Road To Winter (Fae's Captive #2)(7)

“It’s safe?” I peer at the little green thing. Seems harmless. But I’ve read enough fairytales to know you shouldn’t eat anything a witch gives you.

She clacks her teeth. “Eat it!”

I wish Leander were here to help me, to tell me if it’s poison or just a regular gross pea. But maybe this is a decision I can only make on my own.

I take a deep breath. “I trust you, Selene.” Popping it into my mouth, I give it a single chew, then swallow it down.

“Trust?” Her eyebrows rise, and her sharp teeth clack. “You should never trust. No one. Certainly not me, young one. Never trust a witch.”

My throat closes up, and I clutch it as my eyes begin to water. It must have been poisoned. Oh, god, what have I done? I can’t breathe.

The witch simply stares with a look of satisfaction as my vision darkens.





3





Leander





I’ve considered several different ways of torturing the witch, even voiced a few to Gareth as I’ve waited for Taylor. I was a fool to let her be alone with the witch. The blood loss must have dimmed my reason. For the hundredth time, I curse my weakness and continue pacing.

When she emerges from the shadowy wood a few moments later, I rush to her side. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” She rubs her eyes. “I’m fine. But I was shiny, apparently? And now I’m not.”

“Shiny?” I wrap my arm around her shoulders as the strange stillness caused by the witch evaporates. Fairies creep out from hiding, their bright lights flickering here and there amongst the trees.

“Yep.” She yawns. “She’s gone now. Back to her cave.”

“What boon did she give you?” I stop her and turn her toward me, searching her for any wounds. Each second she was gone was acute torture. And when the witch put up a barrier spell? I went wild with rage, cutting and hacking at the wall between us with all my might. But the witch’s power is ancient and runs far deeper than mine. I couldn’t get to my mate. It gutted me. “I will never leave you again, little one.”

“I was fine. She didn’t hurt me.” She shrugs. “I mean, I thought she did, but I guess the magic was a little hard to swallow.”

“I need you to explain.” I gently tilt her chin up.

“I ate a pea from her cauldron.”

I swallow hard. “Taking food from a witch is a bad idea.”

“I know. I guess some things are universal.” She gives me a tired smile. “But there was something about her. Something that made me trust her, even when she told me not to.”

I send a barrage of thanks to the Ancestors that Taylor is unharmed.

“Anyway, she said my aura has a weird glow to it, and that I wouldn’t last in this world unless she dampened it. So, she gave me a pea—I hate peas—and I ate it. Now, I’m not so shiny. But she said I can be shiny again when I want to be.” She rubs her eyes again. “I’m not really sure what that means. But at this point, I’m kind of just rolling with the punches.”

“Punches? She struck you?” A growl lofts from me, and I reach for my sword.

“No.” She presses her small hands to my chest, my shirt still spotted with blood. “It’s just a figure of speech. I just meant that I’m doing the best I can with all the weirdness. Honestly, I can’t even think right now. I’m so tired.”

I scoop her up. She doesn’t protest as I carry her back to camp, her eyes closed as her breathing slows.

Beth sits next to the fire, worry in her eyes as we approach. “Is she okay? Where’s the witch? What happened?”

“Everything’s all right, changeling. Rest.”

“Rest?” She throws her hands up. “I woke up to find Taylor gone, and then I got frozen to the ground! I can’t rest, not when there’s an Obsidian—”

“The witch is gone, and I have no reason to frost the ground again.” I sink to my knees on my bedroll and lay Taylor down as softly as I can. My wounds still burn, the witch’s claws perfect at slicing through skin and sinew. But, thanks to Gareth’s magic, I will be healed by morning. The next time we leave the High Mountain, I’ll be sure to bring Valen with us. His healing magic would go a long way to ease my mind when it comes to my mate’s safety. Not that I intend to expose her to danger any more than I already have. She will be safe in the winter realm.

She moves a hand to her side, clutching something in the folds of her dress. Her breathing is low and soft, her mind already wrapped in a comfortable dream.

Carefully, I ease my hand along hers. When my fingers graze something oddly warm to the touch, I know instinctively what it is.

“By the Ancestors.” I can’t stop my exclamation as I pull the obsidian blade from Taylor’s dress.

“Is that a …” Gareth kneels down next to me and touches the hewn black blade, the hilt rounded and small, perfect for Taylor’s hand.

“An obsidian shortsword.” I hold the blade up to the moon. It sucks in the glow around it, as if devouring the light.

“The witch did this for her.” Gareth rubs the scruff on his jaw. “I’ve never heard of an Obsidian willingly giving her hide for such a gift. Not even her promise of a boon could have encompassed this.”