Page 71 of The Fearless Witch

“Keep her safe, both of you,” he said in a voice that was all threat. Roman nodded while Beleth bared his teeth, but Nym was already leaving with a last, “Good luck.”

I ignored the way my heart clenched while I watched him go, and turned to the other two.

“No more fighting!” I said through gritted teeth. “If we are to do this, we need to be on the same side. Got it?”

Beleth, unsurprisingly, rolled his eyes. Roman’s face was entirely unreadable.

I wanted to scream and punch both of them.

“I need you to explain what the fuck is going on first. Why are you here?” He glared at the demon before locking that hard gaze on me. “And why are you doing anything for him? I don’t care if he had to drag me to Hell to protect you, but I deserve to know why. And if it’s something dangerous—”

“This is Hell,” Beleth spat. “Even breathing here is dangerous.” I gave him my most annoyed look, and he threw his hands in the air. “You know what? I don’t need to be here for the recap. I’ll go check on the trial grounds.” He strode toward the exit before either of us could speak, adding with a sneer in his voice, “Don’t fuck on my bed.”

The door slammed so hard that the walls shook.

Did something happen up there to put him in such a bad mood? Not that he was a ray of sunshine on a good day, but he seemed even more irritated than usual. I was just opening my mouth to ask when I noticed the look on Roman’s face and changed my mind.

Inhaling deeply, I started with the speech I had prepared. I skipped over a few minor details like how the demon kept me tied up or fucked me while we were both covered in blood and guts in the middle of Hell, but that was a necessity. If Roman knew any of that, I wasn’t sure even the Princes of Hell could stop him from doing much worse to Beleth. And Cyrus.

“So that’s basically it.” I clapped my hands when I was done summarizing our plan. “What do you think? Can we do it?”

Roman looked grave as death while he stared at me, but I could see in his eyes that he was thinking about it. If there was one thing that I knew with absolute certainty about him, it was that he would never refuse me anything, as long as my life was not in danger. And if it was, then I needed to give him an even better incentive to take the risk. Winning my freedom, getting back home without having to fight our way out of this place, and having a prince of Hell owing me a favor seemed like a pretty good deal to me. Although, technically, the last part wasn’t true since Beleth never promised me anything. But I was sure that if we survived this, and I asked, Cyrus would make him.

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m starting to miss the days when our biggest problem was being chased by hunters and witches,” he muttered. “Is there anything I can do to change your mind? I’ll do it. I’ll go with Beleth and fight the prince myself if you stay here.”

Smiling at him, I drew closer so I could cup his cheeks.

“I know you would, but that’s not going to work. He needs both of us, even if he would never admit it.” I traced the sharp edge of his cheekbone with my thumb and felt him lean into the touch.

“Fine,” he whispered, raising his hand. At first, I thought he was going to caress me, but he slid it into his shirt instead, taking something out of there. I raised an eyebrow at the sight of the unusual jewelry hanging from his finger until I recognized the runes on it and the familiar power pulsing from its center.

My mouth dropped in shock and I grabbed it, squeezing it in my hand to make sure it was real. When my magic whispered back in greeting, laughter full of joy and relief bubbled out. I was just reaching out to take back my power when Roman’s hand wrapped around mine and squeezed.

“Don’t,” he said, as if he could tell what I was prepared to do. I gave him a puzzled look. “I’m not sure it’s safe.”

I gaped in disbelief, but let go of my energy. For now.

“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” I frowned. “Where did you find it?”

“In a secret room in the Castle’s residence,” he said in a dark tone. “If it was in their possession for so long, they could have tempered with it. We don’t know what would happen if you try to siphon your magic.”

I looked down at the artifact clenched between my fingers.

“I don’t feel anything different from before,” I said, my chest tightening in helpless fury. I finally had it back, I could finally restore my power, and now…

“It was a Castle who made it. I’m sure they can do things to it you won’t even notice,” he whispered gently, drawing closer again. I didn’t move as he leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine and inhaling deeply. “I know what this means to you. I do. All I’m saying is…” He drew back, wrapping his hand around mine and plucking the medallion from my fingers. I watched him raise the chain, dragging it over my head until the artifact was resting against my chest. “...don’t rush. Use it only if you absolutely must. Or after we’ve made sure it’s safe. You survived this long without that power, you might not need it at all.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. His tense posture relaxed, and a smile pulled onto his lips.

“Besides,” he said, tipping my chin up. “You were not wrong. You have two of the most dangerous men on the planet vastly invested in keeping you alive. With a little luck, that should be just enough.”

Chapter 29

Samara

Irubbed my wrists where the cuffs had chaffed the skin, barely feeling the stinging anymore. It was unsettling and quite frankly terrifying not to be able to reach my magic when I had spent every day for the past ten years using it, but… I also couldn’t feel him. I couldn’t feel his prodding in my mind and the ache that came with his assaults on my mental wards. All I felt was… nothing.

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