Page 4 of Witch’s Heart

Rixon had gone and broken that law.

He’d done it to rescue me, so that his father would reveal where he’d hidden me. Rixon would have searched the palace high and low, and might never have found the secret entrance leading to the royal cells—cells meant to house those of the royal and extended royal family when they’d done unforgivable things. Up until this, we hadn’t even known of its existence. This wasn’t the dungeon. Far from it. It was a place you locked up the privileged when you couldn’t just go and punish them like everyone else.

Perhaps it would have been better if I had remained lost. I wasn’t sure I was worth the cost Rixon had accepted. The consequences that might follow. I wasn’t sure Rixon’s life of enslavement was worth it, either.

At least with his father alive, the portal to hell was fueled by another’s blood—even if he was dying. Now, Rixon was the sole survivor of the Kozma line. Only he could keep the darkness at bay.

I let out a sob of despair and covered my mouth, tamping it down. Was this to be his life? Cutting himself open, bleeding on a fucking wall to ensure demons didn’t break through?

A clang sounded and I froze. Footsteps, and then⁠—

“Rixon?” I couldn’t help myself, surging to my feet. I was supposed to be ignoring him, but the sight of him in his ceremonial garb…

He looked every inch the king, regardless of the crown on his head. Tall and broad shouldered, chiseled jaw, handsome face even despite the scattered scars. His hard expression melted at the sight of me.

“Mina.” My name was like a prayer on his lips, in his eyes. His throat bobbed. I felt the weight of everything he’d been through today, felt it press in around us. I hadn’t been there for him.

He blinked, seeming to come to himself, then quickly produced a set of keys from his pocket.

My lips parted. I took a startled step forward. “Where did you find those?” I managed, then steeled my voice. “You didn’t want me at the coronation, is that it?”

He jerked back. It was a minute movement but it stung me all the same. I immediately regretted my cruel words. Just because I was angry and vindictive didn’t make him the same. “I only just found them,” he said, wary. “My mother’s jewelry box.”

I swallowed. “Maybe it was better that way. I am sure your courtiers didn’t need me there as a reminder of your other obligations. Or, is this it for us? Because I should not have to remind you that our oath is until death.”

“I’m not trying to get out of our oath, Mina.” His hand with our shared markings clenched around the keys. Markings we received when we swore an oath to become a bonded pair. He stared at me, the expression in his face pained. I’d been here two weeks and spoken little to him during that time.

When I gave no response, he reached forward, fitting the larger of two keys into the cell door. It opened with a click. I stood there, motionless.

“Come here, Lady Witch.” His command curled something deep inside my belly. My steps betrayed me. I was before him in moments. He leaned in to kiss me, but I turned my face away at the last moment, offering my shackles instead. He sighed, resigned. “I would’ve liked to have you at my mercy, even if only for a few minutes.”

I didn’t rise to his bait. I simply waited. He frowned. When he fit the key into the lock, the shackles clicked open, tumbling to the stone floor. Magic surged up inside me, no longer suppressed but bursting to get free. Weeks of it, pent up.

A flash of red had me reaching for Rixon’s hand. It was instinctive. In no reality could I bear seeing him hurt, even a little bit. Blood had soaked through his bandage. “You’ve been feeding it, then?”

“I had no choice.”

My movements were agitated as I ripped away the white gauze. That stupid fucking portal. The cause of all our problems. The real reason he was stuck here.

I poured magic into healing the wound, my lips pressed into a flat line. The pent up pressure lessened, but not enough to take the edge off. Still, a relieved exhale left my chest. Using my magic for the first time in weeks felt like slipping into my favorite worn tunic, familiar and comforting.

Rixon’s palm returned to normal. Only the faint scar from his childhood remained, a sign that would forever remind me of the power of his blood. Of his obligation.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice gruff. He lifted his hand to caress my cheek.

I stepped out of reach, then set off at a brick pace, leaving him behind.

“Mina,” he called before jogging to catch up. He’d snatched my journal from the bed, along with the new set of pencils he’d gotten me.

I didn’t want to spend another minute in this place. I quickened my steps until I was all but racing up the stairs. I emerged into a palace corridor before I was striding forward. Rixon’s long legs kept pace beside me. My first deep breath came the moment I passed through a pair of doors leading outside. I came to a stop, looking up at the night sky, the clouds passing over bright stars. Beneath the terrace, I heard the sounds of merriment as the coronation ball continued in full swing.

“Mina…” Rixon’s fingers brushed down the length of my back, hesitant, and I shivered.

I clenched my muscles to keep from throwing myself at him. I wanted—so badly—to collapse into his arms, to lose myself in his touch and taste. To forget any of this had happened. Then I remembered my hurt, my fear, my anger. The way my chest squeezed with it.

“I’m tired,” I said, my voice coming out flat. Then I turned and strode back into the palace.

His apartment was exactly as it had been weeks ago, when I’d stormed out. I’d only gone to get some fresh air in the garden, but Maddox had cornered me and captured me using Nebrine-tipped arrows. Something I hadn’t seen coming. I’d been so naive to believe I could best him. Rixon had warned me and I’d disregarded it. I’d grown too overconfident, letting the thing inside me lure me into false complacency.