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Chapter 15
The half-moon hung heavily in the heavens, and the wind whistled past, rustling the trees. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the window or stop staring out into the woods surrounding the tower. Reed had just left for Tritonia and wouldn’t be back for a while, but my stomach churned with unease. He’d mentioned asking Gage to help him make a quicker trip to Vanore. Did that mean the two were no longer trying to rip each other apart?
But how many bandage spells could one place over hexes before things went beyond haywire?
I exhaled loudly.
My scalp hurt, and I glanced back at Gingernuts pouncing on my hair. Then he darted through the place as if he were a bullet, bouncing off furniture and walls. Geez, someone was restless. After years stuck here, the only way I’d dealt with insanity was routine. Redecorating. Running on the spot, stretching, meditation. Anything to keep my mind occupied.
Back outside, several bats squeaked and flew toward the trees, probably searching for fruit. But as I followed them, my attention caught on a figure drenched in shadows. This part of the woodland stood about fifty feet from the tower, but was I imagining things? I squinted, studying the silhouette.
“Reed?” I whispered.
If he’s back already, that means he failed.
“Thanks, Miss Obvious,” I responded to myself.
Don’t want you getting your hopes high. Look how well that turned out last time.
“Okay, enough. I don’t need a reminder of every single mistake I’ve made.”
The figure shifted and stepped forward wearing a cape and hood. Just like the man in the mansion watching those panthers tortured.
Ice froze over my chest, and I scrambled to my feet because it was the same man. What the fuck was that sadistic bastard doing in the ruins? For the first time, part of me welcomed having the gargoyle for protection.
The stranger kept silent but stared up in my direction. No guards accompanied him that I could see, and if they snuck toward me, the gargoyle would chase them away. So had the witch sent this man to check up on me? Or was she hiding somewhere, ready to toss another spell at me?
I scanned the empty field below. No one else emerged from the forest.
A strong gust of air blasted past, pulling at my hair. It threw the hood off the stranger’s head. Pearl-white hair fell to his shoulders, fluttering in the breeze.
Wait!I stepped closer because I’d seen this man before. His wild hair, even the uneven posture where one shoulder stooped lower than the other. Years ago we’d crossed paths.
He was the fucking henchman who’d killed my father when we’d gotten caught stealing Faye’s golden wig. I gasped for air, hugging myself.
Dread flowed through my veins like tar. Of course the fuckwit would work with Faye. What the hell did he want?
I choked on my next inhale and couldn’t stop shaking. What could I do? I had no one to call, so I’d fight alone to the end like I had my entire life.
Except… Was he standing just far away for the gargoyle to not spot him? Or was he contemplating how to easily reach me without effort? Well, I wasn’t going down with a fight, and I’d stab him the moment he entered the tower.
That’s right. Jab him in the neck. Payback is a bitch.
“Damn right!”
What was he doing? Going to gawk at me all night? I wished more than anything I’d taken knife-throwing classes. But looking down at the murderer had my blood boiling, as all I could picture was my dad being dragged away by the back of his shirt as if he were a sack of potatoes. His pleas ignored. My patience hit a breaking point and my words rushed out of me like an exploding dam. “What do you want?”
“I heard you’d slipped past Faye’s spell.” His voice floated on the breeze, but it carried that sickly-sweet tone I imagined perverted old men used to lure young kids into their carriages.
The man pulled the hood over his head. “I wanted to see you and have questions for you.” He rubbed his chin and remained in the shadows. For the life of me, I didn’t trust a thing that came from his mouth. What the shit would a monster need to ask me?
No footfalls on the roof. Okay, he was being cautious about the gargoyle. Except wouldn’t the witch protect him against the spell? Back in the mansion, he’d watched those shifters get beaten as if he were the king of the world. So was he working for the witch or vice versa?
“Like what? How I felt about you butchering my father? How much I love this prison that you and that bitch locked me in?” I trembled all over.
“Those matters don’t interest me.” He stood there, his arms dangling by his side, unnerved. He seemed like a dick who’d stalk someone for weeks on end before working out the most creative way to murder them.
For years I’d pictured myself facing the asses who’d destroyed my life, and in a few days, I’d found them both. And instead of fear, rage pumped through me that such fuckwits existed and continued to harass people. They didn’t deserve a future.
