Page 31 of A Snowed in Valentine's

His heart thudded in his ribcage at the thought. She was unbound now, free to use her magic as she pleased. August stared at her sleeping form. He could kill her now while she was still unconscious, and he’d never have to worry about her somehow lashing out with her powers.

Do it,urged a voice in his head.Kill her now before it’s too late.

August discarded the thought, stomaching the guilt that swept through him as he did. He lifted her body in his arms, cradling her against him, and began to trudge through the blizzard, wondering how long they would survive out here before it claimed them.

Chapter Thirteen

The Woman in the Mirror

Things were going according to plan, Daphne thought, as the two agents returned to the interrogation room. Both Carter and O’Hara were scowling. They approached the table, but neither of them took a seat; instead, they stood on either side of her, leaning against the table.

Carter slammed the Book of Nyx down in front of Daphne and opened it.

“No funny business this time,” the woman said. “Or you’ll get what’s coming to you.”

She leaned in close to Daphne’s ear and whispered, “I stopped my partner from hitting you again earlier. This time, I think I’ll stand and watch.”

Daphne couldn’t resist a grin. “No funny business this time. I’ll read the words out for you, I promise.”

Carter said nothing, but Daphne thought she saw a look of satisfaction cross the agent’s face. To her left, O’Hara looked like he was itching for another opportunity to hit her. Daphne understood the man’s pain, but she wasn’t going to give either of these humans another chance to hurt her, not again.

She gestured at the grimoire. “Think you could bring it closer?”

Both agents hesitated.

“It’s just a book, not a weapon,” Daphne said.

Not unless it’s in the right hands, that is.

Carter pushed the grimoire closer to her, and Daphne began flipping through the book, her heart racing with excitement at the familiar feel of the pages. Surging with anticipation, she scanned the pages, hoping for a spell that could finally unbind her so she could—

“Hey, wait a minute.” It was O’Hara, and the man had a puzzled frown on his face. “Where’s that funny tattoo of yours?”

He pointed. Daphne followed his gaze to her hand and gasped. Where there should have been a boldKemblazoned on her skin, there was nothing. The mark was gone, just…gone. She stared at her hand for the next few seconds, her eyes wide with disbelief. How long had she been unbound?

“I’m free,” she whispered.

“Free?” O’Hara guffawed. “You’re even more stupid than I thought. This is the FBI. You’re about as free as a man in a—”

“Bleerk vimo,” she muttered.Free me.

Instantly, the handcuffs dropped from her wrists and hit the table with a clang that reverberated through the room.

It worked! Shewasfree!

“What the—?” O’Hara exclaimed.

“I told you,” Daphne replied evenly. “I’m a witch.”

Both agents reached under their jackets, presumably for their holstered weapons, but Daphne was more than prepared for whatever these people had in mind. She raised one hand, feeling the magical energy surging through her once more.

“Tlak,” she said.

Carter and O’Hara were suddenly flung from the spot as though a giant hand had smacked them aside. They slammed into the wall and slid to the floor, their eyes wide with terror and confusion.

“H-how…?” Carter spluttered.

“Svarta!” Daphne cried, suspecting what was to come. The agents raised their arms to shield themselves as if expecting an attack; the air merely shimmered around Daphne. She felt her pulse decelerate even more as the protection spell took effect.

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