Page 77 of Heart of a Witch
“No, I didn’t think that, and I didn’t expect to like or care about you but here I am, although you’re making it easy to regret that.”
“You should regret it.”
“Well, I don’t.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“You’re relentless.”
I chortled. “You’re no picnic, you know.”
“Last night was a mistake.”
Ouch.“Why? If you don’t care about me, then it shouldn’t be a mistake.” His fingers flexed at his side.
“It was a mistake,” he said, turning slowly, “because it isn’t worth this hassle.”
“You’re the one who wanted to bring me up here,” I said. “I only tried to get to know you, and I may have pushed a little too hard, I know…”
“Why do you keep pushing me?”
My chest tightened. If this was my anxiety, it had a knack for showing up at exactly the wrong moment. I clutched my chest, my eyes glossing with tears.
“Victoria?” His suspicious tone drawled out my name. “What’s wrong?”
“Get away from me.” I pushed his hand away when he reached toward me.
“I shouldn’t have shouted.”
Voices filled my head. I closed my eyes to shut them out, but they were stronger than ever. Reality distorted and fragments of our conversation lingered, but only threads, nothing tangible to hold onto.
“Victoria.” His voice sounded distorted in my ears. I dropped to my knees. “I’m sorry.”
I pressed my fingers against my temples. “It’s…” I was breathless, unable to form a sentence. I searched my mind, but it was broken, and then as if nothing had happened, everything snapped back to normal.
My eyes bulged, and my breath hitched. What the fuck was that?
“Victoria.” His panicked stare landed on my watery eyes. “I’m getting you out of here. I’ll carry you if I have to.”
“No.” I swallowed hard, tracing a finger down my throat. I found my balance and let out half a breath between my barely parted lips. “It was nothing.”
“Don’t.” He white-knuckled the back of a chair. “I went too hard on you.”
I realized I could use my sudden sickness to my advantage. “I feel unwell sometimes, and stress can exacerbate it.”
“Here.” He led me back to bed and helped me sit. “I’ll get you some water.”
“Thanks.” I lowered my head as he hurried from the room. Was it the insanity coming back in bursts from the hexed bag and sacrifice in the forest? I’d been tampering with dark magic more than I ever had, and I knew the toll it took, but I hadn’t thought it would be this sudden.
Elijah returned with a glass of water and some bread and cheese. “Here.”
I ate some of the bread, but my appetite wouldn’t allow for much. I placed them on the nightstand and touched my cheeks. My face was deathly cold. “Do you ever feel like you’re going insane?”
“No.”
“Yeah, that’d be crazy.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “Maybe you’re not fully recovered. Do you want to lie down?”
“No. I’m feeling much better, really.”
