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“Julian will win the war.” My voice shows no signs of concern, even though I’m quaking inside.
Her head falls back and she cackles, loud and rough. “He has no chance. He’s living under the same roof with the key to his survival, yet he’s too daft to know.”
“Key?”
“Hush now, human,” she says, flicking her wrist once more. This time I fall forward, clutching my stomach. It feels as though I’ve been kicked. She strides in my direction, slowly, like a cat playing with a mouse. “This will all be over soon,” she says, smiling wide in victory.
My eyes close, not wanting to see my death play out. My body convulses in fear as the seconds tick by painfully slowly. Her hands grab the collar of my dress and pull me up so that my feet dangle off the floor. She leans in, inhaling with her face pressed into the curve of my neck. A whimper escapes me.
The smell of rotting flesh coming off her breath roils my stomach. Bile rises to the top of my throat. My eyes are closed shut, unwilling to watch, but I can feel her canine run down my carotid artery. She’s toying with me, making the entire experience more agonizing than it needs to be.
“If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” I say shakily.
The sound of a loud crash ricochets off the walls, and my eyes pop open.Julian.
In her surprise, the hedge witch drops me, and I crumple to the floor. The breath I was holding comes out in a harsh whoosh and oxygen begins to flow again. I look up to see Julian has the hedge witch by the throat, but she doesn’t appear frightened. Her head is thrown back, maniacal laughter bubbling from her lips.
“You’re not as strong as me,” she singsongs, to which Julian huffs his own laugh.
“Witch, you’re talking to your king. The first Born.”
“You’re nobody’s king,” she says stridently. “They’re coming for you.”
My heart beats fast at her declaration. Is she talking about the Council?
I don’t have a chance to ask. Julian’s arm twists, separating her head from her shoulders. It drops with a noisy thud to the floor.
“Is-is she dead?” My voice quakes from adrenaline and emotion.
He nods his head, motioning for me to come to him.
I do. I run into his arms and shake in his embrace, tears flowing, the emotional overload taking its toll. Fear, relief, and love vie to be the central concern. Sobs rack my body as Julian runs his hands soothingly down my back.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers into my hair. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I willneverlet anyone hurt you.”
I look up, his eyes meeting mine. Love wins out over everything else. All the pent-up feelings for him, all the things I want to say, threaten to explode from my chest. But none of them come out, because Julian’s lips are on mine before I can say a word. His kiss says everything. He feels the same. He’s my oxygen and I’m his in this moment.
He pulls away, breath heaving. His hands come to my face, cupping my cheeks in his palms.
“I was so scared, Marina. I’ve never been more scared in all my years. When I think about what could’ve happened…” His words catch in his throat. “Immortality wouldn’t have stopped my heart from breaking in half, had she hurt you. My heart, my soul. It’s yours.”
He crushes his lips to mine once more. I don’t want to stop, but the events of tonight are catching up with me quickly, and my knees buckle. I’m lifted off my feet by Julian’s strong arms. I don’t look up, keeping myself buried in the safety of his warm chest. He carries me for several minutes.He’s taking me to his home.
My back is placed gently onto his soft mattress, and a warm blanket laid across my body. Not long after, Julian lays next to me, continuing to whisper soothing words into my ear. At some point, I doze off and dream of horrible monsters. And worse, my death.
* * *
I awake sometime in the night, after what feels like hours’ worth of sleep. My body is achy and my stomach grumbles from hunger. I stretch and my hand hits something next to me. Popping an eye open, I remember that I’m not in my room at the main house. Julian brought me to his.
The reminder of how gentle he was, how affectionate, warms my heart. I turn to find Julian assessing me with concern.
“Did you sleep well?” His face says he knows I didn’t. “You did a lot of tossing and turning. You cried out a couple of times for Maggie.”
My eyes close at the mention of her name. I came so close to being reunited with her tonight. But if I’m being honest, I’m not ready for that.
“I’m so sorry that happened, Marina. It should’ve never happened,” he says, clearly upset.
“It’s not your fault, Julian. You were just trying to help her.”
