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As they drew closer to the gathering of witches, several of them clumped together in clusters. Were they not all from the same coven? Were the different groupings the various covens? That was interesting. If other witches didn’t get along, it meant that whatever was happening had brought together the covens with a common goal—to question Sky.
He hoped it was an inquiry. If they were planning to threaten his baby, Nolan was going to have some very serious words for them. It didn’t matter if they planned to turn him into a frog or a worm or whatever.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” one witch snapped the second they reached the edge of the picnic area.
“What did you set loose?” another barked.
“Arrogant bastard! You’re going to expose us all with your carelessness.”
Now that the dam was broken, a flood of angry words pummeled them. To his credit, Sky folded his arms over his chest and spread his legs apart as if bracing himself. He was a solid rock against which their words crashed and flowed around him.
When someone called for Sky’s head and others echoed it, Nolan had heard enough. He couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.
“This is bullshit!” Nolan snarled. He marched forward a couple of steps into the center of the group. Sky gasped and grabbed his arm, trying to hold him back. “You haven’t even let him talk. You’re all making a bunch of asinine assumptions. And what if you kill him? You got another necromancer on speed dial you can bully into cleaning up this mess? If I was that necromancer, I’d tell you to fuck off! Who the hell do you think you are?”
Silence fell in the woods. Even the breeze stopped rattling the leaves and the birds stopped chirping. There was only Nolan’s heart thudding in his ears. His mouth had grown dry. It wasn’t often that he lost his temper, but there was no way in hell he was going to keep silent as they stood there badmouthing Sky.
“Why the hell did you bring a human?” a witch inquired.
Another sighed. “Just get rid of him. We don’t have time for his nonsense.”
Yeah…maybe he should have kept his mouth shut.
“No one is getting rid of him.” Sky stepped in front of Nolan while keeping one hand on his wrist. “Nolan Banks is mine, and no one is laying a finger or a spell on him. You got me?”
“Nolan Banks? The Nolan Banks?” A witch with a mass of black hair decorated with an assortment of braids and beads resettled her glasses on her nose and squinted at him. “Oh, my God! It is! You look exactly like your picture!” In a swirl of colorful skirts, she turned around, snatched up a huge cloth bag, and started digging through it. She tossed out a package of tissues, a huge wallet, pens, receipts, three books, and other stuff he couldn’t identify as she searched for something.
“Esme, what the devil are you going on about?” Audrey growled.
At last, she came up with a paperback that Nolan recognized. She clutched it and a pen in her hand as she hurried into the loose circle toward him.
“Would you mind signing my copy of Forever Mine?” she asked, thrusting the book and pen at him, narrowly missing Sky’s cheek as if the necromancer wasn’t even there. “You have no idea how many times I’ve read this book. I mean, I love all these sister books, but this one really is my absolute favorite. I always keep a copy with me for when I’m stuck waiting in line or at a doctor’s office.”
Nolan had a pretty good idea. The poor book was battered, the corners worn soft. And he loved it. He’d signed plenty of brand-new books that looked as if they’d never been opened, but the lovingly worn and creased books were his favorite. Books were meant to be read, and he loved the notion that someone loved his words so much that she’d read the book many, many times.
As he accepted the book and pen, Sky tipped his head close, getting a good peek at the cover. His brows furrowed, and he shifted his gaze to Nolan. “When you said you wrote romance, I assumed it was gay romance. You know, because you’re…”
A low chuckle escaped Nolan as he scrawled a nice message and his name. “I write and have written both. Sometimes, it takes a lot of books to pay the bills. This is Book Two from a romantic fantasy trilogy about three witch sisters who fall for princes from different warring kingdoms. They’re the key to stopping the war and bringing peace.”
“Esme, is that the series you told me to get?” another witch called out.
“Yes!” she spun and hissed at the other witch. “I told you fifty times to pick up this series.”
The other witch huffed and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “You made it sound like a bunch of fluff and nonsense. He makes it sound more interesting.”
“It’s not fluff and nonsense! There’s all this drama and family angst because the sisters are trying to stay loyal to each other while standing by the men they love.” Esme turned to Nolan, and a wide smile pulled up the corners of her mouth while her eyes became hooded. “And he writes the hottest sex scenes.”
Sky made a noise, and Nolan tried to ignore the fact that his ears and cheeks were now burning as he handed back the book.
“Th-thank you so much for reading my books. Sorry if I got the magic parts wrong. I didn’t know witches were real when I was writing them,” he stammered. This was why he didn’t do book signings too often. He was no good with people.
The necromancer glanced over his shoulder at him, eyes narrowed. “Hot sex scenes, huh?”
“The hottest!” Esme chimed in. “Are you dating? Wow! You’re so lucky. He has the best imagination!”
Please let the ground open up and swallow me whole.
He’d even be happy to allow a witch to frog him.
