Page 14 of The Unbound Witch

“Do you think we should get out of the wagon?” Raven asked, her soft blue eyes searching both of ours for answers.

“We’ve left the mob behind, but they will chase this couple. If we don’t want to be tied up with them, we need to part ways.” Grey ran his fingers through his hair, shifting as if the wooden floor below him might be more comfortable in a different position.

“I saw the look in that man’s eyes,” I said quietly. “It’s the same look Scoop would get while hunting. He’s never going to stop. And he knows what you look like. We should put a little more space between us before we split up.”

“Okay,” Raven whispered, her voice a near rasp. “I think I’ll sleep now.”

She nearly fell onto Grey’s shoulder as her eyes closed. We shared a wary glance, but said nothing more as her breathing slowed.

* * *

“A day’s walk?”Grey asked Henry again as the sun peeked over the mountain on the horizon, pushing away the final remnants of the fog we’d traveled through in the early morning hours.

We stood next to a small stream, cascading over slick rocks, the landscape of grassy hills, splattered with sparse clusters of trees. The air didn’t hold a trace of smoke, embers, or even ash. I wasn’t sure how far we’d gone during the night, but Raven had only woken long enough for Grey to shift some items around in the back of the wagon so she could lay down on some of the stiff blankets we’d grabbed from the old people’s death trap of a home. Even when Victoria had swapped places and I’d taken guard over her, she’d barely shifted.

“A long day’s walk,” Henry confirmed. “Just follow the stream north. You’ll come to a crossroads, continue on the northeast path and you’ll find it.”

Grey held out a stiff arm, but Henry pulled him into a hug. “You saved our lives, son. Thank you.”

“Don’t burn any more houses down with a getaway plan you haven’t practiced.”

It was odd to watch him with the old-timer, looking down at him as if he’d been the one in command. He might have been the high and mighty cousin to King ‘Do As I Say’, but he carried himself as if he’d been giving commands for years. But then I supposed he had, representing the king to the witches for most of his life.

“You gonna die?” I asked Raven as soon as the oldies were gone.

“No.” She pressed her wrist to her forehead. “I’m feeling better now that we’ve eaten again, and I had a chance to rest. I think it was just the stress of the last couple of days.”

“Oh yes,” I teased. “I always get stress nosebleeds. How ‘bout you, Grey?”

“At least once a day.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “You know what? I think I liked it better when you two didn’t get along.”

I reached forward, flicking the back of Grey’s ear. “I’m pretty sure we’ve always gotten along.”

“How are the legs?” he asked, eyes looking down at Raven’s thighs.

“I’ll manage. Just as long as you stop reminding me about it.”

We strode in silence, confident we’d find the town with Eden Mossbrook by the end of the day. Within ten minutes, I was already bored of swaying back and forth and around them as they walked. I’d stopped in front of Grey three times, forcing him to pass through my figure. I felt a swirl of his emotions in each instance. The final time I’d done it, he’d threatened to expose me to the humans. When I’d begged him to do it for sheer entertainment, he ceased talking altogether.

“Let’s play a game,” I offered, hoping to pass the time.

Raven’s hair swirled around her in the wind. She grabbed the loose tendrils, twisting her hair into a simple long braid as she asked, “What kind of game?”

“Majority vote wins. Who do you think would win in a footrace? Ophelia or Endora?”

Grey snorted. “Ophelia, hands down.”

“What?” Raven gasped. “No way. She nearly died in the poison Trial. It’d be Endora for sure.”

“Endora would never in her life run a footrace anyway,” he retorted.

“That’s not the point of the game, Firewing. And I’m with Rave. Endora would kick her ass, cane or no cane. That’s a point for each of us, and you’re in last place. Your question.”

He remained quiet for a long time, picking up stones and throwing them as he thought it through. “Okay, Storm Coven, Moss Coven and River Coven are all in a three-way battle. Who wins?”

“Are we going based on numbers or skill?” I asked.