Page 44 of Captive Witch

A blast of magic slams into me from behind, launching me forward. Keeping Kaylus close to my chest with one hand, I land hard on my shoulder, gasping when it pops out of its socket. Shuddering, I loll my head to the side, seeing a second black cloak glide through the trees.

“Finally,” the first witch mutters. “You took long enough, Makya.”

“Oh, Wyn, your patience is going to lead you straight to sainthood one day,” Makya’s overly sweet voice responds.

“I asked for literally anyone but you,” Wyn grumbles.

“I know,” Makya says in a singsong voice.

“The flea-bitch is over there. Once this fire dies down some more, I’ll take the bounty in.”

“It would make more sense for you to just transport from the start, you know. Now we’re stuck halfway back to the coven in the woods and—”

“For the love of Hecate, shut up,” Wyn huffs. “It’s exhausting transporting one, let alone two. Can you do it or not?”

Mayka laughs, the sound eerily sweet. “Of course I can. I can come back to help you with the second if you need.”

Grumbling, Wyn ignores her. Footsteps sound from behind me as she walks closer.

I squeeze my eyes shut, mustering all the magic I can and focusing it into my flames. She screams, and the other witch cackles.

“Shut up, and help me!” Wyn yells.

“She’s aflamma gerentis, and no one knew? That is—”

“A pain in my ass, now come on.”

Pulsing more magic into my fire, fatigue slowly seeps into my bones. I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek.

No,my wolf says, but I ignore her, transferring any magic I have left into Kaylus.

“I love you,” I whisper to him. “Please wake up. You have to wake up.” Tears leak from my eyes, and a sob wracks through me. “Wake up, Kaylus.”

“Gods, they’re always so attached,” Wyn says, disgust coating her words.

“You’re just jealous you don’t have a familiar.”

A growl rips through the air, and I blink through the pain coursing through my body, my head feeling thick like cotton as I try to focus on the figure standing on the other side of my dying flames.

The shadow moves closer, and the silhouette of a wolf stares back at me.

“Wake up, girl.”

Opening my eyes, I squint into the light. My hand flies to my temple, stabbing pain shooting behind my eyes. Orange flames dance before me, flickering against the darkening dusk. Pastel clouds streak the sky, and indigo blues near the horizon are dotted with stars.

“Finally,” a voice says.

I sit up, turning toward the voice. It tugs at the back of my mind, vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite grasp where I know it from. Rubbing my eyes, I blink a few times to clear my vision. A woman sits before me, stoking the flames in the firepit. Her dark brown hair falls down her back, almost reaching the ground,dark orange streaks running from root to tip. I suck in a sharp breath when her eyes lift to mine—gold irises staring back at me.

“You’ve been asleep for ages, even your raven woke up before you.” She scowls at me, crossing her legs and throwing a thumb over her shoulder.

I find Kaylus sitting behind her up on a branch, his beak nestled into his wing, fast asleep. A lump forms in my throat, and I croak out, “He’s okay?”

The woman scoffs. “Yeah, obviously. You practically sacrificed yourself for him, you idiot.”

Annoyed, I glare at her. “Wouldn’t you die to save the ones you love? How does that make me an idiot?”

“You’reimmortal,” she says, throwing her hands in the air. “He would’ve been fine. Instead, you seeped your magic into him and made yourself pass out. Do you even realize how vulnerable you left yourself? You’re immortal foraging. Meaning, as long as you don’t get killed, you’ll be fine. You can still be drained of blood or beheaded or starved to death. Immortal doesn’t mean you’re invincible, but he was alive when you held him, yeah?”

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