Page 23 of Witch Queen

Help…me…

CHAPTEREIGHT

The hairs liftedon the back of Mae’s neck.

The voice did not belong to the dead witch.

Mae, Na Ri said guardedly.

Brimstone stepped closer to her, his hackles rising warily.

Help me…please…Witch…Queen…

Mae’s breath caught as black threads flickered to life around the witch’s soul orb.

Magic blasted around Nikolai. “What is that?!”

“Get away from it, Mae!” Vlad snarled.

She ignored them, her chest tightening at the agony emanating from the new apparition. It was the remains of another soul. One drowning in sorrow and despair.

That’s—Na Ri paused, her tone wretched.

“My witch,” Brimstone whined.

His head drooped.

Mae could tell they’d made out what they were looking at and were just as troubled as she was. They’d glimpsed it once before, in the castle where they had fought Vedran and lost Hellreaver.

It was the tainted soul of Vedran’s familiar. The one he had killed so he could turn them into a weapon that would allow him to wield his most formidable spells.

The familiar’s true form manifested for a fleeting moment.

Mae’s throat constricted.

It was a beautiful wolf. One as black as night, whose soul had once been as pure as snow.

My name…is…Balkin…You…must…kill me…my queen…

The breath Mae had been holding shuddered out of her.

Despite his suffering, the wolf was calm and as noble as a king.

“What’s going on, Mae?” Roman asked in a strained voice. “What is that thing?”

“It’s what’s left of Vedran’s familiar.”

Nikolai recoiled. Roman sucked in air. Vlad’s knuckles whitened on his swords.

The dark threads that made up Balkin’s soul faded, leaving behind the remnant of the witch’s pale orb. Mae blinked away the tears that had sprung to her eyes. She could no longer sense the tortured presence of the Sorcerer King’s familiar.

“My witch,” Brimstone murmured.

“I know.”

Mae steeled herself. She still had a job to do. Heat danced through her veins, heralding the demonic power that soon engulfed the pale sphere in her hands.

“Be at peace,” she whispered.

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