Page 93 of The Unbound Witch

35

RAVEN

“Five minutes, half an hour, I don’t care,” I fumed. “They’re not going to be safe in there. We have to go after them right now.”

“Atlas is smart. He can manage this. It’s better for us to go in here if we can.” Torryn pointed to a more southern spot on the map, while Bash remained silent, watching the door. “If we can get there without having to go through the majority of the swamplands, it’s a better strategy. If we follow Atlas, we land all the way over here and have to sneak through.”

“We’ll use two doors,” Bash answered. “It’s still going to be dangerous, and we have to stay very close together, but we can check on Atty, then leave as long as they are good.”

“If we were going to do that, we should have just gone with them,” I said.

“It’s easier to hide a wolf and a witch than all of us, and you know that.”

“Are you sure you should go?” Eden asked. “If you’re not feeling well, you can stay.”

“I’m not going to break,” I snarled.

And that was it. No push back from Bastian, no need to treat me like something fragile. If I wanted to go, he wasn’t going to try to stop me. Torryn’s wink solidified my decision.

“Rule one?” Bastian whispered into my ear as he shifted into Grey.

“Don’t touch magical shit floating in the air.”

“Rule two?”

“Trust no one.”

“Atta girl,” Torryn said, flinging his heavy cloak around his broad shoulders. “You’ll have to tell me about the floating stuff later, though.”

Grey’s dimple was the last thing I noticed before standing ankle deep in sour water beneath a heavy covering of willow trees and giant oaks with low hanging moss. It felt like standing between freshly hung sheets drying on a line. Moving the moss to the side, a swarm of bugs flew out, buzzing and stinging my skin.

“Shh,” Torryn said, bringing his finger to his lips.

Without another thought, I cast the spell over us that would silence our footfalls. At least we wouldn’t be heard splashing in the water. But Torryn shifted beside me, his beautiful flowing tail a near mockery of the gorgeous wings spread above me as he lifted from the ground and soared forward.

Bastian placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me down to a crouch in the putrid water. We waited as the strix went on toward the rushing sound of the waterfall. A whistle. The great scream of a magical bird pierced the air and Bastian was up and on his feet in seconds. He wouldn’t be able to fly fast with me, and we’d sworn to stay together, so we ran.

My heart raced, matching the falls of my feet, the warm water splashing until I was nearly drenched, panting as we approached Torryn, standing next to Kirsi, who cradled Nym in her lap.

“They took Atlas,” Kirsi said. “I tried to stop them, but I couldn’t help both of them.”

“Which way?” Bastian snapped.

Nym shuffled in her arms, coming to, and Kirsi sagged in relief, pointing to where Atlas had been taken.

Torryn leaned down, scooping the golden witch into his arms. “She’s waking, but we need to go. He won’t last long.”

“Take her satchel,” Kir said, holding the bag with a baby white tiger inside. “He won’t grow larger without her magic, don’t worry.”

Bastian cast a door and we raced for it, skidding to a halt as another appeared beside it.

“Take her to Crescent Cottage,” he told Torryn. “When you step back through, be ready for anything.”

“Yes, sir.” He turned to Kir. “She’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Okay,” she whispered, watching him cross through the magic door.

“You can’t let yourself be distracted,” he said to Kir. “Either go with him or be fully here.”