Page 17 of Pitch a Witch
“No, you don’t.” My friend rounded on me so fast I jerked back with a jump and landed in a crouch. “Don’t even think about it, Hazel Byrne. You hear me?”
“Whoa. Easy, killer.” Both hands raised in surrender, I watched her face redden like a tomato ready to explode. “Not thinking about it. See? My brain is as blank as hearing a flatline in cardiology, so calm down.”
In the middle of the spine-chilling hallway was the last place I wanted to be, but I waited while she snorted air through flared nostrils until she finally rained in whatever had disconcerted her. Heartbeat jangling my ribs, I searched her face. Me joking about having no magic had triggered something in my friend that had nothing to do with it. I had to get to the bottom of it in a roundabout way and without losing a limb.
Magic crackled at her fingertips as she clenched and unclenched them.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I jibed when she calmed down. “Do you come here often?”
With a jerk of her head and a flat expression, Sissily ordered me to continue walking. She didn’t even crack a smile at my joke. That unnerved me more than anything. I dawdled a step behind her, tracking her jerky movements, which only piled more dread inside my belly. The feeling worsened when she took a different turn and stomped in the direction of the ritual chambers instead of the infirmary. After scrubbing all the damn wax for weeks on end, neither of us wanted to see the cursed rooms in the next lifetime, and I would’ve rather faced Shadowblood than be inside those.
“I don’t think River knew all of it.” My hand froze on the doorknob as I was closing the door when she announced it under her breath.
“Knew what, exactly?” Turning to face her where she paced in front of the slab used as an altar, I leaned back so the closed door supported my weight. My arms folded across my chest in a defensive stance I hated but couldn’t stop. “That he will be my executioner, or that he sprouted wings. Because let me tell you, if I had that many feathers up my ass, I’d know it, you can bet your sweet pea on that.”
“I’m not talking about his wings, girl. That’s the least of our problems.” Hand flopping in front of her, she grimaced and dismissed the one thing that made me livid in a very un-Sissily-like manner.
“You may not, but I want to talk about them very much, mm-kay? Because what in the actual fuck, Sissily? Did anyone think for a second that maybe I needed to know what he was before he stepped within arm’s reach?” Voice raising, I narrowed my eyes at her. “You knew and didn’t tell me. Wanna talk about betrayal?”
“You really are dense if you think I’d hide something like that from you.” My arched eyebrow reddened her face again, but she explained herself dutifully. “Day before yesterday, I needed to expel some magic before I pulled a Hazel and blew up my house.” Her blue peepers glittered as I glowered at her through barely open lids. “He was in the training facility that morning when no one else but humans were around. Danika hired some human company to clean up the mess and start rebuilding because she doesn’t trust any supernaturals around the coven at the moment. Well, I walked in when River thought he was free to stretch those puppies out. You can imagine my reaction when I walked in on a room full of wings.”
“Im’ma pull a raccoon with rabies on pretty boy, watch me. Jump with claws outstretched and scratch his eyes out. I want to pop those peepers like grapes, shove them in a jar, and let him carry them everywhere he goes,” I seethed, grinding my molars.
“You know what’s sad? I can actually see you doing it.” Some of the anger dialed back, and my friend snickered at my animated and gruesome explanation of my plan to mutilate River.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m looking forward to going back on pack lands.” Fatigued and shattered from everything, I wobbled to the side and slid down the wall to hug my knees. “It’s been nothing but a shit show for me around Danika and the coven.”
“Even around me?” Joining me where I huddled, she slid down and bumped her side on mine before plopping her head on my shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, girl. It will take time, but we will.”
“What did Blondie do when you walked in on him basically waving a dick around while he thought no one was looking?” Heat spread through me just thinking about wing boy naked, but I stomped hard on it.
Snorting, Sissily wiggled until she was comfortable, going as far as readjusting my limbs to her liking. She twisted me like a damn pretzel, yet I didn’t complain. The woman wore extra clothing in case I need them, so I’d suffer discomfort for her like a champ any day.
“Surprisingly, he didn’t freak out.” Her chipped nail raked on the seam of my jeans. “I know he didn’t sense me until I was inside the training facility, but the second I stepped foot in there, he turned around. I was terrified, as you can imagine, but the first thing that popped in my head was the way he held you after you went kaboom.” Her shoulder twitched in a shrug. “I figured I’d hear him out before condemning him for being a mendacious person.”
“Oh, there are a lot of lies going on between him and Danika, believe me. Both can say whatever they want. I’m refusing to trust a word that comes out of their mouths.”
“You would, wouldn’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Irked by the defensiveness in my tone, I still stood my ground. “I’m jaded, Sissily, not an idiot.”
“Don’t bite. I’m just saying I know that you’ll be apprehensive after everything that’s happened. I’d be worried if you weren’t.” Peering at me, she smiled sadly. “I’m pissed that they made you like that, but I’d never blame you for it. As for River … I honestly don’t think he has any malicious plans when it comes to you. He is hiding something, yes. I’m just not sure it has anything to do with you and what happened.”
I chose to ignore that comment. “You said Nephilim when I received the mother of all shocks, but I was too preoccupied with the imp to ask more questions afterword.”
“That’s what he said was the closest comparison to what he is. His father is apparently a witch, a rogue one, mind you, and an old friend of Danika’s. His mother was an angel, a minor celestial being that had a blessing from Archangel Raphael to conceive a child. If I understood him correctly, she dropped him off a few days after he was born on his father’s doorstep, and they never heard from her again. River agreed to help Danika protect you because she promised him she’d help him find his mother.”
“That explains it.” My groan was long and sounded way too tortured.
“Explains what?”
“Why he has fire magic and doesn’t give two shits about who knows it. The way he displays it on his cufflinks … that power comes from his father’s bloodline, but he has another punch that will knock anyone’s lights out if they test him, thanks to his mother.” My head thumped hard on the wall. Knowing everything Sissily shared made it difficult to be angry at Blondie, which was not a good thing by a long shot.
“So, why do you sound like you’re about to give birth to a baby dinosaur? What’s with the groan?”
“After everything you told me, I have to feel bad for hating him now.”
Sissily’s giggle was cut short when the door swung open.
