Page 69 of Hawke

“Are you a witch?” I blurted, before I had time to think.

Hawke’s lip tilted in amusement.

“Not a witch, a warlock. Same thing except I am a male.” He eyed me.

It made me smile, shaking my head and laying back into the comfortable pillow.

“Of course you are. There are shifters now, warlocks, anything else? Vampires? Unicorns?”

Their reaction to my rambling was a simultaneous snort of amusement.

“No unicorns, not that I know of,” Hawke said. “But there are vampires, fae, fairies. Anything else you want to know about a species, I’ll be glad to tell you. Right now, you need to rest.”

“I have work,” I argued. “I have things to do. I can’t be stuck in bed all day.”

Bram tutted, lowering himself to put the broken piece of glass and food back on the tray. “Yes, well, you don’t have to worry about that job anymore. It was too dangerous. I’ve taken you out of the equation of that dreadful place.”

“What?” Hawke asked lowly. “What do you mean, dangerous? You said we were safe here.”

Hawke’s hold on me tightened, and he pulled me up to his lap, putting my head on his shoulder.

“Can’t breathe!” I mumbled, and he pushed me away.

I cleared my throat, the silence between them becoming deafening.

“Why are we in danger in the first place? Why the hell am I sick?”

“Language, Sunshine. I don’t like hearing that shit come out of your mouth,” Hawke whispered in my ear. The blunt part of his teeth grabbed my earlobe, giving a quick nip, then soothed it with his tongue.

Well, spread me over a piece of bread.

“I think Hawke should be the one to explain why you are sick, but as far as the danger, I will tell you what is amiss.” Bram sat in the rocking chair in the corner, pulling out a pipe. He tried to light it several times until he chucked it to the floor.

“Sorry, I’m trying to get used to this male’s mannerisms. Lighting a fucking pipe is the worst.”

I stared at him like he’d grown another head.

“This isn’t me, well, it isn’t my body. Right, well, it is my body. I created a potion so I could look like the human male that owns this place. I needed a place to stay for a while, so I’ve been here about three weeks until I figured out where I need to go next. Luckily, my stay has been fruitful, and I met the both of you.” He winked.

“But where is the other guy?” I panicked.

Bram smiled. “In a coffin out back.”

“You killed him!” I shrieked.

Bram grinned, rubbing the tip of his mustache with his index finger and thumb. “He’s partially dead, not dead dead.”

What like The Princess Bride scenario!?

“Oh, my god!”

“Get to the point, warlock, I haven’t got all day.” Hawke’s hold tightened, his nose diving into my shoulder. “I’ll explain everything. Just hang on a little longer.”

Easy for you to say, buddy.

“Right, right. Well, as I was trying to place a basic ‘forget-me-not’ spell, which is very hard to do by the way, only the most talented of warlocks could accomplish such a thing. I just erase your face and name from a mind, lasts about three weeks. Anyway, I asked your manager Simon a few questions as to why he needed you so much because the human was being really resistant to forgetting you. Meaning, his life was on the line. He wouldn’t answer, saying it was none of my business, so of course, I had to apply a truth spell on him. And damn, it was too strong; he confessed things I didn’t even need to know. Did you know he was cheating on his wife with one of the waitresses? He frequently gets blow jobs behind the potato sacks in the back pantry.”

I gaped at him.

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