Page 28 of The Fearless Witch

I nodded, even though every time I closed my eyes, one of the dead faces appeared, staring accusingly at me. I had no idea if this was my mind’s twisted way of telling me something or if I desperately wanted to take things back to how they were, but one thing was as clear as day.

Despite the lies and the secrets, Nym had always had my back. I didn’t know why I thought this alone wasn’t enough, why I expected him to be entirely devoted to me without ever sparing a thought for himself. Maybe because normal familiars made their mistresses the center of the universe and lived and died with them. But he was more than that from the start. He might not be human, but he was a sentient being with free will and the right to make his own choices.

And after over a thousand years of loyalty… he had earned more than that. Just because he had secrets and… whatever his relationship was with Beleth and Cyrus, it didn’t take away from what we had. What we had been through.

Because even when my life wasn’t in danger, he had always been there for me.

Advising. Consoling. Cheering.

Beleth sent him to guard my body. He stayed to guard my heart.

I dropped my head, leaning my forehead against his chest. His skin was uncomfortably hot, but it grounded me like nothing else could.

“I’m sorry,” I said. The sharp intake of air was the only indication he had heard me.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he said softly, sliding a finger under my chin and pushing my face up. His razor-sharp nail remained poised at my throat, but not a sliver of fear entered my mind. “You did nothing wrong. I—”

“No,” I cut him off before he could finish. “You did nothing wrong, either. Beleth did. It’s unfair to blame you for something you had no control over. And even if you did… you have the right to your own secrets. You never kept anything from me that would put my life at risk.” His eyes softened, and something like a smile pulled on his thin, bloodless lips. “You are mine. My familiar, my companion, my friend. I won’t let him ruin that for us.”

Nym bowed his head, his ears pulling back as a faint tremble rocked his body. I caught his hand between mine and squeezed.

“I need your help,” I said, taking a steadying breath while I waited for him to meet my gaze. Fear crept into my stomach, twisting and turning until I could barely sit still. “I must get back. Now. I won’t forgive myself if something bad happens to the people I care about.”

“It was just a nightm—” he started, but I pinned him with a glare.

“I know it’s just a nightmare, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become reality!” I snapped without meaning to. I took a deep breath, trying to push the panic away. “They are up there, alone. I know they’re not weak, but they don’t know what they’re facing.” Medina’s face swam before my eyes and I dug my nails into my palms. I had long since given up on my revenge. She no longer mattered to me because she was in the past. My enemy now was Mariam and this time, I wasn’t going to let her take everything from me. “I must go.”

Nym stared, his chest expanding as he released a sigh.

“If that is what you wish, I will help. But please remember.” His voice softened, and he added. “If you die, there will be no more going back.”

Smiling felt like trying to use magic while wearing suppressing cuffs—impossible. Yet, somehow, I managed. Nym tensed.

“Beleth…” Nym started as if reading my mind, but I held up a hand.

“I have an idea,” I said, intertwining my fingers so they would stop trembling. “It’s risky, but I think it will work. It has to work.”

Chapter 11

Samara

The headache was going to kill me. Ever since I gave Mathias that order, my head had been pounding harder and harder every time he resisted the compulsion. Was this what Regina was feeling all the time? No wonder she was acting like a bitch. If I had to endure a lifetime of this, I would be pissed at everyone too.

I leaned on one of the trees surrounding me and exhaled. Staying in that cabin with Mathias while he glared at me across the room was even more annoying than feeling the echoes of his rage through our bond. And he was so, so angry.

I knew he must be with how Regina had been caging him for years, but now he seemed even more so. At me mainly, but at something else too, something he was hiding behind the mental ward he had surrounded himself with. The ease with which he blocked me made me question if I was the one holding the leash or if he just made me think so. He had so much power, I couldn’t fathom how I could make him do anything at all.

The tension in my head subsided a bit, and I sighed in relief. When he didn’t fight me, the connection was bearable, so quiet and still that I could almost enjoy the strange feeling of… not being alone. I had spent a lot of time thinking about it after Regina had told me this would be my burden in the future, but she had been surprisingly tight-lipped about how the bond worked. I knew the spell was based on the mate bonds between shifters, but without the mating urges and with the power balance purposely broken for the bearer of the bond to yield.

What I couldn’t understand was why he’d gotten so enraged. I get that he wasn’t happy about being ordered around, but Regina had commanded him for decades and he never had such a strong reaction. Was it because I broke my word and refused to release him?

Nothing made sense anymore.

I pushed myself off the tree and kept going. As much as it pained me to walk, I needed to move my body because it seemed to be helping with my headache. And now that my mind was getting clearer, maybe I’d get lucky and figure out where we were. I had to get back sooner or later.

I considered translocating because I could feel part of my soul missing, which meant my tether must have survived. The problem was, I had no idea if the mansion was still standing and didn’t want to risk ending up five feet under.

I passed through the ward Mathias had set up around the cabin and shuddered at the touch of his magic. When he didn’t appear to stop me, I carried on. He hadn’t specifically said I couldn’t leave, but he hadn’t disappeared either, even though I hadn’t ordered him to stay. It was like neither of us dared to leave the other out of their sight for too long because we didn’t know what they’d do. Knowing he couldn’t hurt or kill anyone was a small relief, but relief nonetheless.

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