Page 13 of Witch’s Heart

Their questions continued. It was obvious that they didn’t all believe me, but that didn’t matter. As long as Fiona did, she would fight for me.

Right?

“I still think she should be stripped,” Gianna said at last.

“As do I,” Slone agreed.

“And I,” Moriah added.

“Don’t be absurd,” Barisa scoffed. “She⁠—”

“There are enough of us in agreement that a vote ought to be taken.” Leilani eyed the others.

A wave of red-hot anger surged in me. My eyes locked with Gianna, taking in her triumphant expression. There was something else, too, something buried deeper in the look she wore. Jealousy.

My lips began to curl in disgust, anger morphing to something darker. Gianna’s eyes flashed with surprise. I was almost certain that mine had changed. I clamped down on the thing inside me, pushing it down deep. Gianna blinked and frowned, but said nothing.

Fiona stood and said, “No vote. I think that is enough for one day. She’s only just arrived, and given her information, we have much to think about. Much to discuss.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

I wouldn’t let them strip me of my bond with Rixon. They’d have to catch me first. Fiona’s words meant I wouldn’t need to flee, not yet, anyway.

“Mina, you may retire to your room. Do not leave the fortress while you are here. We will summon you again in seven days.”

I knew it was a warning, more than anything. I offered Fiona and the others a formal goodbye, then escaped to my room.

Chapter 5

Rixon

Rixon gripped Ferrarh’s reins. A small pack of demons kicked up dust in the distance, still too far out to decipher what they were. If Mina were here, she’d be able to identify them by feel alone. She should be here, damn it. It felt wrong, doing this without her. They were a team. They confronted demons as a team.

The moment she returned, he wanted to tie her to his bed and punish her until she was sobbing and apologizing. Then he wanted to keep her tied there for the rest of eternity. His thoughts darkened at the image, the thought of her naked and shackled, just for him, her eyes blackened with lust. He wanted her begging⁠—

His cock twitched and he clamped down on his runaway thoughts.

Reginald Weiss rode beside him, along with Mya and her wielder, Flynn. A contingent of guards and council members kept pace behind them. He’d armed himself with as many blades as could be carried, just in case, because he still doubted. The last thing he wanted was a disaster. How would that make him look as a king, if things went wrong? But if what Weiss claimed was true, he wouldn’t need his weapons.

The ambassador didn’t make it easy, given how tight-lipped he was—insistent on a demonstration.

“So, you’re telling me they’ll simply flee when they sense its presence?” Rixon asked, looking at the finely wrought object in Weiss’s hand. It was ovular in shape, made of Nebrine, and had apparently been spelled by a Carthian witch to repel demons. Nebrine alone was harmful to demons, which was why it was in all their weapons, but it certainly didn’t send them running in the opposite direction. Not even settlement walls did that. Nor wards, for that matter.

This, apparently, would.

Hence, the delegation that followed in their wake.

Lord Haspel was frothing for a demonstration. When word of a demon pack sighting reached them, his father’s advisor had been all but ready to tromp out on his own, dragging Weiss if he had to.

“It will work as intended,” said Weiss. “We have tested them extensively.”

At this, he arched a brow.

“I wasn’t aware that Carth had witches,” Mya said. “Or demons enough for testing.”

Yes, thank you, Mya. His thoughts exactly. They’d wondered, after finding the rift in Rockfall, but there had never been any sort of confirmation.

“Without witches and demons, how else could we have accomplished this.” Weiss lifted the object, tossing it up and catching it in his palm. “You’ll need much larger specimens, obviously, for cities such as Corinna. Of which we can provide…for a price.”

Rixon huffed under his breath.