Page 1 of Witch Untold
Chapter One
“You’re not going,” Anna said firmly.
Conah, Sloane, and I were crammed into the elder witch’s office. My wolf mates had wanted to come with me too, but their alliance with the witches meant they needed an invitation to venture past the treeline and onto Grimswood grounds. The gargoyles had been visible, circling the mansion, keeping watch, when I’d approached a little while ago. If the wolves had crossed the boundary, I had no doubt there would have been an altercation.
We didn’t have time for that, and my mates knew it.
They were waiting at the cabin, though, lending me their strength through the threads that connected us. Tor was a steady thrum that vibrated in my veins, begging for action. Leif was a gentle heat in my blood lending me strength, while Rune was the calm voice of reason settled in the back of my mind. I’d call them once I’d convinced Anna to change her mind.
I wasn’t leaving until I had.
The Sons of Adam had Elijah and Bramble. My friends were in danger, and there was no way I’d allow Anna to wash her hands of them.
I met Anna’s gaze levelly. “I need to go after them.”
I didn’t need her permission, but I did need a location, one she hadn’t divulged yet. She probably thought I’d make the jump as soon as I had the details. She didn’t know me well enough. I wasn’t fucking suicidal…Not today, anyway. Despite the fact I didn’t agree with her call, I respected the chain of command, because to disregard it would completely send the wrong message. We were only strong if we worked together. We were only strong if we trusted each other.
Yeah, ironic coming from me, the solo hunter. But things were different now. The seal had changed everything.
Conah stood to my left dressed in joggers and a cream tee, feet shoved hastily into sneakers, blond hair rumpled from sleep, and Sloane was to my right, somehow managing to make a vest, joggers, and fluffy yellow socks look kickass. Her silver hair was mussed from sleep too, but her electric-blue eyes were sharp and focused. They’d both come as soon as I’d called them, meeting me outside the office within minutes.
“I understand how you feel,” Anna said. “But the Sons of Adam have certain abilities, one of which is to read minds and search memories.”
My gaze flicked to Conah. He had this ability too.
His jaw tightened a fraction, but he didn’t offer up this information to Anna.
“They’ll have surmised that Elijah is important to us,” Anna continued. “They’ll have used Elijah’s memories to learn about us, and they’ll expect us to come for him. If not you, then someone else, someone who might be important to you.”
Because it was me they wanted. “Elijahisimportant to me.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, Cora. The answer is no.”
Part of me understood what she was trying to do. She was willing to let Elijah and Bramble rot, die at the hands of these fucking monsters to protect me…No. Not me, the seal. She was protecting the damn seal that kept the big bad locked away.
But it was the wrong move. A short-sighted move.
I pushed my shoulders back. “You can’t keep me here by force, and you know it. I’m here of my free will because I get that my life is important to the seal. I get that my going would be too risky. I can accept that I can’t be the one to go after them, but I won’t accept that you can’t send anyone. After everything Elijah’s done for this coven, if you turn your back on him now, what message will that send? It’ll tell your witches that they’re dispensable. That their lives don’t matter. Trust me, that’s not good for loyalty or morale.”
She looked away, mouth tightening.
“Cora’s right,” Conah said. “Your coven is your family. It’s a team. Turning your back on Elijah will tell them that they’re all expendable. That can’t be the message you want to send.”
“We can go,” Sloane said. “Jessie, Poppy, and I.”
“No,” Anna snapped. “You’re just as important as the anchor. We need you here to keep the revenants under control.” She pressed her palms to the desk and bowed her head, thinking, considering. Finally, she raised her head, expression resolute. “We’ll prepare another patrol for this task. A stealth team. We may not have a weapon to kill the Sons of Adam, but we can gather spells to slow them down or confuse them while we extract our people.” She nodded. “Yes. This might work.” She looked to Sloane. “You’ll pick four of our finest witches. I’ll contact the sisters for a portal.”
I didn’t need to ask why we needed a portal. It was the quickest way there and back. Doing a teleport spell would take too much energy, and then they’d be trapped there until they could recharge and cast a spell to jump back.
Still, portals weren’t easy to come by. “How long?”
“It could take a few days.”
My heart sank at the thought of my friends in the enemy’s grasp for that long. The original vampires could be hurting them, feeding off them. Oh, shit, what if they were already dead? I squeezed my eyes shut to dispel the thought.
“Can’t the sisters expedite your request?” Conah asked Anna.
“A few daysisexpedited,” Anna replied. “Two portals to and from a location will take time to prepare. I wish there was a quicker way, but—”
