These were the witches he knew. The ones that were obsessed with power and nothing else. Julian would grow up to be dangerous. Felix’s tail lashed behind him in the dirt.
Avery raised a brow. “Opposed to you beingsomeone?”
Julian took another step toward her, and Avery backed herself up against the tree.Come on, little witch.
“I’m someone who can make you feel much better than he can.” Another step. “I know your body, sweetcakes. I knowexactlywhat you need.”
Avery, unlike Felix, did actually gag, to which Felix had to cover his mouth to stop the laugh coming from his throat.
“You know how hard it makes me when you talk back.” Julian laughed, dipping his head before his arm shot out and gripped it around Avery, pushing her flush against the tree. In a split second, he had his hand gripped around her breast, squeezing it and shoving his rat face into her neck while his other hand had made its way up Avery’s skirt.
“Fuck off, Julian!” Avery shouted. Shadows that weren’t his own wrapped around Julian’s body, but the witch was too drunk to notice.
Felix tore across the clearing. He grabbed the mop of Julian’s blonde hair and ripped him off his little witch. Julian’s hands went up to his head as Felix gripped hard enough for him to feel the witch’s scalp trying to detach from his head. He dragged him along the dirt as he kicked and screamed and smashed his face into the nearest tree. It was fitting; the only wood he was getting tonight was a face full of bark.
When he pulled Julian back, blood trickled down his face. Felix almost wished the witch still had his cock out so it would experience the same pain. He stopped for a second as he saw Avery’s shadows climb up Julian’s legs and tighten around his balls.Great minds think alike.
The rage dripping from her features was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.Let it out, little witch.
“What the fuck is this?” Julian screamed again. “My father is the chancellor! You and that bitch will be expelled!”
Felix’s smile went feral, eyes slitting. Finally, his shadows materialized, imbuing him with power as they slid along the ground like fog. Sweet recognition poured over the witch’s face as he realized the very thing in front of him was no student. It was a monster in a maid’s outfit.
“Shifter,” Julian breathed out.
Avery had sunk to her knees, watching the scene before her play out. Instinctively, Felix sent one of his shadows out behind him, covering her eyes so she couldn’t watch.
Before Julian could scream for help, Felix plunged his face into the bark again, again, and again, the lovely sound of crunching bones into bark like music to his ears. Finally, he stopped making noises. Felix dropped the witch on the floor with a thud, his face more a squished peach than witch. On the bright side, the tree had a new hollow for the owls to nest in.
“Is he dead?” Avery asked, her arms shaking a little.
“As a dodo,” Felix said. “Dodo’s deserved far better than him, though.”
Carefully Felix walked over to Avery, putting himself between her and the body so she didn’t see the carnage of what he had left behind. She didn’t flinch away from him like he expected. Instead, she leaned into him more, using his body as a means of safety.
“You didn’t have to kill him,” she said calmly, far more calm than anyone near a maimed body should be.
“I did,” Felix said simply. “There is no world where I would let anyone touch a woman like that and walk away. If I had time, I would have taken him finger by finger, limb by limb, stuffed his own cock in his face, and see how he liked it.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me for this.”
The thumping sounds of paws hitting the ground had him pushing Avery behind him before the griffin hit the ground. It postured itself like it was going to charge, pawing at the ground. Its claws were as big as his goddamn head.Fuck.He had forgotten about Julian’s stupid familiar. It let out an ear-piercing screech, loud enough to attract attention. Felix hissed back at it, his ears flattening against his head.
“Wait!” Avery said. “Don’t attack it.”
Felix looked behind his shoulder at the little witch. “Why the fuck not?”
She stepped out from behind him. “Just trust me.”
Every part of him screamed to yank her back behind him. To protect her. How hypocritical that in mere hours, he would be leaving her anyway. He ground his teeth together. Was there another way?
Slowly, Avery approached the griffin. It ruffled its golden feathers, lowering its head as it watched her come closer. “Easy,” she said, her voice soft. The griffin dug its talons into the earth, making a snapping sound with its beak.
Felix couldn’t help the low growl that came out of him. One that the griffin matched.
“Stop,” Avery said, not turning around. “You’re scaring it.”
