Page 82 of Heart of a Witch
She rolled her eyes. “He knows I dabble with witchcraft. He caught me trying to hex my teacher, and I just told him I like to try to do these spells but that I’m not a witch.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Alex, humans playing with witchcraft is just as punishable as being one. If he tells anyone—”
“He won’t,” she stated. “As I said before, he’s not like his dad or his brother.”
“Elijah isn’t like his dad either.”
Cas turned his attention to me. “Don’t tell me you’re catching feelings too?”
“No.” I clicked my tongue. “But I’m not going to lump him in the same category as Damian. He’s not a murderer and doesn’t share the same hatred.”
“Except for thinking witches are demons,” Cas said.
“He doesn’t know any better.”
Alex shrugged. “Neither did Corbin, but he’s open-minded.”
“Good for Corbin,” I snarked and grabbed another cookie. “I’m going to take a bath and after, go to the woods to perform the spell.”
“No.” Cas stood, screeching his chair back. “A lot of the humans are in the woods. It’s hunting season, and many are gathering logs for their fires.”
“I’ll find somewhere else.” I paused. “Somewhere closed off from everyone else.”
Alex bit her lip, sucking it between her teeth, and sighed. “I know a place.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
“It’s this abandoned house. It’s so far out in the forest, I doubt anyone will be out there, and most of the people in this town are scared to go anywhere near there.”
Cas tapped a finger against his chin. “You’re talking about that haunted mansion, correct? I’ve heard some talk about it in the church community. A lot of murders happened there.”
I dragged the pointed end of my nail down my chin. “It’s perfect. Lots of energy to take from too. It’ll help power my spell.”
“Does nothing frighten you?” Cas asked.
I paused. “Only humans.”
Alex looked down at her lap and then climbed her gaze to the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. “I should check on Corbin.”
I grabbed her wrist when she stood. “You better make sure he doesn’t tell Elijah about your grimoire.”
She ripped her wrist from my grip. “He won’t.”
We watched her leave, exchanging a look. We both knew the grimoire was the reason Corbin had almost died, but shoving it in Alex’s face felt cruel, even for us.
“I’m going to the house.”
“Now?”
I looked at the lead-paned window. The snow drifted down outside, swirling the horizon into a flurry of white. “It might be best to wait until morning.”
“Finally, a good idea.” He poured himself a tea. “I’ll make you one.” He handed it to me, and I breathed in the peppermint wisps of steam. “We’re almost there, sister. Once you show the high priest how unstable he is and I begin filtering those rumors through the community, everything will come tumbling down. After, we can kill him.”
I forced a smile, but my stomach was in knots. My heart a little heavier as I sipped on the tea. Ember. I couldn’t bring myself to think of her most nights. It was too painful, and even though we were succeeding thus far, nothing felt good enough. We hadn’t reached the end yet, however, and I knew that once I saw him break, it would be worth it. The hole in my chest will have been filled, and I could sleep at night, knowing we took him down. “There’s still the townspeople who cheered as she was killed.”
“One revenge at a time, sister. Besides, Damian is the one who actually took her soul from this world.”
“You didn’t see her eyes when she realized the town had turned against her, when she knew death was coming for her. She was so scared.”
