Page 40 of The Unbound Witch

“What the hell are you doing?” Kirsi shouted, the panic in her voice jarring.

They didn't answer, just took the small window of opportunity to run, sliding across the deck until they were closer to us, Atlas still limp and completely unaware of our plight. There was no questioning the fear in Eden's trembling fingers as she shoved the Grimoire into the ivory satchel that crossed her chest. Perhaps she originally thought it would be safer in her hands. She retied her rope while Bastian helped Torryn with his. They'd made it, but only just as once again, the ship was tossed sideways then tilted to the side so far, I could reach down, dangling from the rope and touch the sea. A surge of power jolted through me. I jerked ramrod straight.

“I have to do it!” I screamed, loosening the cord around my waist.

“Raven, no!” Bastian countered, reaching for me as I pushed from his arms.

“I can't let us die without trying.”

Eden flicked a glance toward me, and I knew she was telling me to do it. I saw my mother in that desperate plea. The friendship that they'd had long ago, the life Eden never got to live because she sacrificed everything, believing she was helping the world. She was brave, and so was I. Come what may, I had to do what I could. Drawing the magic from the deepest part of my soul, fighting the restriction of the substantial barrier we still had not passed, knowing the spell would not be as strong as it could be, I cast, turning myself into a conduit as lightning surged for me. Bastian lunged for me, but the rope held him back, drenched in rain, devastated. I flung my arms out, daring that storm as wildly as the ship's captain had to come for me and not the ocean. To provide a reprieve from the relentless battering. I thought I was strong enough to save us all.

I was wrong.

For five long seconds, the storm settled. The world fell silent as the ocean rippled below us, causing the ship to bob but not toss. The barrier was mere feet away, the sheen of a blue light an arm's length from the side of the boat. Blood poured down my face, seeping from my nose. A breeze, a shift in the water, that's all we needed. But as if the goddess knew we'd somehow cheated her magical barrier, the skies erupted and the ocean turned into a giant whirlpool, waiting to devour us all. Bastian lunged for me, Eden screamed, and Crow abandoned his ship’s wheel to join us, knowing there was nothing more to be done. The three remaining crew members on deck held onto their ropes as the ship swirled.

Torryn yelled, the velocity of the motion violently pushing him into the slick railing while he held on to Atlas, now slung over his shoulder. The motion of the spin pinned us all back, smashed uncomfortably into the wooden handrails of the deck's perimeter.

“The barrier,” Kirsi shouted, popping into view. “It's right there”

For a flash of a second, we'd crossed it. A surge of magic, a breath, and then nothing as we were swept out again.

“Everyone, get ready. Untie the ropes and hold the baluster.” Bastian grabbed me by the collar of my dress and yanked me toward him until there was hardly an inch between us. Rain poured down from his lashes, streaking his cheeks. “Don't you fucking let go of me, no matter what happens. Promise me.”

There was something he wasn't saying. Even now. Seconds from promised doom, he'd kept something from me. I'd have to process that later because he closed the distance, desperately kissing me until we were both struggling to keep our grip on the slippery rail.

“I'm going to cast the door directly below my feet as soon as we cross that barrier again. Do not hesitate to jump,” he yelled to the others as they crowded in.

And then we waited, letting the ship swirl one final rotation. The barrier flashed. Bastian cast. I squeezed my eyes shut, holding only him as the world silenced, and we fell through our miraculous saving grace.

17

RAVEN

Ididn’t register the fall. Only the onslaught of power coursing through my veins as if I’d been walking in a fog that decisively relented. As if I could finally take a fresh, full breath of icy cool air into my lungs after walking through a fire. Something in the air was off, though. Something heavy and familiar. I couldn't quite place my finger on it. We landed in a heap of tangled limbs on the floor with Kir hovering above us, her eyes glued to me as if watching for my reaction.

“What?” I asked, pushing off the hard ground, only then noticing the terracotta pots toppled over and the broken shelves in Crescent Cottage. The whole shop had been ransacked. I caught her glance at Bastian before she shrugged and moved away as if they’d been anticipating something.

“How do you feel?” Bastian asked, tying his hair back as he scanned me from head to toe with dark eyes, his familiar markings appearing on sun-kissed skin.

Torryn crouched low, placing Atlas gently on the floor and covering him with a blanket that had been tossed to the ground. I cast healing over the injured shifter, noting the sag in his body as the magic caressed him. I’d missed this feeling of power, but I was also immediately struck with unnecessary fear of it, remembering the death spell, remembering the totality of it. Maybe I’d never heal from that trauma.

Torryn’s heavy boots thumping across the floor shattered my dismal thoughts. His knuckles brushed my forehead, golden eyes heavy with concern until he was satisfied I wasn’t seconds from death. If Atlas was the loyal wolf, Torryn was the wise owl. My heart opened to him a little. As if it recognized the gentle giant for what he truly was. Kind and protective.

Closing my eyes, I felt for the swell of pain within. The pounding on my temple, the weakness in my knees. I took the longest breath I’d been able to in days. “I feel better. Alive. Not on the brink of death. All wins.”

“Good god, it smells awful in here.” Kirsi moved her hand over her nose though I wasn't sure what that did for her. “What is that? I haven’t been able to smell a thing for days.”

I lifted a single shoulder, confused. “I don't smell anything.”

“That'll probably be your new aversion to sage,” Eden said, stepping in a slow circle, drawing all of our attention to Crescent Cottage.This was the first time I’d seen her with markings. Though she looked like she belonged in this world now, it felt strange knowing they’d been hidden for so long. She must have felt the same as she ran her fingers up and down her arms, looking at the small symbols she hadn’t seen in more than half her lifetime.

The damage was severe. Though the heavy front door was still intact, almost nothing else was. Whoever had pillaged the shop was clearly looking for something. Crystals scattered the floor like shattered glass, dirt from all the plants covered the floorboards. I only hoped my mother hadn't been in to see it. If she had, I could only imagine the things she'd construed in her mind.

“What happened to this place?” Atlas asked, his voice strong, as if the magic I’d cast had healed him completely. He lived, thank the goddess.

Bastian and Torryn darted for him, one pressing him into a headlock, the other an arm around his waist.

“Still alive, assholes.” He shoved an elbow into Torryn's shoulder, holding his side. “Guess I have you to thank for that.”