Page 28 of The Nowhere Witch

I turned partially toward him, just enough that I could keep sight of him out of the corner of my eye but hopefully shield some of my horror from him.

“How bad?” Were we talking a hairline or a gap? There was a wide range of what could be considered cracks.

“They’re slight, but they’re growing. Figured as a future upstanding citizen of Xest, you might have an interest in keeping this place in one piece, especially considering how many enemies you’ve made simply by creating it.”

There was only one word that caught my attention.

“They? How many cracks are there?” I turned fully toward him, wanting him to feel the depth of my rage.

Ideas, emotions all simultaneously clashed against each other. Of course I’d care. I’d cared before I’d been forced out. Had preached just this possibility, and look how that had turned out. If I’d been here, maybe I could’ve caught this earlier.

“Several.”

Breathe. You need to breathe through the rage and get as many details as you could.“How long ago did they start?”

“About a month after you left.”

A month and he didn’t come and get me to try to repair it sooner. He had still tried to force me out of here, knowing, by his own admission, I might be the only one who could fix this. And he’d waited until now to tell me?

I swallowed back my fury. The more anger I felt, the more I raged against him, the more I’d let him in. That. Could. Not. Happen. Still, I couldn’t drop it completely, either. He’d been wrong in an epic way, and there were no free rides in life, not even for the mighty Hawk.

“I distinctly remember bringing up this concern before I left. You said you couldhandleit. You said you didn’t need me and that I should leave.” The words hurt, even now. They’d burned so hot and deep that they’d left a scar that still stung at even the gentlest prod.

“But you’re here,” he said, looking straight at me, as if all that went before was water under the bridge. His water was a stream that led right to his monster waiting quietly.

“Yes. I am. But I don’t work for you. I don’t take orders from you. I don’thaveto do anything for you, not anymore. I don’t need you.” And I needed to get the hell out of here, away from him, and regroup.

“The wall is cracking. Are you saying you have no interest in doing something about it when you might be the only one who can?”

“What I’m saying is I’m leaving now. Lift your spell before I break it.”

“So you figured out how to defend yourself finally?” he asked, straightening.

His eyes were steady on mine as he made his way across the room, toward me. Of course he’d call my bluff. It was Hawk. What else would he do but push the issue?

I stood my ground, hating the way his proximity sent a tingle of excitement through me like an addict about to get a fix. I used to think being near him was like sitting on the edge of a cliff, dangling your legs off. Now it seemed closer to dangling by my fingertips, knowing it all could be taken away in one second of weakness.

He’d given me a new life, a home,whilehe’d felt like it. When it had served his purpose. Then he’d ripped it away from me in a second. I’d never leave myself that vulnerable to him again.

He stopped right in front of me. His fingers grazed my cheek, the tingle of his magic setting off waves of awareness that staggered my breathing. He dropped his head down as his eyes seared a path to my soul, and other places lower. Now what was his game? If he couldn’t bully me into it, he’d try to seduce me?

“You’re wasting your time.” My voice had a shadow of the strength it did when I’d walked in here. I hated myself for how much I didn’t want him to stop at all. This was why it was better to avoid him completely.

“You’re so tough, make me. Show me your newfound abilities,” he challenged.

His hand, the only thing that touched me even as our bodies were only a hair apart, drifted until he threaded his fingers into the hair at the base of my skull, tugging my head back until our lips were aligned perfectly.

My body filled with longing, arching slightly as my lips parted. But my pride wouldn’t let me forget the one and only time we’d kissed. How I’d melted into him with no resistance, only to be turned away, once again. He’d kicked me out of the home I’d made here and then kissed me as if it was his right. Right before I’d been discarded.

I straightened and stepped back, losing ground but regaining my dignity at the same time. His hand dropped to his side. Once again, just like after he’d kissed me that first time, he seemed annoyed, as if I were the one who kept putting us in these situations. As if he hadn’t been the one to initiate the kiss that first time and now was about to do so again. Yep, same old Hawk.

“I can’t let this end this way, Tippi.”

For the briefest moment, I thought he was talking about us. Then I remembered why I was here. The wall. The job he needed me for. Yeah, he liked me around as long as he had a use for me.

If I could do something about the wall, I would. But I’d be flying solo this time. No boss needed.

I stepped away from him and walked to the door, hoping he wouldn’t force my bluff about being able to get past his magic.

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