Page 18 of Bewitching the Orc Chief

I ignored him, placing my hands on Torain’s chest. The magic roared through me, hungry and wild andmine.

“By flesh and blood, by bone and breath,” I chanted, the old words rising unbidden to my lips. “What was taken, now restore. What was broken, make whole once more.”

Angry red scratches appeared on my skin, mirroring Torain’s smaller cuts. His flesh knit together as mine split apart, blood seeping through my borrowed clothes.

I grit my teeth against the pain as the magic built and deeper gashes opened on my body. “Life for life, pain for pain,” I panted. “Take from me what death would claim.”

Then came the killing blow—the wound in his side. White-hot agony bloomed beneath my ribs as the injury manifested. I wavered, darkness creeping at the edges of my vision.

But there was something else, something lodged deep that needed removing.

I plunged my fingers into my own wound, screaming as my fingers closed around rough bark. It must have impaled him during the accident. With a final wrench, I yanked a thick branch from my flesh.

Torain gasped, his eyes flying open as he dragged in a raspy lungful of air. The ugly wound on his side sealed, leaving behind unblemished skin.

The branch slipped from my fingers. I slumped forward and barely caught myself on trembling hands. Blood—my blood—joined with Torain’s on the ground. Nowhere near the life-threatening amount drained from him, but magic required payment.

My head pounded. Using that much power was like lighting a beacon. The Sisters would have felt it. And if they came looking…

I forced my head up, searching the crowd until I found Osen’s face. His expression was unreadable as he stared at me—at the blood, at the branch, at the demon-fueled magic still crackling around my hands.

I’d worry about the consequences later. Assuming I lived that long.

CHAPTER SIX

MIRANDA

“Abomination!” Coth’s disgust cut through the quiet like a whip-crack. “See how she perverts the natural order!”

“Demon-touched witch!” Alris’s staff struck the ground. “She brings corruption to our sacred home!”

More voices joined the chorus, some shouting protests, others jeering in agreement. The noise swelled like a swarm of bees, buzzing in my ears as dizziness threatened to tip me sideways.

Osen’s hand closed around my upper arm, hauling me upright. His grip on my upper arm was firm enough to bruise, but I barely registered the pain. His gaze burned through me, so heavy that I wanted to drop to my knees.

I opened my mouth to explain, to defend myself, but Osen’s low growl cut me off. “Stay silent. Come with me.”

He practically dragged me from the gathering, his long strides forcing me to stumble along beside him. The crowd’s reactions were a confusing blur—some reaching for me with reverent expressions, others deliberately turning their backs. The contempt in their eyes burned, but not as much as the cursesand condemnations that continued to rain down on us from Alris and his supporters. That was infinitely more dangerous.

Questions crowded my tongue, begging to be asked. But every time I tried to speak, Osen’s grip tightened, and he rumbled another warning to stay quiet. The path back to his home stretched endlessly, my nerves fraying with each step.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind us, the words burst free. “Osen, listen, please. I know it looks bad, but I swear I didn’t?—”

My back hit the wall with enough force to knock the air from my lungs. Osen caged me with his arms, trapping me between heat and stone. Dangerous. Deadly. And completely focused on me.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded, voice rough. His hands roamed over my body, checking for injuries. The corners of his mouth tugged down at the blood covering my side. “Do you need treatment?”

“I’m fine. The magic…” I shook my head, struggling to catch my breath. Explanations of manifested wounds and ritual completion jammed up on the back of my tongue, but they didn’t really matter. They weren’t what he was asking. “It healed me, too.”

For a long moment, he just stared at me. Then his expression shifted, something wild and wanting sliding over his face. “You healed my brother.”

Before I could respond, his mouth crashed against mine. The kiss was hard, almost bruising, his tusks grazing my lips as he devoured me. Instinctively, I arched against him, eager to feel all that hard muscle pressing me into the wall.

He broke away, panting. “You healed my brother,” he repeated, voice filled with wonder. His hands slid down to grip my hips, pulling me flush against him.

Osen’s hands slid under my shirt, calloused fingers skimming over my ribs. His touch left trails of fire across my skin. My thighs clenched involuntarily, trying to relieve the building pressure. I wanted to rock against him, grind against the bulge growing in his pants. Wanted him to keep touching me until I combusted.

But this was wrong. No matter how much I wanted it.

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