Page 53 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

She sighed. “Yes, but what other option is there? Who could’ve tipped them off?”

Only Freya’s coven knew where we were going.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said curtly, “but regardless of their faith in me, no witch of Hecate would resort to working with hunters.”

“Okay,” I said. Another thought occurred to me. “What about Ryder’s pack?”

Freya shook her head. “He was oddly serious about the whole thing. He only told his father where he was going, and Kai would never risk his son.”

The wolves being responsible didn’t feel right anyway. Nothing about this did.

“The High Witch?” I offered. “She could be trying to slow us down, so we fail to meet our deadline, and she’ll get to kill us?”

“As uplifting as that is,” Freya said dryly, “she wasn’t there for the tracking spell. She doesn’t know where we’re going.”

Freya frowned. “Unless she’s trackingus, but our odds of success are slim anyway. Why bother?”

“Maybe I’m just looking for another problem,” I said and sighed. “They could’ve just gotten lucky when they found us.”

Freya smirked. “They didn’t seem so lucky when we were done with them.”

“Yeah,” I said and chuckled. “I can’t believe Ryder ripped off a guy’s arm.”

“I can’t believe you stopped a bullet midair,” she shot back.

“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I’ve got skills.”

She rolled her eyes. “And plenty of confidence.”

As I smiled at her and warmth bloomed in my chest, I realized no matter what Freya called us, she would always be more to me than a friend.

Chapter Sixteen

Freya

Piss, vomit, and sea salt flavored the air, and early summer tourists crowded the streets. Salespeople called out to them, offering everything from beignets to t-shirts to genuine voodoo collection items. Our group walked past all of the chaos in search of some real magic.

Someone grabbed my arm and was burned by the heat of my magic an instant later. With my fist raised, I stared down the older salesman. He backed away from me with a shocked pout.

I sneered. “I do not like this place.”

Arion rubbed against my legs, and Walker chuckled, though he was just as uncomfortable as I was in the old, bustling French Quarter of New Orleans. Though he was as handsome as ever in his Wranglers, hat, and boots, a frown marred his face. Every time someone passed by him too closely, he lurched out of their path and muttered, “excuse me.”

I was surprised he hadn’t yet pulled the Sol Sword on anybody, which was strapped to his spine, though I had glamoured it from human sight. I wore jeans, combat boots, anda button-down blouse, all of which clung to my sticky skin in the oppressive humidity.

“I dunno,” Cadence said, “I kind of like it.”

In her floral top and sun hat, she fit right in with the tourists. The girl had truly packed as if we were on vacation.

“Of course you do,” Ryder said and ruffled Cady’s hair. “You like anywhere trouble can find you.”

She playfully shoved the werewolf but didn’t argue. I smiled but kept my senses peeled to our surroundings. The chimera could be lurking around any corner. Though the things sold in gift shops were poor knockoffs of voodoo, old magic lingered on these streets as surely as the grime and salt. New Orleans was a haven for any supernatural looking to hide in plain sight.

“Oo,” Cadence said and pointed to a man who waved an advertisement like it was on fire. “Ghost tours tonight. We’vegottago to one.”

“You’re making my point for me,” Ryder said.

Cadence snuck her tongue out at him and pouted to her brother. Her emerald eyes grew impossibly round.

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