Page 130 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

Freya smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Probably.” She took a deep breath. “Wherever he is, I won’t do him any good sitting here worrying. We need to figure out how to get out of here, but first, we need to fix your nose.”

I grimaced, which only made my face hurt worse. I studied her wound.

“Shouldn’t we be healing?” I asked.

She pointed out the carvings etched into the bars of our cells.

“Our magic is on complete lockdown,” Freya said with disgust. “You’re back to healing on human time, cowboy, until we figure out how to get out of here. We can’t let your nose heal likethatin the meantime.”

I snorted and winced at the pain it caused. “Worried about my pretty face?”

Freya rolled her eyes. “I thought I was the one with the head wound. Seriously, come closer. I’ll fix it.”

“No touching,” the vampire guard warned.

I jolted, but Freya cocked an eyebrow.

“What are you going to do about it?” she taunted. “Come in here and stop us?”

The vampire twitched, as if caught in the middle of a tough decision.

“You’d have to disrupt the wards that are binding our magic to do that,” Freya continued.

I shot him my own bloodthirsty smile. “And I haven’t forgotten what you said about my sister, leech.”

He muttered something aboutnot getting paid enough for thisand wandered off to find a blood bag. As soon as he was out of sight, Freya gestured for me to move closer, and I did.

“Dracula told me where we are,” she said and tenderly gripped my nose. “I don’t know what the High Witch is waiting for. Any clue how long we’ve been here?”

Before I could answer, she jerked my nose to the left, and fiery pain erupted on my face. Stars burst across my vision, and curses flew off my tongue.

“Thanks for the warning,” I muttered and clutched my now-bleeding nose.

“A warning would’ve only made it worse,” she said, and I wasn’t sure I believed her. “I’m disappointed the vamp is such a coward. I was hoping I could goad him into coming in here.”

Though I understood what she meant, only Freya would be disappointed about not getting to tousle with a vampire.

“Why do you think we’re here?” I said. “Why wouldn’t she just kill us? Even if she didn’t know our plan to save Elle, I imagine it’s a big no-no to come here uninvited.”

“It’s unheard of,” Freya agreed. She chewed on her lower lip. “Do you feel even a tingle of your magic?”

I checked. “Nope. I’ve got nothing.”

“Okay,” she said, “okay.”

Freya studied the floor, as if it held the answers to getting out of here. Her copper eyes snapped back to mine.

“How would you get out of here?” she asked. “You lived without magic for years. Any ideas?”

I balked. “Are you actually asking for my opinion?”

“Don’t look so shocked,” she chided. “Am I really that self-obsessed?”

I merely smiled, but my amusement quickly died.

“I don’t know what to do,” I answered honestly.

---