Page 149 of How to Flirt with a Witch

The door is behind me, but I feel her presence in the room, wrapping around me like a supportive embrace.

“N-Natalie,” I stammer, keeping the blade pointed at the snarling dog.

“Back up toward me,” she says, sharp and commanding.

I take one, shaky step back.

Wyatt barks and lunges, no less ready to kill than he was a minute ago.

A bookshelf flies across the room and stops between the dog and me, forcing him to back up. He snarls and snaps at it. Books lift from the tipped-over shelves like birds, flapping above him, and he snatches one out of the air and shakes it, sending pages flying. The sounds he’s making send a deep, primal fear through my veins, urging me to get away.

As hard as I try to avoid looking at Freddie, my gaze pulls to his lifeless body, to the scarlet pool spreading around him. My eyes sting, tears rendering the room into splotches of brown and red, and my throat tightens until it hurts.

I killed someone.

“It’s okay, baby. Keep coming.” Natalie’s voice is soft and reassuring.

The books still fly, distracting Wyatt, giving me precious seconds.

A sob escapes as I force my feet toward the door, following the soothing sound of Natalie’s voice.

At last, I hit a warm, sturdy body, and I could sink to my knees in relief. Her strong hands close around my shoulders and tug me hard, forcing me out the door with her in two stumbling steps.

I trip over my feet and fall into her.

Wyatt leaps over the bookshelf, racing toward us.

Natalie’s arm shoots out beside me, her palm open, and the door to Alchemy 8 slams shut, trapping Wyatt inside.

We lose our balance and topple backward. The katana clatters to the floor. I land on Natalie, her body cushioning my fall.

The dog barks frantically, his claws scratching at the door with enough force to rattle it.

“Are you okay?” Natalie’s voice is loud, urgent.

“I—I’m fine,” I stammer, my tongue barely working.

The katana lays beside me, soaked in blood, and the spray has covered the front of my shirt and jeans.

Natalie slides me off her so she can roll onto her side. She crushes me to her chest, burying her face in my hair and inhaling deeply. She plants a line of frantic kisses before pulling back to look at me. “Did they hurt you?”

“No. I don’t think so.” Resting my head on the cold, stone floor, I meet her dark eyes. Her expression is so terrified and vulnerable that the crushing reality of what I’ve done reaches a peak.

I cover my face, trying to smother my panicked breaths and the sobs that want to escape. “I didn’t mean to…” I say into my hands. “He was coming at me…”

But Ididmean to, didn’t I? After what they did to Hazel, I was out for blood. I wanted Freddie Madsen dead. What kind of monster am I?

Natalie’s fingers lace through mine and pull my hands down from my face. She caresses my cheek and pushes my sweaty hair back. “You had to. It was him or you. Him orallof us.”

I nod, wanting to believe her, but guilt and horror wrap around me like a noose. I blink back the sting in my eyes, trying to calm my breathing. Am I doomed to see Freddie’s lifeless body every time I close my eyes from now on? Will I forever wonder whether that was really necessary, or if there was another way to stop him?

A clamor in the distance reaches my ears, and we both turn toward it.

“The Shadows are here,” Natalie says.

My heart leaps. “Thank God.”

“We’ll see.” She frowns, a deep crease appearing between her eyebrows. “They might be too late.”