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It was days later that he’d awakened to Edel cooling his fever with a moist rag. The moment she’d been informed of the “waif” who’d collapsed outside the castle, she’d ordered him brought inside and then sat by his bed, caring for him.
His breath caught in his throat when a sleeping Jessie rolled over and draped her arm around his torso and began to lightly snore. The glowing bluish mark on her hand was a stark contrast to her pale skin. A tightness squeezed his chest. Had the scarred man who cast that spell on her been the same one from his own past? It seemed unlikely, but then it would be rare for a witch to sport a scar down the side of his face. Most who wielded magic could easily heal such a wound without a trace, unless some anomalous reason existed—such as young dragon venom.
The only thing he did know was that Jessie was of interest to an unknown witch. To thwart him meant he’d have to protect her. And protecting her meant keeping her close. With all his other duties, could he give himself over to such an arduous task?
When she sighed and absently nuzzled his chest, his answer was a resounding yes.
21
A soft purring sound drew Orik from a deep, satisfying slumber. He could feel Jessie’s body curled around his. She was quite the persistent snuggler, but he didn’t mind. He’d oddly enjoyed her clinging to him in sleep.
After a moment, he realized the purring wasn’t coming from Jessie. A second disembodied warmth permeated his torso. Something foreign was curled up on his chest.
He gazed down and focused his bleary eyes—
On a lema!
On pure reflex, Orik kicked and flailed, scrambling to get out from under the binding covers and away from the vicious creature.
The commotion jarred Jessie awake and, provoked by his alarm, she shot upright. “What is it? What’s wrong? Has he come for me?”
Who did she mean? The witch?
Now disturbed and agitated, the lema hissed at him and hopped around the bed, baring its fangs and arching its back. Its tail fluffed up to twice its normal size.
Lunging for the closest feasible weapon, Orik lifted the bedside table up over his head, intending to squash the vermin.
“What are you doing!” Jessie screeched.
“Look away, Jessie.”
“Don’t you dare!”
Just before he could crush the beast, a blast of immense power hit him in the chest. The nightstand fell to the floor, and Orik’s body flew over it and slammed through the stone wall and into the main room. Bricks and debris toppled over him, dust permeating the air.
Dazed, sprawled on the floor, he shook his aching head and blinked his eyes open.
Had she...? No, she couldn’t have.
Sitting up, he gazed through the hole in the wall. Still sitting on the bed, Jessie peered back at him with an equally shocked expression, a ball of sparkling light dimming in her palm.
She gazed at her hand in puzzlement.
“What the hell is this?” He lumbered to his feet. Crumbled bits of stone tumbled off him to the floor.
Shrugging off her shock, she held out her arms to the lema. It obediently jumped into her embrace. “It’s okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” She spared him a wary glance.
“Did you…did you just usemagic? Onme?” He was still reeling. Not thinking straight.I was tossed through a wall? That creature is a breath’s distance from her throat. Need to save her. Need to get away from her.
Looking down, she gave a small shrug. “I, uh, suppose I did.” He couldn’t decide if she looked contrite or conspiring. Finally she lifted her chin, and her shoulders went back, as though ready to contend with his response. He couldn’t help thinking she looked formidable.
Formidable?She wasdeadly.She’d just catapulted him through a ton of bricks with a flick of her wrist. He couldn’t reconcile this unnatural strength wielded by a slip of a girl. One who was supposed to be human.
He clamored over the debris to get back into the room. The sweet, cloying scent of magic was pervasive. He recalled it smelling sour, like an ancient bog, but this time there was almost a floral fragrance to it, reminding him of the blooms in his garden alcove. “You’re awitch?How is this possible?”
She shrugged and idly scratched the creature between its ears. “I don’t know.”
Another thing he could not comprehend. A lema was cozying up to her.
