Twin Crowns (Twin Crowns, #1)

by Catherine Doyle

‘Ortha Starcrest was a good queen, a fair queen and a wise one,’ Banba went on. ‘But that was not enough to pacify the Protector and his followers who feared her power, who had spent long years plotting against the witches. They found a way to curse Ortha, to splinter her magic into five separate strands, leaving only one for herself.’ In the shadows, Rose saw a five-pointed star shatter into pieces. A queen ripped of her crown, as she fell to her knees. ‘They weakened her.’ Rose glimpsed the Mother Tree, rising alone over the desert, and felt the sudden urge to weep. ‘And then they killed her.’ ‘They stole our queen, they stole our throne and then they stole our kingdom.’ Banba’s face darkened and so too did her voice. ‘Our magic remained broken, splintered forever into five separate crafts. A paltry echo of what they had once been. We were driven out of our own country, forced to live in the frigid corners of Eana, with nothing but the memory of what we once were to keep us warm. To keep us fighting.’ Banba closed her fist and the shadows went out. Her green eyes flashed. ‘Reclaiming the throne is the first step to reclaiming the fullness of our power. The witches will return to our former glory and the rivers of Eana will run red with the blood of all those who tried to stand in our way.’ Rose looked away from the intensity in her gaze. ‘It sounds as if you wish you could be the one on the throne.’