Page 17 of Voices in the Stars (The Lost Witch #1)

Her gaze prickled the back of my neck as it followed my every move while I led us through the small town. The hairs on the back of my neck stood even as I tried to ignore her. The base of my horns itched with the need to rub them. Something about this wasn’t adding up.

She was supposed to be the downfall of the fragile peace Feycrest had, yet she was thrown off that no one looked like her.

I could only imagine she meant the humans, since she knew the witches were all dead.

Even that I still couldn’t fully wrap my mind around.

The humans had been gone for longer than the witches.

They were killed off after my father deemed them useless since they had no connection to any of the magic in the word.

Bile rose to the back of my throat. He forced Leon into that battle as a reminder that no one was safe. My best friend was still a soldier in his army. My father could still force him to do whatever he wanted. I wished it had been me that was sent instead.

A glance back showed she was still slowly following.

Smartly, she chose to keep that hood drawn up.

We didn’t need any more attention. Or, at least, any more than what was already on me.

She looked too. Her ears were too round.

Eyes didn’t have that bright glow the children of the gods had.

No spikes to decorate her face. I racked my brain, trying to remember what made the witches stand out.

There was a loud thump as someone in front of us fell. Fruit bounced across the street but his focus was fully on me. His eyes were wide as they locked onto me. He scrambled to back away from me. Lips moving quickly with prayers before he stood, running away.

I wished the clear avoidance from everyone still didn’t hurt.

The way their faces twisted as they looked at me.

In all my years’ experience, it shouldn’t have.

I should’ve been used to it all. Instead, I was fighting against the animalist urge to scream at all of the whispering onlookers that I wasn’t my father.

There wasn’t any danger here. From me, at least. Though, that might not be as true as it usually would’ve been.

Here I was, taking the weapon right to him.

I tried to shake those thoughts from my head. There was a plan in place to deal with her. I just needed to stay focused on that. Deal with her so I could deal with him after, and make this nightmare finally end. My own and the constant fear these people lived with every day.

First, she needed something to wear. As much as some twisted side of me enjoyed helping her last night, I couldn’t risk us getting close.

She was a master manipulator. The scared look in her eyes proved that.

It wasn’t even a fear of me. That would have been the reaction anyone had of a Saeva being that close to them.

No, it was the fear someone had if they went a long time without knowing kindness.

It had to be an act, and I hated that I was falling for it. Last night couldn’t happen again. I enjoyed it too much, having someone just let me touch them without flinching or reeking of fear.

I’d had one night stands before with women who wanted the thrill of being with someone they believed would kill them.

The number of times they’d asked me to bite them during sex made my stomach churn.

Not that I was picturing how the witch’s blond hair would look spread across a bed underneath me.

I was certainly ignoring the interested twitch of my dick at that thought.

I was old enough to remember how her coven was treated in Kilrest. Everyone loved the witches.

Myself included. At least, I loved one of the witches, Nari.

The same one whose picture felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket.

I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it after Klyn handed it over.

There weren’t many reminders of her left in this world and my greedy self was determined to cling to this little piece.

When Nari died, everything I had of hers vanished with her.

Now I had to take one of her sisters back to him.

My hands clenched into fists. She would’ve been able to talk some sense into this witch.

Convince her that what she was doing was wrong.

How could she be so willing to help my father after he killed the witches?

Set their temple on fire? Used guards to keep them inside until the walls started collapsing?

Why did she get to live while Nari died?

I was there that day. My father’s hand dug into my shoulder as I watched my best friend burn with her family.

What my mind couldn’t understand was how this witch managed to escape.

My father proved that he would never half-ass anything when he set their temple on fire.

He set the fire early in the morning as they prepared for the day.

Everyone was there at the time. He even dragged me there soon after the fire was set just so I could listen to their screams as guards stood at the doors, keeping everyone trapped inside.

I cleared my throat, blinking rapidly as the memory gripped me. How did one witch get so lucky to survive, and why couldn’t it have been Nari?

Focus. I slowed my steps, taking a deep breath.

I was trained better than to lose myself in spiraling thoughts.

I grew out of those after my mother died the same day as Nari.

I was met with the fate of being the only one who could stop him.

Nothing was going to stop me now. Certainly not a pretty face under a hood.