Page 43 of Ransomed to the World
“I knew I liked you.” A hearty slap on her back nearly sent Annora sprawling, and she smashed face-first into Mason’s chest. Boisterous laughter filled the village, and she found herself being dragged away. “Come, let’s put some meat on your bones.”
Annora cast pleading looks at her guys but saw that they were in a similar situation. A tankard of beer was shoved into her hands, and a roar went up as everyone lifted their mugs in a cheer. For the next hour, the trolls drank enough to sink a ship, while wrestling and laughing and some even openly fucking.
And for the first time, she saw Mason embracing his true self, laughing and joking with other trolls. Now that Flora was no longer there to torment and taint his experience, he was accepted as one of them. The rest of the guys, along with the wolves, mingled with the trolls, eating and drinking.
To her surprise, Logan stayed away from the alcohol. His self-destructive habits had vanished over the past few weeks. She’d seen him struggling at times, saw his hands shake, heard him throw up while his body detoxed, but he remained determined to be a better person. He was changing, coming into his own, and seemed to be truly happy. Even the nightmares seemed to be fading a bit at a time.
Nerilla caught her attention, then jerked her head away from the others, shoving away two overly friendly trolls in her path while she made her way toward a smaller fire. Annora glanced at her men, glad to see them joking and laughing. Not wanting to disturb their fun—not knowing when they’d get the chance again—she followed the queen.
But she should’ve known better—the instant she turned away, the guys followed.
The wolves were slower to extract themselves and covered their retreat. Loulou and Willa were silent as they were hustled away between two of the larger ones. The wolves hovered at the perimeter of the fire but kept their distance.
The queen smirked, her greenish-grey skin carrying a rosy tint of too much liquor. “Your men are very devoted to you.”
Annora stiffened, and Nerilla snorted, rolling her eyes. “I have no use for your small men. I have decided to give you a warning. Now that we’re allies, I can officially tell you a faction within the witches is actively hunting you. They’re about a day’s march from here. They’ve been camping out for over a week, trying to make a deal with us to hand you over.”
Annora studied the growing shadows as evening fell, half expecting to see the witches crawling out of the surrounding trees. “Why tell me? Why align with me when you can make an alliance with them for more?”
“Witches are a bunch of pussies.” Nerilla noisily cleared her throat, then hocked a wad of phlegm into the fire. “You dealt with us honorably. You’ve proven yourself in battle. War is brewing, and paranormal species are taking sides. I believe you’re the stronger bet. We’ll fight with you when the time comes.”
The queen tipped back her cup, draining it so fast the liquid dribbled down her chin. Even as she lowered the mug, she swiped her mouth with the back of her arm. “You’ll need to leave tonight if you want to escape. Go through the tunnels. It’ll take the witches time to pick up your trail on the other side of the mountains.”
Stunned that the trolls had decided to back her, Annora cleared her throat, grateful for the warning. “Thank you!”
“Good luck to you. Make sure you succeed.” Nerilla turned away, scratching under her massive boob, then belched loud enough that it seemed to echo in the darkness as she vanished into a cluster of trolls.
“There’s no more time to train.” Edgar rubbed his brow as he gazed at her, his blue eyes troubled. “We’ll have to head toward the city.”
Without a plan or a firm grasp of her powers.
She and her men were going to be easy pickings for her father and his minions.
Fuck.
“The witches must have officially called a hunt,” Camden snarled and began to pace.
“I don’t think so.” Xander crossed his arms, his legs spread. “Director Greenwood would’ve gotten word to us if it was true.”
“If it’s only a small group of witches who are hunting you, there could be a third option.” Willa flicked her nails, seemingly unaware of the small flame dancing between her fingers, her powers rising with her unease. “They knew you were getting farther away from them, so they must have called in outsiders who have no affiliation to the covens.
“Hedge witches aren’t usually as powerful as a classically trained witch, but they can be more vicious and deadly if given enough incentive. If they’re offering a place in a coven, they’ll do anything to bring you in…even if it kills them.” She looked down, scowling when she noticed the flame. She clenched her hand into a fist and doused it.
“I thought we’d have more time,” Logan muttered, running a hand over the back of his head, a hint of snow fluttering around him.
Xander grabbed Logan’s shoulder, then nudged Mason. “We’d better gather supplies.”
When Logan passed, Prem jumped off Loulou’s shoulder and landed on his back. The kitsune swore and spun while he tried to pry the critter off as they disappeared into the crowd.
A few of the wolves chuckled and followed. Unease churned in her gut, and Annora braced herself for a fight. “We can’t take the wolves with us.”
“Whoa!” Loulou stalked forward, waving her arms in front of her. “Not acceptable. We do this together.”
Warmth filled Annora’s chest at Loulou’s ferocious scowl, and it was all she could do not to hug her. “You’re one of my best friends, and I need you to be okay when I get back. Taking you and the wolves will be too dangerous, especially if we have rogue witches after us.”
Loulou huffed, plopping her hands on her hips, her big blue eyes fierce as they shimmered in the firelight. “I don’t like it.”
“Annora’s right.” Willa nibbled on her lip. “But we might be able to help by giving them a head start.”
