Page 121 of Her Blood Revenge

The crone and her two witches suddenly yelp, and the ground beneath them sucks them in. Red vines whip around them in a flurry and bind the witches’ hands together.

‘He said,’ Pix says, stepping towards me with her palm outstretched as she wields her magic. ‘That if you don’t let him go, he will kill you.’

With abrief wave of her free hand, the vines confining me rot. I break free easily and leap to my feet at her side.

‘Kill them,’ I encourage, readying myself for a fight.

‘Who are you?’ she asks the three women. ‘And where are we?’

‘Kill them, Pix!’ I urge.

‘We are a friend to those who have none,’ the old woman replies. She glares hatefully at me again. ‘We offer sanctuary to those in need. Not to mass murderers. You have to leave.’

A couple of males step closer. On one, fire dances on his fingers. Another has an orb of air. And the third… is human!

‘You’re a coven?’ Pix asks. ‘With more than one kind of witch.’

‘Release us. We are no threat to you.’

‘I will let you go when you swear not to attack him again.’ Pix nods to me, and the surrounding witches all throw me a glare.

‘He is a witch killer.’

The Crone is not wrong. I’m certainly that.

‘He was. Not anymore,’ Pix argues.

Awkward.

‘What is this place?’ she asks.

A male steps forward wearing a hood.

‘It is a coven for those who have nowhere else to belong. Where all the misfits or outcasts can find peace.’

I frown. I know that voice.

He lowers his hood.

‘Leo?’ I stare at the air witch, who smiles warmly at me. ‘What the fuck, man?’

Leo looks at the crone.

‘He won’t hurt us, Avalyn. Archie will obey our laws whilst he is here. I vouch for him.’

He shouldn’t. Little shit ran off and abandoned me. I should tear his throat out and spit down his neck.

‘Ashe,’ Leo tries. ‘Please trust us. Here is the safest place for you. Let them go.’

‘I will. If they promise not to hurt a hair on Archie’s head,’ she replies.

‘Why would you ever protect a witch killer?’ hisses the pregnant one.

‘Because I need him. Because I love him. And because if you hurt him, I will destroy every single one of you.’

I look at her, my mouth open and my heart sputtering in my chest.

Did she just say…

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