Page 34 of Rise of the Witch
“Yes,” I hedged, watching Nox as he leaned back to consider this new piece of information, his usual scowl replaced by something resembling concern. “My mentor told me, to become the Yaga, I would have to kill her. But she must have spelled the blade because when I brought it down, it wasmyheart that was pierced.” I rubbed my chest, the scar throbbing worse than usual since the séance. “All I remember is being whisked away. It felt like when Kosch...the deathless one stole me from the Tsar in his magical whirlwind. I must have grabbed Baba Yaga as I went because she tumbled, shrieking, into the depths of the underworld with me.”
Nox’s attention snapped back to me, his focus so intense that I flinched. “How did you return from the Nav?”
I shuddered at the memory of that night. “I don’t actually know. The next thing I remember, I was back here in the hut as it moved through the forest to a new location.”
Tan perked up, signature humor back in place as he grinned. “The hut can actually move?”
“It has legs, doesn’t it?” I smiled in return, relishing the solid presence of these men. It was such a rare feeling, being able to share the pain that had weighed on me for so long, to be able to trust others to receive it without judgment. Anthia had always provided a listening ear, but this was a connection that felt wholly unconditional.
The bliss was short-lived as Nox abruptly stood up, his serious gaze still riveted to my face. “Vasi, how fast can you organize everything to change locations?”
Having finally started to relax, I blinked up at him in confusion from my delightful cocoon of Asa’s arms. “Probably a few days to get everything packed up and meet with the shifter clan leaders...why?”
Nox seemed to avoid the gazes of the other men before turning and striding toward the door, calling over his shoulder, “I just think we should move out...before something bad happens.”
Chapter 28
Vasilisa
Iwasn’t entirely sure why Nox was so adamant about us changing locations, but as someone who greatly respected the power of intuition, I didn’t care to question him too heavily about it. Not to mention, I liked to move my hut and homestead every so often anyway, not only to avoid trouble but to better monitor different areas of this vast forest.
After being gone for at least a couple of hours, Nox reappeared just as we were preparing for dinner. He was quiet as we ate and claimed his usual sleeping area at the far side of the cabin, all traces of his earlier interest in me erased.
Tan and Asa had invited themselves to share my bed the past couple of nights—first at Harbison’s and now back atop my stove. While I certainly didn’t mind being nestled between the two of them as we slept, I’d been too emotionally drained for us to do little more than kiss and caress, which meant both men were now eyeing me over breakfast with barely restrained desire.
The feeling is mutual.
“So, Anthia and I have been keeping an eye on some unusual occurrences in the forest,” I chatted, attempting to redirect their heated focus as I cleared the table. “Trees and animals seem to be decomposing faster than what’s natural.”
Tan and Nox simply listened, but Asa nodded, “I saw it too. When we were still lost out there, I watched a rabbit decompose before my eyes immediately after I shot it.”
“What the fuck?” Nox hissed, arms crossed and scowling, back to his usual unpleasant demeanor. “Why don’t you talk to us anymore? We’re a fuckingteam,remember?” Despite Nox’s intimidating glare, Asa stood his ground, although a flash of guilt crossed his pretty features.
This is about more than the current topic.
Ever the peacemaker, Tan gently cut in, “What exactly did you see, Ace?”
Asa dutifully gave his report, carefully monitoring my reaction. “The rabbit seemed to be rotting into the ground where it lay, but the instant I lifted it up, the decomposition stopped.”
I nodded thoughtfully, absorbing this valuable insight. The areas Anthia and I were monitoring had already been affected by the time we discovered them, and even when I was brought to where the wolf shifter had died, I was only observing one moment in time. Making a mental note to ask Luperca if the clan had noticed anything unusualaftermoving the body for burial, I turned to Nox. “All the times you patrolled these woods, did you ever witness anything like this?”
Nox blinked at me like a deer in the headlights. “Noooo...but we didn’t really concern ourselves with dead animals and fallen trees.”
Just the violation of shifters.
We quickly discussed the tasks we would each handle that day as we prepared for our move. Tan and Nox would focus on cleaning up the gardens and outbuildings while Asa would accompany me into the forest to meet with some of the shifter clans. Having decided that riding would allow us to cover more ground, Asa and I climbed onto the chestnut stallion and headed into the woods toward the swan shifter settlement.
“You know, Vasi,” Asa whispered in my ear, making me shiver. “As this is apparentlymyhorse, I would like to give him a name.”
The request seemed innocent enough, but as Asa’s style was far more subtle than Tan’s, I suspected I was being led into the sweetest trap. “Hmm…” I hummed. “That’s a good idea. Did you have anything in mind?”
He tilted my chin back toward him, leaning down until our lips were so close I could feel his breath on me. “I think I should name him something...sweet, so whenever I ride him, I can pretend it’s you beneath me.”
My toes curled, a small gasp escaping me as every inch of my body responded to the promise in his tone. I twisted in the saddle, yanking his curls and pressing his mouth to mine, needing him immediately. To my surprise, Asa only allowed a quick kiss, torturously running his tongue along my upper lip before gently pushing me away. Smirking down at me, he whispered regretfully, “I’m afraid it seems we’ve arrived at our destination.”
Someone loudly cleared their throat behind me, and I spun to find the swan clan leader eyeing us distastefully, violet eyes hard and mouth twisted into an annoyed scowl. Anthia stood a few paces behind him, attempting to hide her amusement behind freshly manicured nails. “Hello, Gerard,” I called, praying to the Goddess I wasn’t blushing too severely. “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”
“Let’s make this quick, Yaga,” he snapped, spinning on his heel as we dismounted. “We have a real mess on our hands here and I need to get back to dealing with it.”
