The Elf Witch |Book 1|

Chapter 26

Playing with Esa's note in her pocket, Imani made her way upstairs.

My friends and I will be at the top of the tower in the east wing at midnight.

While easy today, she anticipated the rest of the Assessments would be brutal for her—dominated by physical magic wielders. These princes came for blood. If she couldn't use whatever ability her most powerful physical magic brought her, she needed to give herself every advantage.

It crossed her mind to unbind her power anyways, accepting the consequences. But with the utter destruction of Malis' home, Imani feared the atrophic magic would get out of control. It would be a death sentence for her and probably any others in the vicinity when she let it out, and she had her siblings to think of now.

The irony of finally having such powerful magic to protect herself and not being able to use it wasn't lost on her.

She pressed her fingers to her forehead, feeling the constant whispering grow louder and a headache coming on. It didn't concern her. Her binding was nowhere near as powerful as Ara's had been since she'd sacrificed a life, but it held firm against most witches.

Servants scurried past as she made her way up the stairs, running up the palace's side. On the wing's top floor, several men guarded each end of a long hallway with only two doors. No one spared her invisible form a glance, and she quickly slipped by.

Glancing around, she knocked on the door as softly as possible. No answer.

She knocked again, louder. No answer.

Smothering a frustrated noise, she tried to open the door. Locked.

None of the lock-picking enchantments or charms she knew worked, and her temper flared. After this day, her patience had run out, and she took out her wand.

A black tendril of wispy smoke curled from it and flowed underneath the door.

Unlock it, Imani ordered her shadows.

A faint clicking noise made a grin tug at her lips.

She could feel the wards over her body, stripping her illusion and glamour away, but they let her pass.

Everything was opulent and far more massive than hers. Who lived here? The hallway flickered with elegant sconces. Faint murmurs drifted towards her from the main room, and Imani padded closer to the orange glow emanating from the fire, forgetting that she stood entirely without glamour.

Leaning against the wall, a male stood with his shirt unbuttoned and much pixie-size in his arms.

A pool of something heavy and unpleasant stirred inside her.

"Kiran—"

—He cut Esa off with a kiss. The pixie moaned into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck.

A strange nausea-like sensation roiled her stomach as she pictured Kiran inside Esa, his muscular body wrapped around the pixie's.

Cornered and tricked, heat surged in Imani's veins, jarring in its suddenness and strength. Then, shadows dimmed the room in a rush, teetering close to becoming darkness as they pounded against their restraints.

Stiffening at the shift in the light, they both whipped their heads toward where Imani stood rigid, wand out.

With just a thought, she extinguished the sconces for a few seconds, not caring if they observed her magic. Then, let loose, the hearth flicked, cowing at her presence.

"What is the elf witch doing here, Esa? Is she the one you've been working with?" He appraised Imani's tense posture yet made no move to untangle himself from the pixie.