Page 57 of The Unbound Witch

I lifted my gaze to meet her sharp, green eyes.

“You are not alone.”

If I could have cried then, I probably would have. I felt so very alone. In the long hours of the nights, but also during the day in a room full of people that didn't understand me. Didn't understand that I'd changed so much. Raven was my rock, and I would die again for her if needed, but it did not mean she understood my sorrow.

“Thank you, Nym.”

She held out her hand. “Spin the golden bracelets along my arm. One full circle for each one. I will count. We can practice until touch becomes second nature.”

I reached for the first band. “I only had an hour. I’ll have to get back soon.”

“Then you’d better get started.”

One, and two. Three and four. The fifth was hard. The sixth, easier. Up and up I went, spinning her heirloom bands. Eleven and twelve until finally I reached the thirteenth bangle. Thirteen.

“Thirteen,” I said, surging upward. “Nym, tell me the thirteenth band is for your mother and not for you.”

She scrunched her nose. “No, it's mine. That's why it has my name etched into it.”

I shook my head, confident I'd be sick if I were alive. “We need to go. Right now. Come on.”

She yanked on the corset string a final time, securing it to her waist. “Why?”

“Because the Harrowing is not random. And you're a target.”

All emotion fell from her face as she looked down to the cats first and then back to me. As if he sensed her shock, Talon leapt from his spot, shifting into a full-grown tiger in a blink. Scoop yawned, ambling over to stand beside Talon, keeping him between Nym and me.

“What can we do?” Nym asked as we rushed through the streets. “How do you even know?”

“I'll explain later,” I yelled over my shoulder, heading straight for the library, hoping someone, any one of our crew, would be there. Nym followed behind me with the cats trailing her sprint.

As if the goddess heard me, Torryn and Atlas stepped out of the giant doors as one. It took the wolf one second to see the look on my face until he was running for me. A fierce warrior, ready to attack.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded at once, a growl in his voice.

“No. It's not that.”

“What is it?” Torryn asked, the sword at his back already drawn.

“It's Nym. I know you don't know her, but I need to find Grey. She's the thirteenth witch of her family.”

The color drained from Atlas' face. “Do you know where the castle staff are?” he asked Nym.

“They're back that way,” she answered, pointing down the street. “There's a group of huts if you go around the corner past the flower stand. They would either be there or close to the market square, there's a larger home. They've taken in some of us as well.”

“Stay here,” Torryn commanded, shifting into his strix form before flying away, his beautiful cerulean tail flowing behind him.

Needing no provocation, the wolf did the same, surging down the street in the opposite direction, toward the huts we'd just come from. There was absolutely nothing any of us could do if the Harrowing struck Nym. I knew that with my whole heart. But it didn't make the truth of it any easier. She could not be saved. Still, if we had a witch we knew would be targeted, perhaps we could shield her with magic. Put her in a barrier similar to something the books were in. If the magic could not get in our way, then maybe there was hope yet. We had to try.

Raven and Grey followed Torryn back, walking briskly but not running. They clearly did not want to alarm anyone, but the panic on Raven's face was clear.

“Are you sure?” she asked before they'd even gotten to us.

“I'm sure,” I answered, hovering close to Nym. “She's the thirteenth.”

“Grey, could I talk to you in private?” I asked, sharing an apologetic look with Nym. “I have an idea, but it's not one we can speak of out here.”

He jutted his chin toward the library and though I knew they wanted to, no one else followed. The second the door clicked shut, he shifted to Bastian, that shadowy look on his face, every bit the Dark King.