Page 47 of The Unencumbered Warrior
“Let me show you,” she muttered under her breath, low enough only Raff could hear. “What a real witch can do.”
CHAPTER 20
The wind shifted. Cold and sharp. The firewood beneath Ingrid’s feet hissed, not from flames, but from frost.
Gasps and cries broke out.
A streak of white ice threaded up the stake, splitting the rope that bound her wrists.
The crowd shrank back.
“She’s cursing us now!” Laird Chafton bellowed, but his voice cracked, and his glance rushed over the crowd.
“Nay,” came a shout from somewhere in the crowd. “That’s not her doing.”
All eyes were on Ingrid.
And then, as if pulled by an unseen force, her second rope snapped.
She stumbled forward, stunned. She was free.
Raff didn’t wait.
He moved.
Raff burst from the crowd, shoving past stunned villagers and dazed warriors. His eyes locked on Ingrid as she staggered forward, blinking in disbelief, her wrists raw and red.
“Ingrid!” he called, reaching her just as her knees buckled.
Her gaze lifted to his face, stunned. “Raff?”
He caught her, pulled her into his arms, and whispered against her ear, “Together always.”
The crowd began to move, some toward them, some away. The guards were yelling, blades scraping from scabbards.
But then?—
A crackle.
A hiss.
A thin flame slithered out from the frost-kissed wood like a snake seeking prey. It curled and rose, flickering unnaturally, its light tinted not gold, but blue.
Gasps echoed.
The witch, still hunched, her cloak wrapped around her, let out a sharp, high cry, like a frightened old woman.
“The flame knows!” she wailed, trembling and pointing a finger. “The flame seeks the real witch!”
The spark flared, rose in the air, and spun—once—twice—before hurling itself across the square… straight at Laird Chafton.
He didn’t have time to scream.
The fire struck him in the chest, bursting into a blaze that devoured his fine cloak and rich tunic in a heartbeat. He stumbled back, clawing at himself, eyes wild with terror. The crowd shrieked, scattering as the fire roared louder, hotter, impossibly fast.
He turned blindly, trying to find someone—anyone—to help him.
And then he saw her.
