Page 13 of Blood Witch

I heard his voice through my closed door and bent down to shove the small box Arlo had given me under my bed. Good thing I was a bit of a slob. I kicked some dirty clothes there to cover it up and straightened just as someone knocked on my door.

“Come in,” I called and pretended to be surprised to see him. “Oh, hi.”

“Didn’t take you for a runner,” he said, his silver gaze taking in the humble state of my bedroom.

“You think I’m running from you?” I asked, giving him my bestyou wishface.

I turned around, facing away from him. Grabbing my comforter, I pretended I came to my bedroom to clean and started by making the bed. It was the best way to insult a supe, making him think I didn’t consider him a threat by giving him my back.

“Aren’t you running away from me, little girl?” he asked, and he was too close this time.

His warm breath tickled my neck as he leaned over to swipe my pillow, fluffing it before replacing it on the comforter. He did the same with the other two, carefully circling my bed until he faced me.

His silver gaze wasn’t mocking, but it was something, all right. I rolled my eyes, huffing a sigh as I grabbed the small plastic basket with my freshly laundered clothes off the floor.

“Is there something you wanted?” I asked.

“There aren’t too many things I want from this world. But I will tell you what I am looking for, and that’s the truth, Mabel.”

“The truth about what? And my name is Mabe.”

“I want you to tell me the truth, Mabel,” Fin said, ignoring my statement about my name. “How did you come to be here?”

“You mean in this room?” I asked, being purposefully obtuse. “You’ll have to ask the housing department. I didn’t get to choose.”

“How did you arrive at Westwood Academy?” he asked.

“The same way half the student body. Ms. Stolbright found me,” I replied flippantly.

“All right, and how did you find out about magic? How did you learn you were a witch? You were living as a normal, weren’t you? With a group of street kids committing petty crimes to get by when Ms. Stolbright happened upon you,” he stated.

There was no emotion in his voice as he repeated facts about my life. I didn’t want anyone to know that stuff, let alone the sexy stranger with eyes that blazed like silver lightning.

The bastard knew he was ripping me apart, but he continued. Fin’s lips were like a hard slash across his face, tight and hard every time he stopped speaking.

Fuck, why couldn’t he just keep them shut?

My heart squeezed as I tried to control my emotions. I was far too volatile to be alone with him, but I didn’t know how to escape without making it worse. Embarrassment, humiliation, and utter despair warred within me, but worst of all was my magic. I felt it stirring, my hunger rising with it.

“Obviously, you read my file. So, you know damn well what she saw. I used magic. I don’t know how I did it, and I haven’t been able to replicate that power again,” I snapped.

“You demolished an entire building, sending three of the five teens you were with to the emergency room with severe injuries. One boy ended up in critical condition, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, Ernie. But I never meant to hurt him,” I confessed. “I can still see him. Poor kid. He was barely fourteen, and he was crying. We heard sirens and police officers shouting after us,” I said, unable to stop the flow of words. “We’d been caught tagging at the park, and we panicked. Our buddy, Willy, thought it was a good idea to break into a store to hide. Figured I could pick the lock cause I was so good at it, but I was scared, and Ernie was crying, and sirens got louder.”

“What happened next?” Fin asked.

“I turned toward the lock as some cops caught up to us and I sent a surge of power into the door. My whole body felt like it was on fire,” I whispered. “The door blew, twisted shards of metal and glass went everywhere, and it was so damn loud, so loud it was quiet, you know? All I could hear was a ringing in my ears.”

“I’m sorry, Mabel,” he whispered, and I blinked to find Fin right next to me.

He cupped my cheek with one hand and wrapped the other around my waist, pulling me into his chest. He smelled so good. Like some sort of exotic, smoky spice I couldn’t get enough of.

Goddess, he was warm. And big. Like, way bigger than me. Fin was tall, with wide shoulders and a slender waist, like a swimmer or rodeo cowboy. Up close, he was even more handsome than I’d thought. He had a slight scar on his chin, and I had the sudden urge to touch it, test its depth.

I did not feel the tear rolling down my cheek until Fin wiped it away. I really thought he was going to kiss me, but when I stole a glance, I saw him frowning at the wetness on his thumb. His eyes flashed down to mine and that hard, unforgiving slash across his face grew even sterner. He turned his thumb toward me, and I swallowed hard.

Fuck.

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