Page 51 of Captive Witch

But Eri answers anyway. “She is. She wants immortality, and she’s tired of scheming her way around to get it in small bursts. She wants it without—”

“She’s been getting it in small… what?” I ask, incredulous.

Eri nods. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her. She’s been doling out…favorsbehind the coven’s back. A favor to a werewolf in exchange for a certain payment.”

Bile threatens at the back of my throat, and Gideon tenses behind me.

“What kind of payment?” he asks darkly. “Blood?”

Eri presses her lips into a firm line, and he curses.

“Monique… Nicca. Thatbitch,” he spits out, his hands clenching into fists.

“Gideon?” I ask, unsure, placing my hand over his.

“Your mother was the one providing Wendell with magic,” he says through a tight jaw. “She’s the one who helped him trick that…”

Horror washes over me when I remember the story of Wendell and the teenage girl he cheated on his wife with.

Gideon turns his hand over, lacing our fingers together. “It’s okay, little witch,” he says, his voice softer.

“No, it isn’t,” I snap, ripping my hand out of his for fear of burning him again as my anger roils inside me. “She helped him—that girl was just a child. I…” Burying my face in my hands, I take a few deep breaths. “How do you know it was her?”

He sighs, scowling into the fire. “It happened over a century ago, but it hasn’t sat right with me since I discovered he hadspecialhelp. I’ve been searching for something… anything to point in the right direction, then I found something in Anera’s shop that led me to the needle she used.”

“I don’t understand why she would do this,” I mutter, defeated. “Why would she do all of this, kill my family, if she’s been able to achieve it another way? She could’ve just taken my blood a little at a time or killed me instead. I—”

“Does it matter?” Eri snaps. “She’s a horrible person, always has been. Nothing is going to change that, and no sob story could make any of this okay.” Closing her eyes, she runs a finger down Vesta’s back when the small rat crawls down her arm. “This is why we have to protect the well and its magic. If she gets her selfish, greedy hands on it, who knows what devastation she’ll reap.”

“‘If evil lurks within its walls, doom will fall upon us all,’” I whisper, remembering my grandmother’s words before another witch’s words come into my mind—Ruya’s. A small smile creeps across my face when I look up at Eri—the keeper.

She tilts her head to the side. “I remember that saying… It was from a warning an oracle gave Ediva.”

“She used to say it every night,” I say, grief crashing over me. “Every time she’d tell me the story of the well.”

Resting my head back on Gideon’s shoulder, I yawn and try to cover it with my hand. After everything that’s happened today and the emotional rollercoaster of learning the truth behind so many events, I don’t know how I’m still keeping my eyes open.

“Let’s go home,” Gideon says, nuzzling into my hair. “I know two witches who will feel better once they see you again.”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea.” Eri looks between us, worry lacing her voice. “Adara needs to stay here and guard—”

“She needs sleep,” Gideon growls, glowering at her. “She’s been attacked, captured, and gods know what else in one day. She—”

I rest my hand on his forearm. “I’m right here. Both of you.” I glance between them and sigh. “I need to go home and let my sister see that I’m okay. You can come with us.” Looking at Eri, I smile. “We can place a protective shield around the well to keep everyone out. You can sleep—”

She holds up one hand, shaking her head. “No. I stay here and guard the well’s magic. Just like you should be doing with me.”

I inhale a deep breath through my nose. “I can guard the well after I check on my family.”

Gideon squeezes me. “I need to get in touch with my hunters to see if Aramin has been found or Monique has been spotted.”

Eri scoffs. “Fine, but if anything happens, it’s onyou.” She shoves one finger at me, glaring before storming off.

Gideon trembles behind me, his anger bringing his wolf to the surface, and I move to wrap my arms around his neck.

“Don’t go after her.” I press a kiss to the spot below his jaw. “Take me home, Gideon.”

His jaw ticks a few times before he releases his breath in a huff and nods. Cupping my cheek in one hand, he kisses me, his tongue darting out to lick the seam of my lips. I open for him, my tongue twirling with his, his erection growing between us. He growls, nipping my bottom lip and pulling away. Shifting, he bumps his nose against my hand before taking off into the woods.

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