Page 1 of Witch Unbound
Chapter One
The gunshot echoed around me. I froze, reeling with shock.
This couldn’t be real.
It couldn’t.
But Rune was on the ground with a bullet wound in his head.
Thiswasreal.
Rune was dead.
Tor had killed him.
My scream tore at the night as if it were a mortal enemy and the power that had deserted me a little while ago came back online, infusing my limbs with enough strength to break free from Leif’s grip.
I rushed Tor, slamming into him and shoving him back, fists pounding at his chest as hot tears spilled down my cheeks.
“No, no, no! How could you? How could you?”
He didn’t fight back. He didn’t try to stop me. Instead, he fell to his knees, dropped the gun, and wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his cheek to my abdomen. His powerful body shook with silent sobs that matched mine.
“No…no…”
“I’m sorry, so sorry…” Tor gripped me harder, fingers digging into me, eliciting welcome pain that kept me from slipping into numbness.
I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, fighting the ache in my throat that carried fresh sobs.
This wasn’t Tor’s fault. It wasn’t… He’d done what Rune wanted, what Rune had made him promise to do, because he’d rather be dead than be varga.
I sank my fingers into Tor’s hair, holding him to me as his tears seeped through the material of my top.
“It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” Don’t look at Rune. Don’t… Oh, God.
Leif wrapped his arms around me from behind and buried his head in the crook of my shoulder. His body shook and his tears kissed my skin. Wren stroked my cheek with his furry paw to soothe me. I turned my face away, biting back a fresh wave of sobs, because if I let loose, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop. If I let loose, I’d shatter.
“Rune gone,” Wren whined softly. “Rune dead.”
A pang sliced through my chest, a knife rending my heart in two.
Dead was such a final word, but…Did death have to be the end? My breath quickened as realization dawned, bringing the heat of hope with it.
I gently pushed Tor away and extricated myself from Leif. “I can get him back.” I fell to my knees beside Rune’s dead form and touched his cheek. Still warm. “I’m going to get him back.”
“Cora.” Leif’s hand fell on my shoulder. “He’s dead. There is no coming back from that.”
“Not true.” I could feel him. The connections between the four of us were weak, but they were still there. Still active, which meant there was time. “There’s time to bring him back. I can feel him.”
Tor rubbed his solar plexus. “Shit. I feel him too.” He looked at me, eyes bright with expectation.
I licked my lips, confidence growing. “He’s on his way to Tarrifel. I know the gatekeeper, and I know that whoever runs that place wants me for something, so I’m going in, and I’m going to bring him back whatever it takes.”
I could do this. I had to.
The entity had changed me, fucked with my connection to the guys and my power. It was her fault Rune had been forced to shift, her fault Tor had been forced to kill him, and she was going to make it right.
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