Chapter 17: Emory

In the charged aftermath of the forest confrontation, Emory reels as Mrs. Amberyl accuses her of killing Bryony. Aspen confirms Bryony still breathes, but her eyes are vacant. Sent away, Emory spirals with shame; her ghosts close in until she resists their pull, though Romie remains distant and fearful.

At dawn, Aspen summons them to Bryony’s bedside. Bryony’s body lives while her consciousness is lost on the astral plane. Pressed for answers, Emory admits the rot and the possessing force seem linked to her and what was awakened between worlds.

Mrs. Amberyl then rejects the public fable of trickster twins and reveals the hidden truth: twin witches Asphodel and Oleander, a spiral-marked stranger who opened a door, unleashed demons, and lured Asphodel away; Oleander stayed as a bridge but lost her sister forever and buried the knowledge of world-doors. Amberyl confesses she concealed this lineage to shield her daughters.

Invited into Amberyl’s mind, Emory glimpses scryings of worlds blighted—flooded coasts, rotting forests, a failing sun, storms, ash—and a faint hope at the universe’s center. Emory connects her haunting darkness to the spreading sickness and concludes that the cure lies at the sea of ash.

Furious at years of secrecy, Aspen confronts her mother, arguing that truth might have saved Bryony. Amberyl’s resolve cracks, but Aspen declares she will go with Emory and Romie to find the doors, restore the Wychwood, and try to bring Bryony back. Weighing the vision against her fear, Emory chooses to join them.