Winston, like Tessa and some of the witches, could pick up on a creature’s basic intent and purpose, commonly known as an aura. He fixed his coffee-brown eyes on Tessa. “And child, neither do you sense enmity in him.”
Damn the Elder’s perception. Winston picked up on more than anyone, as he was so old. “That doesn’t mean he should be let out.” Tessa’s words came out too fast, too defensively.
Hallon arched a brow. “Do you think he’ll turn on us?”
“I don’t know.” Too many emotions jumbled through her mind. The guy already unsettled her. Now her dad was open to not only letting him off the hook, but to go along as they gathered items needed for spells? “I just don’t trust him. I-I can’t.”
“Duly noted.” Her dad approached and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I won’t do anything to put us in harm’s way, Tess. But I need to weigh all the options here.”
“I know.” Just as she had weighed her own options and decided to abandon her personal happiness for the greater good of her people. If her dad decided to involve Scorpio in the harvesting party, she wouldn’t argue against him. She’d said her piece. Bronwy wouldn’t benefit from arguing. “I need some fresh air. Let me know what you want to do.” She gave her dad a quick hug, said goodbye to Winston, and headed out the door.
She purposely avoided walking within sight of Scorpio’s cage. She didn’t want to see him, didn’t want him to see her. Not when every step that brought her closer to him also called forth words that pinged insistently around in her mind.
Honor, duty, oath. No malice.
You’re mine.
Her instincts about people were rarely wrong. It’s just that she’d never had so many differing characteristics bombarding her from one single male. Especially one who had committed murder. And why did she even need to decide anything about him?
That was her dad’s job.
Hiking up an inclined path in the trees, her feet crunched over pine needles. The soft rush of water called to her, and in a minute she was at a high spot on the bank of the river. The current whisked around black rocks below that lined the bank. From her spot twenty feet up, she could just make out several peaked roofs of varying heights, on rightful Bronwy land.
She settled on the soft grass and leaned against a smooth rock. From this position the tree line obscured her old home, but its nearness hummed in the air and in the earth. She closed her eyes, cleared her mind, and simply breathed. In her fingertips she felt her connection to the earth’s metals as it centered her. Knowledge of herself, her skills, and her purpose flowed through her veins. Her people came first, always. She would work to bring down those who overstepped their bounds and infringed on those less powerful.
And above all, no male would define her as his. She’d never allow it.
C
HAPTER
5
S
CORPIO HAD WATCHED THE PROCEEDINGS
of the coven all day. Witches had bustled around, coming and going amongst the buildings and trees, calling out to one another in friendly greetings. If any glanced his way, it was to throw him an angry glare, but none had used any magic.
Must be waiting for the chief. Scorpio wasn’t complaining.
Earlier, two of the guards on rotation at his cage had looped magic rope around his hands and taken him to a stream that branched off the main river. One kept a venom-dipped arrow trained on him, the other a blue ball of witchfire, and instructed him to bathe. Scorpio hadn’t minded the icy dip, the weapons, or the rope. The chance to wash a week’s worth of stink off his body and get into clean clothes was welcome.
After all, he had a mate to snare.
Inga had stopped by at one point with a bowl of vegetable and meat stew. Lash demons didn’t need to eat every day, but Scorpio hadn’t eaten in days, and the meal was damn good. Good enough to bring Jinx back, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
“I don’t think so, cat,” Scorpio muttered. “Unless you go fetch your mistress. Then we might have a deal.”
Tessa’s scent clung to the bars of his cage. The irony wasn’t lost on him that he was caged both by the bars and by her presence. She didn’t know it, couldn’t know it yet, but he wouldn’t leave here without her.
Honeysuckle scent tortured him all day with arousal and the need to claim. But he wasn’t lost to lust. His tactical core saw her as a complex mission, one that had to be won. No other option except success. But he may as well be facing a sheer rock wall with dragon slime on his hands and no climbing gear.
Didn’t matter. He’d been through hell and survived. He was up for this challenge. His little witch would come to him.
As if on cue, light-booted footsteps crossed the ground. Scorpio did his best to bite back a grin and resist asking her if her ears were burning.
Still in that gray tank top, she’d changed into black cargo pants and wore a backpack. Her dark hair was pulled up into a thick ponytail. Blue eyes met his, glaring.
“Nice to see you, Tessa.” He savored the way her name rolled off his tongue.
She ignored him, dropping her gaze to her pet. “Get out of there, Jinx.”
The cat brushed her ribs against Scorpio’s right leg, then settled between his ankles.
Tessa rolled her eyes and let out an irritated breath. “Whatever.” She rested a hand on her hip, and the clink of metal on metal drew his eyes to her fingers.
A collar and set of manacles. Hmm.
“Let me guess.” His eyes roamed from the restraints, up her toned arms, to her sexy mouth. Every inch of her beckoned to the primal, mate-frenzied demon inside him. He softened his tone but couldn’t hide the rumble of desire that laced his words. “We’re going somewhere, and you want to make sure I don’t get too far away from you.”
Her brows shot skyward and an adorable flush crept up her throat. “No.” She closed her mouth, then grimaced. “I mean, yes. We’re going—never mind.” She swallowed hard and half turned to the path behind her.
Her ruffled state encouraged him. He devoured her uncomfortable stance as she folded her arms awkwardly over the metal hardware. “No worries, Tessa. I’ll stay close. That’s a promise.”
A tiny shiver shook her shoulders, though the air was warm. “Good for you.” But if she’d been trying to sound pissed, she’d totally failed. Her voice betrayed a mix of feelings, not all of them negative.
“Where are we headed?” He lowered his voice to a lazy drawl, wanting to see how far off kilter he’d pushed her.
“Hallon will explain.” She didn’t look at him, but instead flicked a glance over her shoulder, to the path where the chief mage was heading toward them.
Several males walked behind the chief. Four. This could go either way. Getting out of the cage, with its dampening spell, would only benefit him. Then again, if they were taking him somewhere, bound and spelled, that might suck. “How about a hint?”
She looked at him as though he were crazy. “You can wait thirty seconds.”
“I’d rather hear it from you.”
“Why?” She scowled.
“I like your voice more than his.”
“Well, he’s the chief, so too damn bad.” She turned as Hallon stepped closer, nodding in approval at the items she held.
“Scorpio.” The chief stood tall, authority rolling off him. “There’s been a change in our plans for you.”
Scorpio kept his expression neutral, waiting. One of Hallon’s guards held a pair of black gloves, which he recognized as fire-dampening. Meant for him. This could still go either way.
“As a Watcher, you possess a unique skill set that will benefit us. As long as you’re here, we’re going to put you to work.”
Interesting.
Scorpio waited, motionless. Working for them was better than being killed or hit with torture spells. “In what way?”
“We need to travel into our enemy’s land. You will accompany the group, using your inherent sensory skills to watch out for any danger to the Bronwy witches. If we come under attack, you will do what you can to defend us.”
“Defend you from what?” As far as he knew, these woods held nocturnal dire wolves and a lot of fae creatures. Not exactly a hot spot of predatory demons.
Hallon folded his arms. “A rival coven.”
Vespera.
“So I’m the target for dark magic and witchfire?”
“You’ll be what we want you to be, demon!” A male hissed. Scorpio recognized him as the boulder throwing mage from last night.
“Quiet.” The chief flicked a glare at the male then looked back at Scorpio. “You will undoubtedly be a target, along with us, but we need your help. What lies within it is rightfully ours. But our lives are endangered every time we need to cross the border.”
Scorpio nodded as Zeebi’s earlier words came back to him. “My capacity for defense will be limited if my hands are bound.” He looked pointedly at the manacles in Tessa’s hand.
“We hope it won’t come to that. If you use your senses, we can get in and out without being detected,” Tessa said.
“We? You’re going?” Scorpio’s protective instincts flared. A job they considered so risky, they’d take him out from behind bars to utilize his skills, and she was going to be in the middle of it?
“I created these, so of course I’ll be there.” She shook the cuffs and collar. “I will spell them myself once they’re on you, and only I can remove them.”
Hell. If she was going to put herself in danger, he wouldn’t let her go without him. “I’ll do it.”
She arched a brow. “You don’t have a choice, but that attitude will make things easier.”
“When do we leave? How many are going?” He stepped closer to the bars, drawn by the thought of Tessa’s hands on him, even if it was to put magical restraints on. Gods, this woman could restrain him all she wanted—
“Not so fast, demon,” one of the guards barked. “You’re the muscle. If it even gets that far, which it better not. You’re the guard dog here, along to sniff out any goddamn Vespera witches before they find us. You follow orders. You don’t call any shots.”
Scorpio eyed the male, noting the clench of his fists and the tic in his jaw. He was angry and nervous and, though big for a mage, Scorpio still outweighed him. Breaking a limb would be easy. Snapping his neck, easier still…He blinked the thought away. Killing was so ingrained, he didn’t even realize the thoughts were forming until they were already complete, like optional end points in a lethal game.
But killing wasn’t why he was here now. If Bronwy wanted him to be on protection duty, fine. These people could treat him like shit but if they were important to Tessa, he wouldn’t retaliate.
“Enough,” Hallon said to the male. He held Scorpio’s gaze. “I trust you understand what we are asking of you. If you betray us, it will mean your death.”
“We want that anyway,” an older female piped up, from the side of the guards.
Hallon ignored the outburst.
Scorpio held the leader’s gaze, detecting a man burdened with responsibility and trying to do right for his people. Not a male who was vicious and power-hungry. Scorpio had seen hundreds of those in his years. Had killed hundreds of those, seen the frenzied look of shock in their eyes when they realized their life was over.
Hallon wasn’t like that. But he was guarded. Smart man.
“You don’t need to worry about betrayal,” Scorpio said. His eyes shifted to Tessa, meeting hers for a second before she looked away. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
“See, he’ll be fine!” A short man pushed through the guards. Crazy gray hair topped his round face and he leaned in to peer at Scorpio. Though he could pass for an absent-minded professor, a distinct hum of magic surrounded him, and Scorpio would bet money he was one of the coven Elders. “I told them to use you, as long as we’ve got you.”
“Yes, Winston, you get credit for the idea,” Tessa muttered, but slid a respectful glance to the male.
“You will leave in a few minutes,” Hallon said.
“Hey,” Zeebi shouldered past the guards to stand by Tessa. “Sorry I’m late. Oh.” She looked at Scorpio. “I guess I’m not too late. Here, I can hold some of that.” She took the thick metal collar from Tessa.
“Guard,” Hallon murmured to the male who’d been by the cage all day.
The male stepped forward and unlocked the door.
Scorpio knew he had a split second where he could try to run. But he’d given his word. And he wasn’t going to make things any more complicated with Tessa than they already were. Shit, he’d just met her, and they had a whole village’s worth of baggage already.
The guard blocked the doorway with his body and quickly tossed ensorcelled blue rope around Scorpio’s neck. The others drew weapons out of habit. Completely expected. And unnecessary, though they were wise to be cautious.
Gods, it was like being led like an animal. He’d had his share of this shit in the past, when he was basically owned by Dalamos. He’d seen his siblings treated the same way. And these witches had reason to be wary of him…in their minds, anyway. It would take time for them to trust him.
He stepped out onto the soft dirt, drawing a deep, invigorating breath. His body hummed to life, power building in his cells. His palms itched to summon demonfire, just because he could.
But before he could take his next breath, another guard slipped the gloves on his hands. Made of black leather, they were commonly worn by Lash demons in sensitive negotiations, to ease the minds of any creatures involved who didn’t have the ability to summon fire in their hands.
The guards stepped back, leaving space, and seemed to wait for something. Slowly, as if it were the last thing she wanted to do, Tessa moved forward. One tiny step, then another. She clutched the manacles and kept her eyes fixed on the middle of his chest. Knowing what she needed him to do, he extended his hands.
And then Tessa was right in front of him. He forgot to breathe as her slender hands pushed the black metal handcuffs over and around his wrists. Though her skin didn’t touch his, only the leather, the slight pressure of her fingers entranced him.
No bars between them. Inches away. She was as tall as his shoulder. A stray tendril escaped her ponytail to caress her temple. Her chest rose and fell as she murmured a spell that caused the cuffs to shrink and fit around his wrists perfectly. Soft pink lips moved in an ancient dialect, her voice a low, breathy murmur that made his head spin. That mouth. She could be spelling him into a magical coma and he’d be okay with it.