Page 48 of The Unbound Witch

Icould nearly feel his heart break. As if the shattering of his world had been the decimation of my own. I couldn't look at the remains of his childhood and not feel the tears threaten to come. His face, Grey's beautiful face, was stoic, save the darkness in his green eyes that spoke every trace of emotion he tried to hide.

“The Grimoires.” He pointed to the partial walls standing in the distance. “Let's go.”

“Bash,” Atlas muttered.

But the Dark King was having none of it. He stormed forward, swiping the ash from the air in front of him, the rubble of his castle crunching beneath his boots as he led us. He was hoping for a miracle. But he was denied. The books’ pillars stood, some of the walls remained, but all six relics contained in the sacred room were gone. The power they left behind coated my skin in something comforting yet full of sorrow.

“The people?” Kirsi whispered, inches from my side.

I couldn't look into her haunted eyes knowing Scoop had been here. He hadn't joined Nym in the final Trial. I'd left him sleeping on my bed that morning. Curled into the ray of sunlight beaming through the bedroom window.

“Let's go,” Bastian said, casting another door as pure white as freshly fallen snow, a deep and impactful contrast to the rubble surrounding us.

I wondered if he controlled the makeup of his magical doors. If somewhere in the white was a memory of what the castle once was before his mother had turned the Fire Coven territory to ash.

As the others stepped through the door, I grabbed his hand to pull him back. “Are you okay?”

He cut a glance to the castle over my shoulder and back to me. “The only home I need is you.”

“Bast—”

He stopped my words with a kiss, gripping my face as he stole my breath. When he finally pulled away, closing his eyes to rest his head on mine, I hugged him tightly.

“I will not mourn bricks and mortar. Only the memories.”

“But if you want to talk about it…”

“Don’t mistake my silence for sadness, Little Witch. It’s simply the foundation of my revenge.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward his magical door, saying no more about it.

We stepped into a bustling town of children laughing and playing, and witches hurrying to and fro with loaded carts pulled by steady horses. Taken aback, the clean brick buildings that lined the streets held my gaze. In so many ways, it felt like the Moon Coven from my childhood. Before the poison of the world skewed my view of it. Laughter and chatter and a world of happiness seemed so far away from the reality we knew the world to be.

“The Fire Coven?” Kirsi asked, her voice as awed as I felt.

“Home,” Atlas answered, his shoulders slumping.

Torryn clapped a hand over his friend's shoulder. “Home.”

“What's the plan, Grey?” I asked, breaking the trance over Bastian, as his mind was no doubt still somewhere in the ruins of that castle, in his decimated legacy.

“You two are free to go,” he said, reaching a hand out, in an attempt to shake with Torryn.

The large man looked down, eyes fierce as he refused to take it. With a lifted chin, he spoke. “I wouldn't abandon you on your best day. I'm sure as hell not leaving you on your worst. I can't speak for the pup, but I'm with you.”

“As if I'd miss this,” Atlas said.

“If they killed everyone in my castle, there will be no mercy.”

Atlas rubbed his hands together, a wicked smile on his handsome face. “Even better.”

“We need to meet with the Fire Council. See if they know …”

A large, burly man rounded a corner, the familiar face needed no time to stroke my memory. He walked with a limp, but the moment his brown eyes landed on Grey, he halted. Then burst into motion as he ran for us. Several members of this coven, and likely most of the shifters, knew Grey and Bastian were the same man. Seeing him stand here in the street after believing he’d died was undoubtedly jarring.

For a moment, just a second, I nearly hid behind Bastian. The Old Barren reminded me of my grandmother's death. From the black uniform he wore, to the hard set on his aged face. He could have been there. Could have been the one that took her life. I had to remind myself that we were now on the same side. Turbulent as that may be.

“You've seen it?” he said by way of greeting.