Page 69 of The Wolf and the Chimera
Silence descended over the sitting area. As Dad’s face fell, I wanted to snatch back my words, but I couldn’t—not when they were the truth.
“Why didn’t you find me?” I whispered. “Or-or if you found a way to survive the wolves’ attack, why did you send me away?”
“BecauseIsaved them,” Circe said. “I risked the wrath of my father to reach into the mortal realm and bring them here.”
“We never would’ve left you willingly,” Dad said.
“Never,” Mom promised.
Their words were a balm to my tattered soul, and I dove across the sitting area to pull them both into a hug. After a few deep breaths in their embrace, I pulled back and returned to my seat beside Ryder. He studied Circe with a skeptical eye.
“Why help them?” Ryder asked. “Why risk yourself for a couple of mortals?”
“Because their role in this is not over,” Circe replied and lifted her chin. “Not until Medea is dead.”
Chapter Twenty
Ryder
Though I had met plenty of powerful witches, Circe was something else. Her magic radiated like a living beast, but it was the ease with which she wielded such power that frightened me. The High Witch’s crazed eyes and wild temperament had given away the toll her magic took on her, but Circe was as comfortable in her power as she was in her tan skin.
“So, tell us,” Melanie said, “how do we get rid of this sorceress?”
“That’s a difficult question to answer,” Circe said, “considering no one knows exactly what Medea wants.”
“She wants to annihilate all warlocks,” Elle replied. “She already cursed them out of existence once. After Freya transformed Walker from hunter to magic-wielder, she’s eager to wipe the entire species out of existence for good.”
“But, why?” Circe asked. I didn’t trust the cunning glint in her eyes. “Why does she loathe them so terribly? And what else? Is that all she’s fighting to come back for?”
“Warlocks?” Kieran repeated.
Right,I realized,another thing I kept from my brother.
Bo and Melanie wore matching confused expressions, and Circe gritted her teeth with annoyance.
“Long ago,” Imogen explained, “witchesandwarlocks—male counterparts to witches—possessed magic. When the sorceress’s Anchor—her magic-bound mate—betrayed her, shecursed all warlocks to become human, but the spell was flawed. Instead, the former warlocks became witch-hunters—humans with supernatural fighting senses and the urge to destroy magical beings. The witches forsake the sorceress for it, and High Witch Cordelia rose to power.”
“But,” Lee added, “Medea was too strong to be completely destroyed. For centuries, chimeras—beings like Elle, with magnificent power—have been born to be her vessels.”
“The High Witch has killed them all before they could come into maturity,” Elle said, “but she’s tired of hunting them down. She wanted to entomb me forever to ensure that the sorceress never rises again.”
“And she needs an Anchor bond to do it,” I explained. Shame and sorrow churned my stomach, “which is why Freya is currently in her custody.”
Kieran cursed. “My father told me the High Witch was after Elle for her unique power, but I never knew…I never knew how badly she wanted her or why.”
“And Freya,” Melanie said, “you two didn't just..." Her gaze shifted to Elle and back to me,"date.You grew up together, right?”
I nodded.
“Even now,” Circe said, “the Redfern witch’s Anchor fights to get her back.”
Through my worry for Freya, I noted the interest in Circe’s voice as she talked about my friend. Part of me hoped the ancient witch never met Freya—the havoc they could wreak together would be unmatched.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
Circe’s face was unreadable. “She lives.”
“What about you two?” Bo asked and gestured toward Elle’s parents. He cleared his throat. “What, um,areyou?”
