The regent placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You have sacrificed everything for the good of this sector,” he said, his voice mournful and prideful all at once. “And for that, you will make a great warrior. Your sacrifice will not go unrewarded. Now, come with me, child. There’s much work yet to be done.”
As Alec remembered that day, he felt new pain he’d never felt before. Pain he’d never allowed himself to feel and pain the regent had never given him the chance to feel. After the death of his parents, sister, and unborn sibling, Alec had immediately been submerged into training to be a witch hunter. Been praised for his “strength” to the point he feared showing anyone his pain.
He’d shoved his mourning aside, and he’d been suppressing those emotions ever since. He’d made excuses for his family’s death because admitting there could have been another outcome would have crushed him…just like it was doing now.
Had he been brave? Had it been sacrifice? Couldn’t he have grabbed his sister first and then rang the bell? Would that have changed anything? Would it have saved his family?
He would never know. But this was pain he had been supposed to feel all along.
But he had to forgive himself because, right or wrong, he had made his choices on what he believed to be best at the time. And he needed to do the same thing now. He needed to do what he believed was right.
Knowing what he knew now about the regent, Alec realized he already had a great deal of blood on his hands. Blood that would never wash away. But he couldn’t ignore that. He couldn’t hide behind the ideal of bravery and nobility any longer.
If he could save Adira, though, maybe, just maybe, he could forgive himself.
Alec blew a steady breath through his lips and sat up straighter. As a child, he had fought a hoard of ravagers. Surely, he could figure something out. What would Adira do? Alec had spent his life ignoring his doubts and avoiding his feelings, but maybe it was time to trust his heart the way Adira trusted hers.
Alec smirked to himself. Ironic that he’d taught her to be more self-sacrificing, and there he was, trying to be more like her—finally believing there had to be a better way than sacrificing a loved one for people who didn’t deserve saving.
He dug into his pocket and retrieved the gift Adira had given him. A sundial charm. He studied the object, turning it around in his hands and dragging his finger along various points of the dial.
As he did so, one of the pieces shifted. Alec wiggled it, and it loosened more. He frowned. Great. He had broken it.
Or Adira wanted it to break.
Alec wiggled it again, and with very little effort, the gnomon “fin” broke off from the runestone dial plate. That was too easy, confirming his suspicious. But now what? The dial plate didn’t reveal anything new. Just the groove where the gnomon had been.
He inspected the gnomon next. It was like a long triangle with a sharp edge where it had fit into the groove on the plate. He ran his finger along the newly exposed edge, and it sliced his finger. Blood pearled on his fingertip, and his gaze tilted toward the runestone powering the invisible cell.
An object sharp enough to cut stone? It would have to be magically infused to do that to a runestone, though, and her magic would have to be stronger than the regent’s for it to work on this runestone.
Still, it was worth a shot.
After pushing the edge against the stone on the floor, he slowly dragged it toward himself, marring the lines on the runic symbol. He did it again and again until the groove was so deep that the symbols lines didn’t connect on any layer of the stone. Holding his breath, he pushed his hand out to test if the cell was still there.
Nothing.
Nothing there!
He crawled forward, reaching out farther, as if maybe he somehow missed the wall. But no! The wall was gone.
Alec’s body trembled with disbelief, excitement, and hope. This was it. He climbed to his feet and padded over to the regent’s bedroom door, listening carefully for the sound of any life on the other side.
When he was certain the halls were empty, he slipped out and hurried down the hall as quickly as he could without it seeming out of place.
“Hey!” came a voice behind him.
Inwardly, he cringed, then turned around and faced one of the guards.
“What?” he asked, making no effort to hide his irritation.
The guard jogged over to him. “The regent was looking for you on his way out,” he said. “Said he thinks he found a witch. Some of the other guys said—”
“I hope you did not stop me to pander in gossip.”
“No, it’s just—”
“I am the regent’s right hand. I think I can manage my duties without your assistance.”
The guard opened his mouth, but then closed it again.
“Is that all?” Alec asked.
The man nodded.
“Then if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
Alec turned and stormed off down the hall, walking like a man of purpose and not a man twisted up with worry and fear.
Once he was outside the castle, his stride accelerated to a run. He didn’t stop until he reached Miss Balek’s home, his chest heaving as it strained to pull more oxygen in his lungs.
His time in the cell had drained him, not just mentally, but physically as well. It must have been part of the enchantment.
Alec crept up toward the house and paused by one of the windows. Adira said one of the boards had a small hole. It was so they could see from the inside out if someone came to the door. But Alec couldn’t remember where it was.
He inched around the front of the house, checking each window. It’d been toward one of the bottom corners, if memory served him right. With it so dark outside, it took Alec nearly three passes before he found it. He leaned down enough to peer in.
The regent stood before rows of witches, witch tester in hand. Had he recalibrated it yet? Or would the whole room set it off?
Alec’s body tensed as Erik, one of the witches, pointed at Adira. Dvorak approached her with the witch tester. This was it. She would be found out in the worst possible way. And how many lives would be risked because of this discovery?
But after a few more moments passed, it became obvious the regent still hadn’t found what he’s looking for. That must have meant…Adira had learned to hide herself. Alec grinned to himself, but that grin quickly faded at the next scene to play before his eyes.
The guards and Regent Dvorak began plowing through one witch after the next. Testing them. Confirming. Corralling them to one corner. Moving on.
Collecting them.
The two guards with the regent grabbed Anastazie and held her down while Dvorak jabbed the needlepoint of the witch tester into her neck.
Alec already knew what the verdict would be.
Witch.
Chapter 21
They tested the men first. Adira could think of no real reason for them to do so other than to terrorize the residents; as far as she knew, male witches were useless to the regent. He’d certainly never sought them out before.
The guards were intentionally rough, the regent unnecessarily brutal. Even Erik was subjected to the testing, which was carried out with nowhere near the care Alec had shown when he’d tested Adira.
When they were through confirming every male in the household was a witch, the regent turned toward Adira with a bone-chilling grin.
“Odd.” He shook his head, his eyes wide and his lips curling. “A house brimming with male witches! And I suppose the rest of you are mere humans?”
Of course, he didn’t actually suppose that. Even if not for the sarcasm dripping in his voice, it was obvious the regent knew he was on to something. And the way he always addressed Adira with his questions, always watching her as he made his every move, made her think that “something” was her.
But instead of advancing on her, he turned to the other girls in the room. “Who would like to go first?”
Radana and Kveta f
ormed a small wall in front of Anastazie. Kveta raised her hand. “Me.”
Her forced confidence did not cover the tremble in her voice. The guards stormed toward her, but Adira jumped in their path. “Enough. We all know it’s me you’re after. Just leave them out of it.”
Dvorak spun toward her and tilted his head. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll get to you soon enough.”
He waved on the guards. They lifted Adira and set her aside to approach the other girls. While the guards held Kveta, the regent tucked a strand of her hair behind her eyes. The gentle act was even more repulsive than the unnecessary violence that had been shown toward the men and boys.
“We can never have enough female witches on hand, can we?” he asked, staring into Kveta’s eyes. “Now hold still.”
Zmrazit, Adira thought forcefully in her mind. Freeze.
The energy left her, but did nothing. Moments later, Adira’s body was frozen in place, and Dvorak chuckled to himself, not even looking over his shoulder at her as he tested Kveta.
“Witch,” he confirmed, and the guard pushed her aside to the huddled mass of witches on the other side of the room. “Next!”
The sensation was slowly returning to Adira’s body, but after the way that had gone down, she might as well have stayed frozen forever. If anything she cast toward the regent would just bounce back to her, using magic would do more harm than good.
It must be why Miss Balek said never to use Smrt.
Once Dvorak was through with Radana and Kveta, he crouched in front of Anastazie. She stood stock-still, glaring at him.
“What’s your name, little girl?”
Anastazie spit in his face.
The regent smiled, reached into his pocket, and removed a handkerchief with the Sector One crest on it to wipe his face. “You’re a little firecracker, aren’t you?”
He tucked the handkerchief back into his pocket while the guards pinned Anastazie to the floor.
Adira made eye contact with Miss Balek, imploring her with her mind to indicate what she should do. The old woman just shook her head sadly and returned her attention to Anastazie.
Dvorak was already pulling the needle back out of her neck. “Don’t worry, baby doll. You have about a decade left before we do anything about it.”
As the regent turned away, Anastazie growled. “Fuck you! You’re just an impotent asshole!”
Regent Dvorak froze, making Anastazie’s efforts to stop him at least somewhat more effective than Adira’s. But also, apparently more infuriating. His face turned red, and the vein in his forehead bulged.
He spun toward her and yanked her up from the ground by one arm. “I see no one here has taught you any manners!” He shoved her toward one of the guards. “We’ll take care of that back at the castle.”
Adira ground her teeth together, her hands balling into tight fists and her fingernails cutting into her palms. She needed to calm down. Needed to figure out what the regent’s enchantment was, dissemble it, and then attack.
Back to the basics. To what Anastazie had taught her. First thing she had to do was figure out if the regent had a positive or negative charge…and, ideally, where his enchantment was coming from. He must have an object of some kind on him.
Regent Dvorak snapped his fingers and pointed to the old woman. The guards grabbed her arms on either side, and although she was not resisting, he slammed her against the wall to pin her still. The regent strolled over with a low whistle.
“I don’t suppose it even really matters what you are,” he said, twirling the witch tester in his hand. “You’ve been hiding witches. You’ve put thousands of lives at risk with your reckless actions and traitorous ways. But,” he said, tipping his chin up, “I really must know.”
“Well, if you insist,” Miss Balek said, smiling beneath her cloudy gaze. Did she know what he planned to do next? Could she stop him?
Although the freezing spell had worn off, Adira kept her hand at her side to not draw attention from herself and reached out with just her fingertips to see if she could sense energy. Nothing. Or rather, everything.
Positive energy and negative energy swirled together. Enchantments cast on top of enchantments, layers thick, redirecting and reflecting in a jumbled mess Adira would need hours to sort through.
Regent Dvorak lifted the needle to Miss Balek’s neck and took a sample. His eyes widened, then he scowled at the woman. “It appears I’ve missed out,” he said. “But, seeing as you’re too old now, I really can’t see any reason to keep you around.”
With that, he waved his hand dismissively, and one of the guards came forward to grab her wrists and tie them behind her back.
Adira couldn’t stand there doing nothing. If she couldn’t fight him with magic, she would fight him the old-fashioned way.
“No, Adira,” Miss Balek called.
But Adira didn’t stop. She sprang across the room, pouncing on the regent’s back.
“Adira,” Miss Balek said, her voice farther off now. “It’s okay. This is what is meant to be. My time has come. You need to trust.”
Trust what? Trust that this was all her fault? Trust that she could kill this man if need be?
She knocked him down and clawed at his face, but when he pushed his hand out, he sent Adira flying across the room.
She slammed into the wall, and the regent held her there with some invisible force around her neck.
“Is that really the best use of your magic, Regent?” she asked, glaring at him.
His invisible grasp tightened, making it harder to breathe, but not impossible.
“You are a foolish woman,” he said, shaking his head. “But that’s all right. I don’t need a wife with brains.”
The guard began to lead Miss Balek by her shoulder toward the back of the house, and Adira rasped, “Let her go. Now.”
“Let her go?” Dvorak’s eyes glinted. “You’re the one you should be worried about.” He pursed his lips, as if considering that. “I suppose that’s what got you here in the first place, though, isn’t it? The woman who ran from her destiny…now suddenly more concerned with everyone but herself. It’s a bit ironic, as all this could have been avoided if you hadn’t run in the first place.”
Yes, Adira had changed, but she couldn’t say the same about the regent. The man still loved to go on his little tirades.
The guard and the old woman stepped out of sight, and a door slammed toward the back of the house.
When Adira tried to speak, the words came out choked and garbled. The regent eased his grasp on her. “You were saying?”
“Where are you taking her?” Adira demanded.
Dvorak crossed the room, slowly lowering Adira until only her tiptoes grazed the floor beneath her. Placing his mouth to her ear, he whispered, “Exile.”
Chapter 22
Alec grimaced as the regent pressed his lips to Adira’s ear. This was getting out of control. He needed to go in there and do something. As much as he believed in Adira’s ability to fend for herself, he couldn’t just stand there and watch this go down.
But he still didn’t know where he stood with Regent Dvorak. How much did Dvorak know about Alec’s involvement, if anything?
Time to find out.
Alec burst through the door, trying to feign as though he’d just arrived. “I came as soon I heard, My Regent.”
Dvorak froze, slowly turning away from Adira and releasing her back to the ground. “Oh,” he said, his lips stretching into an unnatural grin. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
Had he been looking for him? Or was he aware where Alec had been all along?
It took every bit of Alec’s self-control not to look at Adira. “I’m here now. Is everything all right?”
Dvorak’s smile widened, and he spread his hands. “All right? Everything is more than all right. We have found ourselves an entire nest of witches,” he said. He tilted his head and focused on Alec. “Whoever would have expected such a thing?”
Alec didn�
��t waver. “What’s the plan?”
The regent motioned to the rest of the room cowering in the corner. “They’ll come back to the castle. I have a plan for the men here, and the girls can wait out their time under our care. Until they’re…ready.”
Alec’s skin crawled. How had he been so blind to this man for so many years? He pressed his lips together, trying not to scowl. He needed to play along until he came up with the plan.
None of the witches so much as looked at Alec. Did they think he was a traitor, or did they trust he would still try to help them?
The regent strolled back over toward Adira. “But first, we need to make sure this one is a suitable match to go first. Care to do the honors?”
Dvorak held out the witch tester to Alec. He forced himself past his inward pause and walked over purposefully, taking the device from the regent’s hand.
“Of course,” Alec mumbled.
As he lifted the witch tester to Adira’s neck, he was careful not to hurt her while also refraining from showing any kindness for the regent to read into. He kept his gaze locked on her eyes, though. That the regent couldn’t see. Not with Alec’s back to him.
Please stay hidden.
He wished Adira could hear thoughts the way Miss Balek had been able to. At the thought of her name, he wondered if there was even still time to save the old woman.
“Any day now,” the regent chided.
Alec glared at Adira harder. Stay hidden.
He didn’t like the look of resolve in her eyes. But he couldn’t wait another moment. He couldn’t say anything, and if he didn’t test her, the regent would…and it would be a lot worse when he did.
Adira stood stock-still as the needle pierced into her neck. She let out a long, slow breath that cascaded against Alec’s chest. Normally, that was a sensation that would spark arousal for him, but this time, it just made his heart sink to his stomach.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat as the grooves on the device filled with her blood. The runic symbols filled next. And then, the whole things glowed blue so bright the color radiated from the device.
Origin: an Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 1) Page 15
