Page 32 of Witch Untold
I gritted my teeth. “Okaymight be pushing it.”
Leif, easy-going, chill Leif, had lost his shit. Tor, the one I’d expected to lose his shit, had been the one to calm things down.
Yeah, I had a long way to go to getting to know my mates.
“They don’t like it. But I didn’t give them a choice, because…I don’t have a choice, Sloane.”
We took the stairs down to the lower level of the mansion. An area I hadn’t been to yet, probably because the door to it was hidden by a tapestry.
The corridor down here was narrow and gloomy. The stone walls and floor told me this was an area that had escaped renovation and probably didn’t get many visitors. The air crackled with low-grade power that had the hair on the back of my neck standing to attention.
We came to a halt outside a wooden door etched with runes.
Sloane turned to face me, lips pressed together. I swear, if she said Ididhave a choice,I’dlose my shit.
“I get it.” She smiled wryly. “We go to crazy lengths for the people we love. After all, why save the world when those you care about can’t be in it? Why save the world if it means losing your loved ones?”
It was a selfish thought, and it was precisely what was in my heart. Yeah, I was a selfish bitch, and I didn’t give a shit.
Sloane pressed her palm to the door and the runes lit up. “Let’s load up, grab Lauris, and get the fuck out of here.”
* * *
The armory was filledwith weapons that looked like they’d been pulled out of a medieval novel. Maces, double-headed axes, and swords in every size.
“Artifacts from bygone times.” Sloane headed over to a cabinet lined with dusty vials filled with colorful liquids. “Some of these potions are a hundred years old. Super potent for making magical booms.”
I trailed behind her, rubbing my nose to dispel the itch provoked by the dusty air. “Aren’t potions a little outdated?”
“Not if you’re up against something that can mute your abilities or cut off your access to miasma.” She turned to face me, eyes bright with possibility. “Maybe that’s what’s happened to Jasper. Maybe he’s been cut off from his power.”
The thought had crossed my mind, and I wanted to believe it, but, “He’s been cut off from me, Sloane, and if that connection is severed, then it means Jasper is gone…to wherever an untethered malevolent spirit goes.” I shook my head, tamping down on the anxiety that gripped my belly. “Fuck it. I’m not going to dwell on it. We need to get there and see for ourselves.”
Sloane pulled open a drawer in the cabinet and removed two strange-looking holsters. “We’ll need these potion holsters. They go diagonally across your torso and the pockets are padded to protect the vials.” She handed me one. “Put it on.”
I clipped on the contraption and stood still while Sloane loaded me up with pretty vials. “It would help if I knew what the different vials do…” I offered her a droll smile. “You know, so I don’t accidentally blow my own head off.”
Her gaze flicked up from her task to lock with mine. “Don’t worry, Cupcake. I won’t let you get hurt. Promise.” She winked and my pulse skipped. “I’ve set them in the holster from least potent down to most.” She trailed her fingers diagonally across my body from shoulder to hip. “These top two freeze-frame the target for two minutes. These middle two will incapacitate more aggressively. There will be pain. And these final two will blow shit up.” She headed toward the stone wall lined with iron cast hooks holding weapons, plucked a mini sword from one of them, and turned to face me. “I assume you know how to use one of these.”
I’d only ever wielded daggers, but how much harder could it be to wield a mini sword? “I can handle it. Pass me the mini sword.”
She snorted and passed it over, pommel first. “God, you’re so cute. It’s called a short sword, you know, on account of it being shorter than a regular sword.”
“So what do you call a sword that’s longer than an average sword? A long sword?”
She arched a brow. “Pretty much.”
“Shit, now I feel stupid.”
Sloane chuckled. “So fucking cute.” Her expression sobered. “Go grab your winter gear and I’ll meet you in the atrium at dusk. We can portal from there.”
“Dusk? We need to go now.”
She gave me a flat look. “Didn’t Anna say we had to take Lauris?”
Oh, shit. I’d forgotten that it’d need to be sundown for him to be… “Wait, I thought Lauris couldn’t shift to stone.”
Sloane’s eyes filled with pity. “He can’t, but he’s still immobile like the other gargoyles during the day. Immobile and…aware.”
