Page 64 of Witch Unexpected
“As many of you know, there was a ward breach on the Grimswood grounds today.”
The murmurs intensified.
Arne held up his hand, and the crowd fell silent. “This is the second ward breach in the past few days, and The Elites are looking into it. Our potential was attacked by banshees on the way to meet us. We’re lucky she survived the attack, but we cannot take any more chances.” He looked at Leif, and so did I, only to find him staring at me.
My neck grew warm, but I arched a brow.
He smiled and turned to speak to the crowd. “Patrols have been increased for now. We don’t know if the ward failing was a glitch or an act of sabotage, but we do know the target was Cora. The Order wants her dead before she can take on the mantle of anchor. While on the grounds,wekeep her safe. Whileoffthe grounds, The Elites will guard her. We remain extra vigilant until the blood moon.” He looked at his father, passing the floor back to him.
“Everyone, please enjoy the food,” Arne said.
He patted my shoulder. “Mingle and get to know us. This will be your family soon.”
He wandered off, leaving me with Leif and Rune.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you,” Leif said.
I looked up at him in surprise. “Why would you be?”
“This is my territory. The cabin and surrounding lands which overlap onto Grimswood are Vita land. You should have been safe.”
Rune made a low rumbling sound, and my hand sunk into the fur at his neck instinctively, massaging to soothe him.
“I’m fine. I can usually take care of myself.” My free hand went to the amulet.
Leif’s attention dropped to my neck. “I heard about that thing. It’s muting you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I thought it was worth the sacrifice to keep Jasper at bay, but I don’t know now.”
“Jasper? That’s its name?”
“Hisname.” I don’t know why it bothered me that he’d called Jasper anit, but it did. “Jasper’s a guy.”
I expected Leif to argue that Jasper wasn’t a guy but a malevolent spirit, and why was I ready to defend his ass?
“We’ll figure it out,” Leif said.
Okay, wasn’t expecting that.
He reached out to touch the pendant lightly with his index finger and grazed mine, sending an electric shock through me. I sucked in a sharp breath and dropped my hand. His gaze snagged on mine, and his mouth flirted with a smile. Something passed between us, a weird zing that made my skin flush and my pulse kick up. Fucking hell, this was not on myto-dolist, especially not after what Charlotte had told me. To love like that, knowing you were going to lose it… Nah. No way.
I lifted my chin and composed my features. “Yeah,I’llfigure it out.”
His almost-smile bloomed into a wry one. He’d noticed the emphasis onI’ll.
“Once the ceremony is complete, even with your power muted, you’ll be strong enough to defend yourself,” he pointed out.
Thing was, I wanted to be more than that. I wanted to be able to attack the bad guys, not just hold them off. Hiding and being protected wasn’t me. But the thoughts were drying up because he was looking at me in that intense way again, like he knew a secret and couldn’t wait for us to be alone so he could tell me.
I stepped closer, my hand sliding from Rune’s neck.
“Leif, there you are.” A woman with long silvery locks and huge gray eyes joined us.
The moment shattered, and I stepped back on my heel.
My heart lurched because, for a moment, I’d thought she was Fee. She had the same coloring and build, but there was a coolness in her eyes and a hard edge to her smile, which was nothing like my warm, loving best friend.
“Astri.” Leif offered her a perfunctory smile. “Meet our new anchor.”
