was to know, from chopping vegetables to crushing herbs for soups and stews. Living in the fortress did