Page 10 of Dawn to Dusk
“He suspects it.”Nothing is ever what it looks like on the surface.He said that like a mantra since she joined the faction.
I treated her like she was garbage. I convinced people to protest to get her kicked out. I considered killing her in her sleep. “Why not tell the truth? It would make your life easier.”
“Thousands of people’s lives depend on me being the bad guy. The wrong person gets wind of this, and the council starts digging into all my kills.”
She silently took what we threw at her and let us treat her like a monster, without even one attempt to defend herself. I didn’t want to think about all the times we fought or I yelled at her. Shame pushed to the forefront of my mind.
“We need to move. Prayer time will begin soon, and sol witches will be in the woods.” She waved for me to follow her.
I obediently did as she asked without questioning or arguing with her. I let her tell me where to go and what to do. Once in Bask, we tip-toed around a large house that was set off on its own. We crouched behind bushes, and she studied the backyard.
“What are we looking for?” I whispered.
“Graves.”
I studied the backyard. “Surely, he won’t leave evidence of a murder at his own home.”
She didn’t answer or even glance at me. That was when I knew Pylo was a far more disgusting monster than I thought. How many women spilled their tears reporting to Balthazar what that witch did to them? Most of the women underBalthazar’s protection were fleeing Pylo when he found them. Not to mention what Pylo did to his kills’ corpses.
Without warning, she tackled me down to the ground. Damn it! I knew not to trust her, and I let her catch me with my defenses down.
But as soon as I could focus, she held a finger over her bowed lips and her eyes grew wide with alarm. Footsteps grew close and I held still, understanding now. To keep myself from fidgeting, I found myself focused on her lips. The way they tipped up at the edges with a natural seductive curve.
Back when I only fought her out of duty, I loved to look at them. I always wondered what she tasted like. I wasn’t always immune to the charms of the most beautiful death a beast could ask for.
“Reyanne!” A male voice boomed.
The steps stopped and whimpered, hiding behind the bushes with us. Now that they were closer, I realized the scent was a female wolf.
“Esmerey.” The wolf barely managed to whisper as she quivered in fear.
“Reyanne!”
“What happened with Yarri’s family?” Esmerey whispered.
“They ran under the cloak of night.” The wolf told her. “Please help me.”
“Are you ready to leave?”
Tears poured down her face, and her lips quivered. “Where can I go?”
This was the kind of thing that riled me up and kept me going when the war made me weary. “The faction will take you.”
But she wasn’t looking at me. Her wide eyes were on Esmerey, waiting for the hunter to tell her what to do. Esmerey chewed on her cheek as she thought. “Going at night is toodangerous. Hide until he passes out. Gather the bare necessities, nothing that will needlessly slow you down. Get to the next village and find Lorelay Giles; she'll shuffle you through the safe houses.”
“Can you get him off my back for now?”
“Yep.” Esmerey tilted her chin, and the wolf slinked through the bushes. Fire gathered in Sunshine’s fingers, and she hurled it across the yard. She took my hand and led me after her as a window shattered.
Her fingers felt warm and dry in mine, the way you would expect a sol witch to be. She weaved us through the back alleys, expertly dodging the soldiers doing sweeps in the area. She would stare up at Mirneax, then dart forward, like she had them on a timer.
If she passed any beasts who served the witch families, they waved at her, and everyone went on their way pretending they didn't see each other. These beasts didn’t see her as a threat like the ones at the faction did.
Esmerey navigated us all the way back to the woods. It was exhausting, and I wondered how anyone could breathe in this suffocating environment. This whole village was a prison. No wonder she kept a hidey hole in the middle of nowhere.
“Maybe they got out on their own.”
“I promise they never made it out of Bask.”
