Chapter 14, Hope Shoemaker:
The path to the throne had taken Hope down many dark alleys in her mind. Her grip on Perdition remained precarious at best. Whatever she tried, her magical ability wasn’t growing. She’d reached a plateau and no matter the course she took, her power had peaked.
She wore the preserved skin of Verity’s witch like a leather suit, held together in the back with added straps. Blood of every type had been spilled in the name of magic, and she found no new power. New spells failed to work for her. She could barely light a candle from across the room. The virgin witch’s dying curse must have stuck
Worse yet, the court began to mumble and mutter. Too many courtiers questioned her ability to rule and even her very sanity. The scandal of her experiments might be the end
