Page 124 of Witch Unexpected
“Tor, Rune!” Leif stood by the statue, waving them over. “Come on.”
Tor morphed into his human form and beelined for the statue with Rune.
We joined them a moment later, dodging the bulging areas of ground where any minute new revenants would form.
Sten hugged Charlotte to his chest. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Let’s get this done, and we can go home.”
I caught sight of Arne and Toke making their way toward us in wolf form.
Charlotte shook her head. “No. No, it wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
Sten gently gripped her wrist and placed it on the statue. “It’s okay. I got you.” He looked at me. “Hurry.”
I lifted my hand, and Charlotte’s face contorted in anger. Something silver flashed.
A blade.
She had a blade.
“No!” Leif grabbed my arm to pull me out of the way, but there was no way I was avoiding the stab.
My hands sparked in auto-defense mode, but a spark wasn’t enough.
I closed my eyes, ready for the pain, but a dark shadow leaped in front of me, and a whine of pain ripped the air.
“No!” Charlotte screamed. “Arne!”
Arne fell to the ground, the dagger buried in his furry side.
Leif’s grip on me tightened. “Dad!” He dropped to his knees beside his father and grabbed hold of the hilt of the blade. He tugged, but it wouldn’t come free. “What is this?” His face was pale with shock and anger as he looked up at Charlotte. “What did you do?”
“Charlotte?” Bramble stared at her in horror. “You tried to kill Cora…”
Charlotte covered her mouth, shaking her head as if to deny any part in the stabbing.
“It’s a null blade,” Anna said. “It resists all magic. It won’t come free until its target is dead.” She fixed her eyes on Charlotte. “You stole it from the archives. I trusted you.”
But Charlotte only had eyes for Arne. She fell to her knees. “No, no, no. Not you, I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted them to fix it. To keep us like this. They said they’d help. That Croatoan would bless us.”
Them? The Order?
Oh fuck. It all made sense now. Pen’s smirk, her confidence that she’d get her reward. She hadn’t been working alone. She’d been working with Charlotte. Two witches, both wanting something they couldn’t have. Two desperate, traitorous witches.
“You told me to watch over Cora,” Bramble said.
I could see her mind working.
“You told me to look out for her when you wanted her dead.” Her face contorted in pain. “You were willing to put my life in danger.”
Oh shit. Poor Bramble.
Charlotte shook her head in exasperation and reached for Bramble. “No, sweetheart. You were never a target, just a watcher. I needed to see where she was. I needed eyes.” Her gaze dropped to the bracelet on Bramble’s wrist.
Bramble looked down at it, and her lip curled in disgust. “A fucking spell? A tracker?” She tugged the bangle off and threw it. “How could you?”
“This was never about you, selfish girl,” Charlotte snapped, gaze dropping to her wounded mate. “Arne. Please, baby, please.”
Arne opened his eyes and fixed them on Charlotte. He blinked once slowly, and then he closed his eyes and fell still.
