The Wicked Born

Chapter 13

Author's Note: Hi, guys! This chapter is dedicated to SuzyQorganic because of the amazing comments she never fails to leave on my chapters! Enjoy :)

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"Wait!" Laurel's voice squeaked before Tabitha was even able to open her mouth to protest Dacre's statement on her own. She stewed silently at the what she'd heard the two discussing only minutes prior, every predatory instinct in her body telling her to rip Laurel to shreds for the insults that she dared whisper of the witch, but she let the girl speak instead.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. It's not safe enough for you," Laurel hurriedly told Dacre, rising off the log and briskly walking over to where he stood. There was a frantic pleading in her eyes that Tabitha couldn't quite place the reasoning for. She chewed on the inside of her lip, contemplating the gut feeling of unease that she constantly had around the girl, until the tangy taste of copper overwhelmed her senses. It was a nervous habit the usually-collected witch had picked up.

Tabitha couldn't help but notice the studying gaze that Ellias was sending the frail girl, his dark eyes searching her up and down as if he could find the answers to his questions just by looking at her gait. Tabitha wondered if he was trying to figure out why she looked so panicked, as well.

"That's ridiculous. It'll be no more dangerous for me than it will be for her," Dacre dismissed, tearing his gaze away from Laurel's to find Tabitha's again. The determination she found in the green irises staring back at her and the set of his jaw almost made her own resolve against his ridiculous idea falter. Almost.

Tabitha cleared her throat, ripping her gaze from his. She looked at Laurel, who continued to regard Dacre with a look of fear, paying no heed to the witch sending an icy-cool glare her way. "I agree with her." Laurel's eyes then snapped at attention to Tabitha's, confusion taut in her countenance. It was obvious that the girl wasn't expecting the witch to side with her. When Tabitha turned to face the other two, their faces showed the same look with more in them. Ellias' face held a small hint of annoyance at their predicament, and Dacre's held fury.

Tabitha forced herself to hold Dacre's gripping stare, an unspoken challenge crackling the air between them. His full lips were set in a hard line, the tell-tale sign of his resolution. Tabitha set her mouth in the same way as his, mimicking the opponent in front of her. Dacre finally broke the stare to laugh a mirthless sound.

"You're joking, right?" Tabitha raised an eyebrow and almost spit something out along the lines of does it look like I joke? when he quickly continued. "You realize going in blind basically makes your chances of making it out with Bexley slim to none." Tabitha's answering silence was all that he received in response.

Anger flared in his face as she spoke, his fists continuously clenching and unclenching while she continued. "It's too dangerous for a human to be on the inside. Ellias and I will enter by ourselves. If we get caught..." The implications hung in the air around them enough so that she didn't need to finish her sentence. They'd fight their way out as best as they could, but even a witch and warlock could be overwhelmed on the battle field with enough of the King's forces. Despite the tales told over campfires about their kind and the obvious advantage of their fast healing, a simple dagger to the heart could kill them as easily as it could a human. That fact was lost on none of them as they filled in the blanks of what Tabitha had said.

"We'll have enough to worry about on the inside to add babysitting you to the list," Ellias intervened. Dacre growled in response and took a powerful step forward, his expression furious as he regarded the warlock. But Ellias remained standing beside Tabitha with his hands clasped behind his back and rocking back and forth from his heels to his toes, as if Dacre weren't three feet away and sending him looks that would make any man sweat. "You need to quit letting your childlike feelings for Tabitha cloud your judgement so that you can finally see the bigger picture."