Page 7 of Witch’s Heart

“I wasn’t planning to leave without saying goodbye.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“You were busy—in a council meeting, apparently. When I demanded the guards let me pass, they refused.”

“They denied you?” She gave a brief nod that had his jaw clenching. “They will be dismissed from their duties, replaced with people more competent.”

She exhaled, resigned. “Don’t bother.”

“Mina…”

“I know what you’re going to say. I have to go, Rixon. You read the letter. I’ve been summoned.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean today. Stay a few days. Let us settle things between us.” The idea of leaving things as they were made his stomach churn.

She blew out a breath. “I need space, Rixon. Time to think.”

“Space?! Time to think?!”

He knew the thing living in her made her prone to heightened emotions, especially anger. That didn’t give her a monopoly on the emotion. He was allowed to be angry too, even if he didn’t have something lurking beneath his skin.

“Time to think is taking a couple of days for yourself. Space is avoiding me in the corridors, not running halfway across a kingdom simply because you received a summons.”

“It is nearly a week’s journey to the Citadel. If I don’t go, the head witch will send others to collect me.”

“So? Let her.”

“Rixon…”

“I’m serious, Mina. I am the king now. She cannot possibly expect you to drop everything.”

“I would imagine that you being king is exactly why she expects me to drop everything—demands it, even. The Citadel may not be the crown, but there are laws in place. You know them as well as I. We remain separate. What you’ve done…it’s a conflict of interest. She expects me to answer for your actions.”

In the world of witches and wielders, he was her responsibility.

“Stay,” he urged, his anger morphing to desperation. The thought of her leaving made him panic. “You run the risk of exposing yourself. What if…what if they see what you’ve become?”

“It’s a risk I must take. If I do not go, she will send a contingent of witches to drag me back anyway.”

“I won’t let her.”

Mina gave a derisive laugh. “And what will you do, set your palace guards on her?”

“If I have to.”

“Rixon. That would start a war.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“What are you talking about?” Her eyebrows pinched together.

His gaze darted over her face. “I did some digging, hoping to find information on the portal.”

“You did?” Her lips parted in surprise.

“The keepers helped me drag up information on the founding of the Citadel. The witches were once a collective here in the capital, before the city became what it is today. They were advisors to the first king, helping to bring him into power. Conflict erupted between them and they were sent away, stripped of their positions. Right around the time when the demon murals were painted on the walls beneath the palace. Don’t you think it odd that the Citadel was founded in parallel with the kingdom of Raeria?”

“When were you planning to tell me all this?!”