Page 19 of The Witch's Pet

I must be smiling because she says through her teeth, “Does something amuse you?”

I lift a shoulder. “Just interesting to see an all-powerful witch afraid of public transportation.”

“I’m not afraid,” she snaps.

“Right. There must be some other reason you’re leaving finger dents in the seat.”

I probably shouldn’t be teasing someone who tried to kill my neighbor an hour ago, but watching her white-knuckle the bus seat makes her seem less like a threat and more like an ordinary human who is out of her depth—which is almost worse because it makes her harder to hate. Anyway, I’d rather joke than think about how completely my life has derailed. Sarcasm I can handle. Existential terror, not so much.

She releases her death grip, smoothing her cloak with dignity. “In my time, if something moved this fast, it was trying to kill you.”

“Welcome to the future. Everything moves fast and nothing makes sense.”

“Finally, something we agree on.”

My lip quirks. “You can relax, though. I’ve been riding the bus since I was a kid and it’s safe. I mean, we’ve never crashed.”

Safemight be a generous word, especially at night, but she doesn’t need to know that.

Julia makes a sound somewhere between disgust and resignation, watching the dark landscape blur past. “This speed just seems excessive.”

“What’sexcessiveis you murdering people for breakfast.”

“Breakfast, supper, the timing is irrelevant.” She waves a dismissive hand. “But I do noteatthem. I feed on essence, not flesh.”

“How civilized of you.”

She studies me, her gaze burning the side of my face. The silence that follows is not quite comfortable but not hostile either.

I drum my fingers on the empty seat in front of me, glancing out at the full moon. We’re in a row of three seats at the back of the bus, away from the other passengers’ listening ears, but I still keep my voice low. “Why did this Rebecca person bind us, anyway?”

Julia is looking away from me, but her reflection in the window shows a flicker of surprise. “Why are you asking?”

“Whywouldn’tI ask?”

She shifts to face me, though her hands stay anchored to the seat. “What?”

“I need to know what I’m dealing with. How magic works.” Anything Julia can share about what the hell is happening and how we plan to get out of this mess would be super helpful.

She scowls. “I suspect she wanted to ensure nobody would want to free me. Why would someone wake me knowing they’d be subject to a binding spell, right?”

“Things that would’ve been nice to know earlier,” I mumble.

Her laugh is low and rich, sending a shiver down my spine. I have the sudden urge to say something clever just to hear it again. Which is ridiculous. I don’t care what she thinks of me.

“Butwhydid she do this to you?”

Julia is quiet, watching the dark landscape and flowing traffic. Finally, she says, “My turn to ask a question. Where did you get that journal?”

The question hits me like a knife in the heart. “Someone gave it to me.”

“Who?”

“A girl.”

“What girl?”

I chew my lip. I can’t tell her my theory about Riley being a witch. If she thinks Riley had anything to do with her curse, she’ll want to hunt her down. And as much as I hate Riley right now…