Page 74 of Heart of a Witch
“He traps them inside cursed objects, which are hard to come by in Salvius.” He half laughed, then sat upright. “You know, I don’t really fancy talking about my father while I have a gorgeous woman lying at my side.” He leaned in, trailing a kiss along my collarbone. “I’m not sure I want to do any talking at all.”
I pressed a finger against his lips, stopping him mid-kiss. “Humor me,” I pleaded. “Tell me, how do you know witches are demons? I’ve heard they’re not demons at all, but the result of ancient gods and humans having children together.”
He laughed softly. “Rumors created by them to hide their true natures.”
“I’ve read it in historical textbooks dating back centuries. I doubt it’s all a blanket lie. I mean, it doesn’t explain why there’s an entire land of witches to our east, and they even created a barrier to protect humans.”
His forehead creased. “I… They don’t want us hunting them again.”
“Surely if they’re demons and there are hundreds of thousands of them, then couldn’t they easily beat us? I don’t see why they’d be afraid of us.”
“A century ago, we burned witches at the stake, and in turn they killed us, even binding their grimoires with our skin,” he explained, though I already knew all of it.
“Strange.” I paused, and his blond eyebrows flicked upward. “How so little has changed since then. Witches are no longer hunting us, and yet here we are, in a town with gallows erected, and witches aren’t even given a fair trial.”
“They shouldn’t be in our kingdom.” He sat upright against the blue headboard. “If they had any sense, then they’d go to be with their own.”
“Maybe they have a good reason for staying.”
“Like what? Are you a sympathizer or something?”
“No.” I swallowed thickly. I’d pushed him too far. “I just like to question things. I don’t see why I, nor anyone else, should accept anything as truth without digging a little deeper.”
He loosed a sigh, then kissed my temple. “Calm down.” The small act tensed my shoulders.
He was treating me like a fucking idiot. I always did have a hard time controlling my temper. “I won’t. I’d rather have my own mind than just follow the herd.” I climbed out of bed, doing my best to shrug off my annoyance. “I assume you’ve arranged for a carriage to come.”
He put his hands in the air. “I’m not attacking you. You’re right. It is good to question things, and yes, I have sent for a carriage.” He watched me scramble for my clothes, scoop them into my arms, and run into the bathroom. There was little point in hiding my body from him now. He’d seen and touched every part of it.
Once I was back in my dress, I emerged from the bathroom, tying my hair up. “Good.”
He’d dressed too and was pushing back his hair. “Except the carriage won’t arrive for a couple of hours yet.”
“Fantastic.”
“I’ll make you some breakfast,” he said quickly.
I chewed it over. “It better be good.”
A hint of a smile crossed his expression. “Yes, your highness.”
I almost laughed, but I caught myself.
I looked at him over my eggs after he finished serving us. “When do you leave for training?”
“In a few weeks. My fathers pushed the date forward. The high priest is coming soon, and everything stops when he comes to town.”
Interest piqued, I leaned in. “When exactly?”
“I can’t recall. I’ll know once I go home though. Every preparation is being made for it, so I’m sure it’ll be soon.”
I scratched my nail against the surface. “You don’t like this priest…”
He shrugged. “I don’t hate him, but my father gets so uptight when he arrives.”
“How long will he come for?”
“He usually stays for a week, sometimes ten days. He never lingers too long. I only wish my father wasn’t so ready to lay his life down for the man. Next to Zerheus himself, he sees him as a saint.”
