Page 119 of Elora and the Crow

CHAPTER38

“You’re fine, Cecelia,” Cece said in a low voice as she pushed past a fallen log. The snow was deep, and she was freezing her ass off, but she kept walking, heading resolutely toward the mill that was just up around the bend of the river.

The forest was dead silent and she strained to hear any noise over the rushing river. There was nothing, not even a single bird song, and goosebumps broke out across her skin despite how warmly she was dressed.

“Creepy,” she whispered. There was a sudden prickling at the back of her neck, and adrenaline surged through her. She whipped around, her hands raised as the trees around her creaked and groaned, and their branches bent toward her.

“Whoa, take it down a notch, Gertrude Jekyll.” Ronin held his hands up, coming to a stop behind her.

Her mouth dropped open. “You know who Gertrude Jekyll is?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Ronin grinned before studying the branches that still strained toward her. “So, you’re a tree witch, huh? I heard what happened at the hospital. I gotta say, I’m impressed that you took down a polar bear shifter with nothing but a tree and a can-do attitude.”

“Briggs is a polar bear shifter?” she said, her heart kicking up a notch. Holy shit, she’d met a polar bear shifter.

Not just met. Kissed. Touched. Had his big hand in your pants.

A hot blush ran through her body, and she cleared her throat loudly, pushing thoughts of Briggs and his big hands out of her head.

“Sure is,” Ronin said cheerfully. “And you bested him. I’m never gonna let him live it down, by the way. Briggs getting his ass kicked by a tiny tree witch is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I’m not tiny or a tree witch,” Cece said. “I’m a green witch. What are you doing here?”

“Same thing as you, I imagine,” Ronin said.

“Does Bren know you’re here?” Cece asked.

“Does he knowyou’rehere?” Ronin answered.

She hesitated before shaking her head. The tree branches had relaxed into their previous positions, and Ronin studied them before joining her. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how pissed will Elora be when she finds out you’re here?”

“A thousand,” Cece said, “but she’s my best friend, and I’m not sitting at home on my ass while she fights for her life. Why are you here?”

Ronin gave her another easy grin. “I was bored, told my lady I might go for a walk in the woods, and she thought it was a good idea.”

“She thought it was a good idea,” Cece echoed. “She was there when we were talking about the dark witch, right?”

Ronin’s grin widened. “She was, but she knows I’m a bird who needs space to fly free.”

“What kind of bird shifter are you?” Cece asked.

“Eh, a little of this, a little of that,” Ronin said.

“A bird shifter who can’t die.”

“It’s a hell of a party trick.” Ronin held out his hand. “Let’s go say hello to our friends, tiny tree witch.”

She took his hand, and they waded through the deep snow. She could see Jonah and Elora’s tracks in the snow, and they followed them quietly for a few minutes before she said, “How do you know who Gertrude Jekyll is?”

“My mother is an avid gardener,” Ronin said. “Obsessed, actually. She particularly loves Gertrude’s garden arrangements. Her backyard is basically a love letter to Gertrude’s style. She even has one of Gertrude’s flower vases.”

Cece gaped at him. “Your mother has a Munstead flower vase?”

“She does,” Ronin confirmed. “My dad bought it for her a few years back. Cost him a pretty penny.”

“I saw one online once for over four thousand,” Cece said. “It was so crazy how…”

“What?” Ronin asked when she trailed off.

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