Page 109 of The Witch and His Crow

‘You owe me,’ Salem said. ‘And I’m willing to look past it all, to let bygones be bygones, as they say.’

‘I’m sorry…’ I said, my Gift faltering enough for Salem to step in close to me. ‘But?—’

‘But?’ Salem’s brows narrowed. ‘Didn’t your parents teach you never to follow an apology with a but… oh, wait. No, they didn’t, did they.’ His twisted laugh rolled over me. ‘How insensitive of me.’

I lifted my balled fist, ready to clock him on the jaw. But Salem was quicker—his movements so precise and effortless that they were clearly the result of training. All the pieces of this fucked up puzzle were slotting together in my mind.

‘I owe you nothing,’ I spat, ‘but the freedom from your fucked-up brotherhood.’

‘You’d take my family from me, again?’

His admission was sour and sweet. And clearly, Salem enjoyed this back and forth. He looked alive, bright-eyed like a child enjoying the thrill. Just the same as he had all those years ago. Pinching and pushing, playing with me like some toy he could break. For a second, I was back in the school playground, knee bleeding as Salem towered over me.

‘They are not your family, We are.’

‘Weas in the witches? Look around you—all families fight. You just have to pick the one you’ll survive in for the longest.’ Salem’s hot breath warmed against my face. ‘I could be your family. If you decided, we could do well together, you and I.’

It was my turn to laugh. ‘I’d rather die.’

‘Careful what you wish for, Hector.’

‘Shut the fuck up,’ I hissed, the monster inside of me thirsting for his blood.

I tried to pull free, but the spark of electricity itched beneath his palm and over my skin.

‘Don’t fight me,’ he drawled. ‘Remember, you owe me, I lost everything because of you.’

‘And what do you want me to do about it, Salem? Do you want me to bring them back? Do you want me to drop to the ground and grovel for your acceptance?’ I leaned in, teeth bared. ‘Because that’s not in my power, is it?’

‘Actually, you’re right,’ Salem said plainly. ‘I think getting you back on your knees is exactly what I want.’

A rush of sharp power crested over my body. It was a burst of electricity which didn’t scorch through me, but found the nerves in my body andmanipulatedthem. For the second time since this Trial began, my legs gave out. Salem didn’t release my wrist, so my arm ached in its socket.

I reached out with my Gift, snatching the severed thorns from the ground. Salem twisted my arm, wrenching it from the socket completely with a pop. The pain was so sharp, I hissed in a breath and the world went black. When I opened my eyes again, it was to findtwodevilish eyes glaring at me, inches from mine. He’d opened the eye with the scar running through it, revealing a milky white colour coating a faded iris.

‘We don’t need to hurt each other, Hector. We can walk out of this Trial, both victors in our own right. But it’s important we do it together, okay?’

I nodded, giving in to him, pretending to play along. If I could manipulate him, make him think I was giving into his power, then I’d hope I got the chance to hurt him in return. ‘I don’t want to hurt you either.’

I want to destroy you.

‘Can I tell you a secret?’ Salem asked, but left me no time to answer before he continued. ‘I’ve always wanted you, Hector. Idon’t enjoy seeing how others have wormed their way into your life, when I’m the one who has known you for the longest time…’

What surprised me next was not more pain. It was Salem crying. It was a strange sight to see. His single good eye filled with tears, and I couldn’t understand how a monster was capable of such emotion. ‘You can make me wait. You can play with my emotions and try to make me jealous. But you cannot deny that there is something between us. A tension that has only thickened in all the years we were kept apart.’

When I didn’t reply, his grip tightened, and I was confident now that my arm was no longer connected to my shoulder. If he dropped it, the arm would hang limp and useless. My other was pressed to his chest, slowly sensing the added force as Salem leaned closer and closer. His mouth was inches from mine. Cracked lips, stubble-lined jaws and the deep gouge left in his skin from the night his home was attacked by Hunters searching for my mother.

‘Tell me what you really want from me, Salem. I need to hear you say it.’

What I needed was time. I could blast his body away from me with a thought, but it would truly ruin my arm and make it impossible for me to continue to fight anyone else who attacked me. But there was no point worrying about surviving the Dreading if I didn’t survive Salem.

‘Everything,’ he hissed, spittle hitting my face.

Revulsion made my skin prickle. ‘That’s a lot to ask of someone you don’t know.’

‘I’m the only one that knows you, Hector. The only person who knew the boy from before, and will know the one that comes after…when you give me the chance. I want everything. I’m going to win this contest, become champion, and take the mantle of Grand High. It’s what I deserve. And you, dear Hector, will be waiting for me at the finish line.’

Salem was so close that I could feel the itch of his ruined lips against mine. I dared turn away even as I feared it would incite more of his electrifying sparks. But I couldn’t let him kiss me. I saw his desire for it glowing in his eye, the knowledge of what he wanted to do.

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