Page 51

“I know,” Alaric said, his tone darkening.

“You know? How?”

Alaric stepped sideways into the hall, revealing the open doorway. For a moment, I just stared in confusion—until my gaze dropped to the prone figure lying on the floor.

I shrieked and staggered back a step, raising a hand to my mouth in horror.

It was a Mage with chestnut hair, his pale skin a sickly gray. Wide, brown eyes stared into nothing. Blood coated his stomach from where a dagger protruded.

Bile churned in my gut, and I swallowed hard. “What happened?” My voice was strained. I felt sick, but I found myself unable to look away from the dead Mage.

Just like with Gran’s body, it was horrifying… but I couldn’t stop staring at it.

“I found them waiting outside your door,” Alaric said, his voice utterly calm. “I killed them for their insubordination.”

My eyes bulged as I scanned the floor. I could just make out the legs of a second dead Mage next to the first.

Holy shit.

“Alaric,” I said weakly. “You… killed them?” I couldn’t say I was terribly upset about it, given what they’d planned to do to me. But I was still shocked that a Wolven Mage killed two of his own kind because they had threatened a witch.

“They defied my orders,” he said plainly. “I knew they would only keep defying me if I let them live.”

I gaped at him. “The penalty for disobedience is death?”

Alaric sighed as if I were being melodramatic. “Not always. Ordinarily, I would have arrested them and thrown them in the dungeon. But they attacked me, so I defended myself.”

“Why did they attack you if you were their captain?”

His lips pinched, and I sensed he didn’t want to reply. After a moment, he said, “They no longer respected me as their captain. They accused me of being ensorcelled by you.”

I flinched at the hint of disgust in his tone, unsure if it was directed toward the soldiers or my magic.

Alaric tried stepping forward, then grunted again as my magic shoved him backward. “Damn it, Cerise, will you let me in?”

My eyes snapped to his. “Are you alone?”

“Unless you count the corpses.”

My stomach churned as I raised my hand. My magic hummed beneath my skin, waiting to be summoned. I tried conjuring it, but nothing happened.

“Shit,” I muttered, setting the poker down on the floor so I could try again. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and lifted both hands.

Pretend I’m not here, Gran’s voice said. Pretend you are alone.

I always got too nervous when I had an audience.

Inhale. Exhale.

You are alone. There is no one else here.

Energy thrummed around me. My fingers tingled. With careful movements, I swiped my hands through the air, one after the other.

In an instant, the warmth fled the room, leaving me chilled and shivering. I opened my eyes to find Alaric watching me, his brows drawn together.

Panting, I gestured to the open door. “You may enter.”

He took a hesitant step over the threshold. When nothing happened, his eyebrows shot up.