Page 47 of The Irresistible Warrior
“Said the danger was close.”
“Did he offer to pray for you?” Aura asked them all, and the answer was always the same.
“Nay, not once.”
Each answer was a stone dropped into her stomach, sinking her deeper into certainty.
By the time she circled the village, the sky had darkened even more and many hurried into their cottages, knowing rain would fall soon. Or was it something sinister they ran from?
Aura stood where she was, her eyes searching. She spotted him—William. He hadn’t left yet. His back was to her at first, his head bent toward two villagers. They shifted uneasily under whatever he was saying, glancing anxiously past him as if wishing to be gone.
Something in him must have sensed her, because he turned.
For a long, slow moment, the world narrowed to the space between them. She read the recognition in his eyes—he knew she had pieced it together.
And then came the faintest smile. Not the smile of a man caught in a lie, but of one who found pleasure in being discovered.
He was… a warlock.
CHAPTER 21
Declan slammed his palm against the table, the crack echoing off the stone walls, intending to finally get some answers. “Enough games. Why has the curse turned on me? Why can’t I so much as touch my wife without falling at her feet? Was this your doing—or are darker forces at work?”
The witch’s cloak rustled as she stalked toward him, her eyes blazing. “You truly are blind. All would have gone well if you had not taken Aura to the ring of stones. I can easily correct any damage that pitiful, useless man you trusted to wed you may have done.” She shook her head. “Is it your eyes or common sense that fails you. You took no note of the cleric, or you would have seen that he wore no cross, offered no blessings, and partook in the sin of gluttony by the way he ate and drank himself senseless.”
His shoulders tensed, annoyed that she was right but defended himself anyway. “I was eager to keep Aura safe and to do that I needed to make her my wife and quickly.”
Her laugh was sharp, humorless. “Idiot. So, you accept a sloven man who shows up, barely mutters holy words, and youdo not even question who he claims to be? In the end, leaving Aura vulnerable.”
Declan’s jaw clenched. “And, of course, you know who he is.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a witch if I didn’t. He’s a minion of someone who practices dark magic.”
“Rest assured, Aura was not left vulnerable,” Declan said, disturbed upon learning that. “The error has been rectified.”
The witch froze. Her gaze narrowed to a dangerous slit. “What do you mean? What have you done in my absence?”
“I do not need you here to tend to my duties. A cleric from Donchill Abbey arrived and wed us,” he said, his mind churning as he spoke. “William.” His eyes narrowed as he spoke a sudden thought aloud. “And like the first cleric, he wears no cross.”
The witch stiffened, her expression snapping from disdain to sharp alertness. “Describe him.”
Declan frowned, then spoke slowly. “He is almost as tall as me and like you he has white hair, though not long, shoulder length. His features are quite striking, a small scar along his cheek offering no distraction only curiosity as to how he got it.”
Her breath hissed between her teeth. A moment later, fury ripped through her eyes, her voice rising like a lash. “You just described the most powerful warlock in these lands… Alweth!”
Declan went still, but the fire in his gaze didn’t waver. “Then I’ll see him cast out.”
Her words cut sharper than any blade. “Cast out? He won’t be driven away like a mongrel, you arrogant dolt. This man has a vendetta—against me. And through your blindness, you’ve handed him the very means to carry it out.”
Declan’s muscles grew taut. “Do you mean Aura? What does she have to do with you and the vendetta?”
The witch headed to the door. “I have no time to explain. We need to find your wife.”
The morning airturned unnaturally still as villagers, for no reason, suddenly rushed into the cottages. No dogs barked, no animal sounds came from the pens. Doors were shut, shutters fastened, and chimney smoke seemed to curl more slowly. It was as if the village itself had retreated into silence.
Aura quickened her pace, gripping the hag stone tight in her hand. She needed to reach the keep but with every step, unease crawled higher in her chest. The quiet wasn’t natural. It was forced and the warlock had disappeared. She didn’t spot him anywhere.
She whispered silent words repeatedly as she rushed forward. The keep wasn’t that far, she could make it. She had to make it there.
