Page 47 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

I considered the next line in the trolls’ message.

“Bonded by blood and stronger than ore,” I said. “Is ore used in any specific spells?”

Freya twirled a curl around her finger. “None that I’m aware of.”

“And they mentioned a cave,” I recalled, “but the tracking spells didn’t show us any of those.”

Freya tapped a finger against her lips and studied her screen. “The part about stirring the blood and shaking the heavens, though,thatreminds me of the dream Cady and I shared.”

Beside her in the backseat, Cady groaned.

“Totally,” she said, “but can I remind you all of something? Ineedto go to the bathroom.”

“For the third time in the last two hours,” I replied.

Cady sighed. “I told you drinking the mega-slush was a mistake. What am I supposed to do about it now?”

“Your brother is fighting like hell to stay awake anyway,” Ryder said from the passenger seat. “We’ll stop at the next gas station and switch drivers.”

It was testament to how deeply Cady had wedged her way under the wolf’s skin that he didn’t snap at her about taking too many breaks. The closer we had gotten to New Orleans, the more restless he had become. I had also noticed he stiffened every time we mentioned the troll’s line about the “wolf’s heart.”

I glanced in the rearview mirror, and Cadence smiled smugly. I shook my head, and my gaze snagged on Freya. As she struggled to stay awake, her eyes fluttered open and shut. Arion settled himself against her side as if to force her to rest. His amber eyes caught mine, and I focused on the stretch of highway once more. The demon-cat still creeped me out.

The endless expanse of land around us bothered me too. Without the mountains to cradle us, we were exposed on the never-ending horizon. The familiar scent of cow shit wafted in the air, which loosened some of the tension in my shoulders.

Maybe Amarillo isn’t so different from home after all.

When the next exit appeared on the outskirts of the city, I took it and pulled up to a dilapidated gas station.OP N,its sign blinked. Metal bars and cigarette advertisements lined the windows, and two black Kawasaki motorcycles were parked outside.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait till the next one?” I asked Cady, but she was already jumping out the door. I sighed and followed her, while Ryder stayed with Freya in the SUV. She had succumbed to her exhaustion and was curled up much like her cat in the backseat.

As I followed Cady into the gas station, a bell chimed above the barred door. Mildew and greasy food saturated the air, and an older woman mopped the probably once-white, but now beige tiles. Cady spoke to the cashier, an older, thin guy with a neck beard and a frown. He crouched under the overhead shelf, which was packed with cigarettes, vapes, tobacco, and everything in between.

“Bathroom?” Cady said, hopping from foot to foot. “Can I use your bathroom?”

“Customers only,” he murmured in a low, gravelly voice.

I sighed. “She’s with me. I’m buying something.”

The cashier studied me for a moment, and I turned to the refrigerators lining the far wall. Amid the expansive variety of alcoholic seltzers and beer, I grabbed a Coke.

“Here,” he grumbled and handed Cady a key on a long, black string. She grimaced at what had to be a total cesspool of germs but accepted the key and hurried to the back of the store. I placed my Coke on the counter and reached in my back pocket, only to find it empty. I grimaced. I had gotten sick of sitting lopsided and left my wallet in the middle console.

“Wallet’s in the car,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

He crossed his arms and muttered under his breath, but I ignored him and hurried outside. As I grabbed my wallet, Ryderfrowned at me but returned to his brooding. As soon as I re-entered the gas station, the hair on the back of my neck stood, and magic heated my veins.

I breathed into the heat but kept my cool. Everything appeared normal—the older lady still mopped, and the cashier now spoke to a new customer.

I hadn’t seen anyone one else park.

I recalled the two motorcycles and realized they were way too expensive to belong to the people working here. I just hadn’t seen them inside moments before. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Most likely, the behemoth of a man now chatting with the cashier had been in the bathroom earlier.

Everything really is bigger in Texas.

He was as broad as he was tall. His brown hair was gelled down under a crisply white felt hat, and his shoulders stretched the confines of a long-sleeved, beige shirt. Two belts stretched around his hips. One held up his dark brown pants, which stacked neatly over his alligator boots, and the other carried two pistols.

When he looked over his shoulder at me, I caught a flash of his shining badge. I studied the circle with the star in between. I didn’t get a chance to read the badge, but I didn’t need to.

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