Page 51 of The Witch's Pet

Rebecca checks the grandfather clock in the corner. “I should turn in. Thank you for hosting such a lovely circle tonight, Elizabeth. The evening turned out better than I ever dreamed.”

She flashes me one more cold smile on her way past, and what I wouldn’t give to blast it right off her face. But I must be patient. I’ll have my opportunity to get revenge once I’m free from her spell.

Before leaving the parlor, she turns back, stone-faced. “Try not to drain this one dry before morning, Julia.”

I flex my fingers and say nothing, unwilling to open that box by responding.

Her perfume lingers in the air after she’s gone. Jasmine. It makes me nauseous.

I turn away to find Riley and Hannah staring at each other, a silent conversation passing between them. It adds to my annoyance. This is not the time or place for juvenile love stories.

Rebecca’s slow footsteps retreat up the curved staircase.Creak, creak, creak.

Only once the sound has faded does Elizabeth say quietly, “I don’t wish to get in the middle of whatever business you and Rebecca have with each other, Julia. You’re both my coven sisters, and I open my doors to both of you. Stay. I’ll consult the grimoire and do what I can to help.”

Relief trickles through me. Any help by a coven sister is welcome in this desperate situation.

Hannah and I make eye contact, fleeting and tentative.

In that brief glance, I see as much confusion as I feel raging inside me. Somehow, she’s going to have to offer me everything…and trust me not to take it all.

15

Hannah

Totalsurrender?

I can’t do this. I can’t make myself that vulnerable for someone, least of all Julia.

Panic claws up my throat, suffocating me.

What did she do to make Rebecca exact such complicated revenge? Am I teetering on the edge of death with every second I spend with her?

“I—I need to think,” I stammer.

I bolt for the door, my feet carrying me into the cold October night before my brain catches up. The wind bites my bare arms and shoulders as I stumble down Elizabeth’s stone steps and into the darkness beyond the manicured gardens.

I want to run to the road and hitchhike somewhere, anywhere, and pretend none of this happened. But the binding spell tugs hard at my chest—this magic leash that won’t let me stray too far from my personal monster.

I grit my teeth to keep from grunting in pain. Fighting the pull with every step, I reach a dense forest beside Elizabeth’s property. Evergreens scrape my arms and legs as if trying to help the spell drag me back, but I keep going.

When the pain becomes blinding, I lean against a tree, clutching my chest. Every cell in my body is screaming for me to go back to the house to ease this agony. I wheeze each breath, refusing to give in.

Julia hasn’t followed. Why would she? She knows I can’t escape. I’m trapped in her orbit like a satellite, destined to either burn up on reentry or slowly freeze in the darkness.

My heart stumbles, like it’s struggling to stay beating.

“Dammit,” I hiss.

I take three careful steps closer to Elizabeth’s mansion, which is just a faint glow peeking through gaps in the trees. My heart beats a little easier, so I stop, breathing through the agony.

Branches creak. Dying leaves rustle. Somewhere, a critter chirps, making me flinch.

Sweat prickles my hairline, but the night is biting. I shiver, still in my freaking camisole and leggings.

An oak tree sprawls beside me, its branches stretching out to offer a place to sit. I brace against it, feeling the rough bark and soft moss under my clammy palms as I ease down onto a thick branch.

Knowing Julia must be experiencing the same pain makes it easier to stay put. She deserves this. I don’t know why Rebecca did this to her, but in this moment, I hate her as much as Rebecca does for putting me through this torture.