Page 12 of The Witch's Pet

My relief that she didn’t say “Riley” is immediately smothered by a flood of dread. My stomach plummets through the floor.Permanent?

“It—it’s full,” I say, my voice coming out squeaky.

“So we have until sunrise, more or less,” Julia says tightly.

Sunrise. That’s it. Then we’re bound forever.

God, I’m supposed to start university next year! Faculty of Arts. My acceptance letter is on the fridge. I’ve been working my ass off, saving every dollar, so I can get a real degree and a real career that will pay the very real bills Mom and Dad left me with.

I picture myself trying to go to class, make friends, and live a normal life while tethered to this witch. Always weak and helpless, trailing behind her like her obedient familiar.

Nope. Not an option.

“Let’s go, then,” I say through my teeth, checking the time on the stove. 6:33 p.m. If I have any fucking say in this matter, we’re going to break this spell before bedtime.

“First thing’s first.” Julia strokes the air with her fingers as if to beckon some invisible force toward her. “I require power. I’m depleted.”

“Fine. How do you get more power?”

“A sanguine witch must feed.” She tilts her head. Her gaze lingers on my throat before moving down the rest of my body.

A tremor ripples through me. “What do you mean,feed?”

She sighs, like I’m asking too many questions. “A person’s life force typically sustains me for a lunar cycle.”

My blood runs cold. Is that what she tried to do to me outside? Feed on my life force to replenish her magic?

I grip the chair in front of me, trying not to let my hands shake.

“Oh, stop acting like a scared little bunny,” she coos. “The binding spell protects you. I can’t drain you without sacrificing my own life too, and I’m not in the mood to die.”

“How comforting,” I say dryly.

“It should be. I need you alive, which makes you the safest person in the world when you’re with me.”

I scoff. Safe? I’ve never felt more in danger than I do right now. But I refuse to give her the satisfaction of admitting that. She’s probably the type of sicko who gets an inflated ego over being feared.

She hums, squinting past me out the window over the kitchen sink. “If I can’t feed onyou, then I’ll need another source.”

I follow her gaze, my skin prickling. The Walshes’ TV is still flickering through their drawn curtains. “What happens to a person you feed on?”

Julia walks toward the back door, looking over her shoulder at me with a raised eyebrow. “It’s tidier if I don’t leave them alive to ask questions and send the pitchforks after me.”

Jesus Christ. I’ve bound myself to a serial killer.

My heart thuds against my ribs in time with her steps as she approaches the door.Thump. Thump.

I can’t let this happen. As scared as I am, and though I know nothing about magic, one thing is certain: I would rather die than let her murder innocent people. I’m the one who unleashed a monster, and she’s my responsibility now.

4

Hannah

Summoningeverydropofbravery I have, I run past Julia and launch myself between her and the door, blocking her with my arms crossed. “You arenotgoing to murder anyone tonight.”

A flash of surprise crosses her face, but she regains her composure quickly and opens her arms. “Then by what means do you propose I restore my magic?”

“You don’t. As long as we’reboundor whatever, I’m not letting you kill anyone. You can find some other way to refill your magic—or lose your power. I don’t care.”