Page 71 of The Unbound Witch
“And this leaf,” Atlas said, studying the bottom of the cup.
“He could sleep for days with that amount of venica root mixed with a gurriand leaf if the power was spelled properly,” Clariss said.
“It was,” Raven and I answered in unison.
“Moonstone witches are born herbalists,” I continued. “And if not born, then taught before they can walk. There’s a reason Crescent Cottage is worth traveling to.”
Clariss shook her head. “Better get comfortable. It seems we’ll be here for a long time.”
“No. He will be drowsy, but that will only make this easier. Atlas, shift. You’re going to become his nightmare.”
A wide grin spread across the pup’s face before he melted into the beautiful white beast and stepped to the edge of the circle. A low growl rumbling from behind his teeth as he crouched down. The king cast once more, penetrating the dreams of his victim until he was thrashing on the cottage floor. Nikos’ eyes flew open, his mouth carrying a soundless scream as he came face to face with the beast. Though sluggish, he scrambled backward, slamming into the edge of the salt circle that held him in place.
Bastian’s inky shadows seeped along the floorboards, begging to break the barrier and smother Nikos. As if they had a mind of their own, they inched forward, pulling back at the last minute and trying again. A physical embodiment of what the king wished to do, it seemed.
I moved closer, unable to help my curiosity as I took in the terrified face of a man I once thought a friend. His eyes were wild, frenzied. His dark blond hair tousled in all directions, even his clothes, now discarded in a corner, were more crumpled than usual. But there was something else. Something I wasn’t sure the others noticed, or would have, aside from Raven. The crow’s feet around his eyes. The withered look growing along his hands. These weeks must have aged him, and something told me Nikos had more of a story to tell than we could ever guess. A marking glowed on his arm, and he twisted a hand, but his mouth could not form the words for his command.
Raven cast upon him, pinning his bare arms to the ground beside him, holding him there. I locked eyes with Bastian, and he dipped his chin. I wanted one single question answered, and he’d grant me that favor as an answer to a promise he’d made when I died. Nikos thrashed about, drool falling from his mouth as he fought against the magic. A prickle of sunlight gathered in the far corner, and I wondered how much of this day Nikos would see.
“Cat got your tongue?” Bastian asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.
Nikos’ eyes doubled in size as he huffed a breath, looking between Raven and Bastian, questioning what he was seeing.
“I believe the word you’re searching for is ‘how.’” Bastian answered as Atlas released another growl, following the circle until he was sure he’d be seen. “We won’t be answering your questions today.”
The king whipped his hand through the air, and a tendril of his dark shadows surged forward, crossing the barrier and plummeting into Nikos’ chest. He writhed. Lifting from the ground, still silent, as pain wracked his body and sweat beaded on his forehead. The shadows retreated, hovering in a ball as Nikos fell limp, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.
One second passed. Two. And then the ball of shadows struck again, disappearing until all of Nikos’ veins turned black, creeping over his skin like a spider’s web. His back arched as much as he could with his hands pinned to the floor.
“Bastian,” Raven whispered.
But the king did not relent. Did not look up. Simply pulled his magic away and struck again like a serpent. There had been rumors of the king’s shadows, but no one truly knew their purpose. And though I didn’t fully believe this was the extent of that magic he wielded, I was confident he’d trained long and hard for this moment.
“Your Grace.” Torryn’s low, firm voice was like a tidal wave in the room, shaking everyone from staring at the spectacle.
The shadows lifted from Nikos’ body, hovering like a ball of smoke above his chest. Bash knelt to the floor, whispering, though he remained deadly calm. “If you so much as think of casting a spell in this room, hell will descend upon you in ways your mind could never imagine. I will pull your bowels from your body inch by inch, keeping you lucid and alive as you watch me turn you inside out. Do you understand me?”
I heard Raven swallow and swooped closer to her. This would not be an easy day, no matter what the man on the floor revealed. Nikos nodded frantically, eyes locked on that ball of pain. Bastian bowed to Clariss, and she stepped slightly behind Torryn before removing her magic.
The scream that ripped from Nikos’ mouth was one of agony and irritation and ire. I could have bathed in it. The satisfaction of hearing him suffer. To watch a man struggle is to stand on the outside of his thoughts. But tohearit ... The vibrato in his voice, the string of pain… Maybe I was sick and twisted, but then maybe I’d lived and died for this moment of salvation. Nikos may not have killed me himself, but he’d certainly been responsible. I only needed to know by whose hand.
“Where are the coven leaders?” Bastian asked, squatting on the floor near Nikos’ head, staring at nothing.
“My words are bound,” Nikos spat.
The king shook his head. “No. Wrong answer.”
The ball of shadows fell, colliding with Nikos’ chest. Again, that song of pain ripped through the room, mixed with gasps as a pool of crimson seeped from below him. Atlas inched forward, nearly touching the circle as he snarled. Nikos flinched and turned his head away, his eyes locking with mine as a single tear slipped down his cheek. My answering dark smile must have shocked him because he closed his eyes in defeat.
“Okay,” he rattled. “Stop… and I will tell you.”
Bastian pulled the magic away, and a marking on Nikos’ forearm lit, he opened his mouth to scream but didn’t get a single syllable out before Clariss stepped forward, casting the silencing spell she’d once used on Raven. Bastian rose to his feet, shouting with fury as he swung his hands forward and let all of the shadows cascade around the room into the barrier, smothering Nikos until we could not see him.
The moment they pulled away, Nikos’ pale face turned to look at the king, and he nodded frantically.
“That was your one and only pass to test me, asshole. Now give me a reason to let you walk out of this house. And don’t tell me your words are bound. You’re too smart to agree to that, so let’s skip the bullshit and get to the point.”
Raven flinched, likely remembering when she had bound her words to the coven leaders. Again, Nikos nodded. As Clariss withdrew her spell, he rolled to his side and vomited.