Page 108 of Witch Undecided
Chapter Thirty-One
Tor
Istare at the malevolent as he pulls himself off the ground. He looks as shell-shocked as I feel.
“It repelled you,” Leif says.
Jasper stares at the rift, his expression twisting to one of rage. “No!” He tries again, and once more he’s thrown back.
“Stop.” Leif grabs his arm. “It’s no use. You can’t get in.”
“Why can’t he get in?” I want to know. He’s not one of us, so why is the rift repelling him?
Jasper shakes his head. “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
He runs a hand through his dark hair. I’ve never seen him this agitated. “There are very few places I can’t go. The Underealm, the Beyond, and Purgatory are three of them, but I’ve had no issues stepping into the fae realm or the Eye, a place in Necro City filled with malignant spirits.”
“I don’t understand,” Leif says. “Why can’t you get through to this place?”
Something dark crosses his features.
He’s hiding something. “No fucking secrets, Jasper, not when it comes to Cora.”
“I don’t owe you anything,” he snaps.
“But you owe it to Cora,” Leif points out.
Jasper closes his eyes and exhales. “Fine. I learned a long time ago that Cora isn’t my only anchor. This world…this reality has a hold on me, and some places are out of my reach. It’s not the rift keeping me out, it’s this fucking reality holding on to me.” He slams his fist into the rift. “Fuck.”
Knowing Jasper would be with Cora is the only reason I didn’t fight harder to stop her from going. I don’t like that he’s attached to her. I hate that she has feelings for him, but I’m no fool. I recognize his merits, and I know he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. But he’s here and she’s there.
I take a shuddering breath. “She has Sloane and The Elites. She’ll be fine. Cora can take care of herself.”
I know it. I believe it, but the beast inside me is in knots. It needs to be there. It needs to be with her.
A soft growl emanates from behind me and then Rune is bounding toward the rift. I lunge to stop him, landing on his back and pinning him to the ground.
Let go, Tor. Let me go. I need to be there. One of us needs to be there.
My beast echoes his demands, recognizes his frustration and fear, but the man inside me, the strategist, knows this is a bad move. If Rune goes into the rift, the chance of a seal breach doubles.
I hold fast to my friend. “Cora can do this, Rune. We have to trust her.”
I look up at Jasper and Leif, and we all fix our gazes on the breach. I can feel their agitation at our impotence, but all we can do now is wait.
Wait and hope.
