The Fae Bound - Juliana Haygert Page 0,4

and I had to kill Lark before that.

This was ridiculous.

Trying to change my strategy a little bit, I went to the very end of the library. I would start over from here and then go row by row, until I met where I last stopped.

But it wasn’t necessary. When I got to the end of the first row, I found a small section on magical potions and dark spells. Hopeful, I pulled out a handful of books and skimmed through them. Some had sections on poisons!

A sudden eagerness filled me. I could do this. I just had to find the right poison.

I sat down on the cold, dark stone floor and started browsing the books. It didn’t take long. I finally found a poison that seemed strong enough to kill a powerful fae. But it took two weeks to brew and required three very rare ingredients: wolfsbane, darkmallow, and faerend.

These herbs could only be found in the fae realm, and I was stuck here, in this fortress in the human world.

I clutched the book tight to my chest.

Somehow, I had to find a way to get out and find these ingredients.

4

Wyatt

The muscles in my body tensed and I stared down the three witches in front of us. Unfortunately, there was no way to measure how fucking powerful they were just by looking at them.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

Myra cocked her head to the side. “Don’t you know? I’m looking for the fae that escaped our clutches.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. I knew exactly who she was talking about. When I first met Farrah, she had been in a trap left by the Bonecrown witches.

Myra took one step forward, her eyes gaining an amused glint. “I think you do.”

Beside me, Ariella stole a glance at me.

“I thought …” I frowned, trying to choose my words carefully. “Haven’t your coven helped Luana and Keeran?” Over three years ago, the queen of the Bonecrown coven had welcomed Luana and Keeran into their estate and helped them learn about Keeran’s past. “I thought you had turned a new leaf.”

A smile stretched over Myra’s red lips. “What, are you saying we’re evil? We like to think of ourselves as neutral. We side with whoever has our best interest. In that case, we helped Luana and Keeran because it fit our own needs.”

“And what’s your excuse now?”

“Now, we have some unfinished business with Farrah.” Myra’s smile faded. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know,” I lied.

Myra narrowed her eyes. “You’re lying. Where are you hiding her?”

I shrugged. “I’m not hiding her.” That wasn’t a lie at all.

Myra didn’t like my answer. She raised her hand and a ray of black magic shot out, coming for me. I jumped out of the way and shifted into my werewolf form.

The three witches attacked full force, and Ariella and I fought back. Myra commanded the show, throwing black bolts at us while the other two witches followed her. I lunged into one, dropping her hard on the ground. I would have gone for her throat, but Myra shot a bolt at my side, making me skid away.

I growled at her.

Then Ariella stepped up her game. She invoked her magic, casting bright light all around us, just like she had done with the fae when she helped Farrah rescue me. The witches shrieked, covering their eyes.

I retreated, closer to Ariella. She purposely aimed her magic away from me, but I still couldn’t open my eyes. She nudged my side with her foot, pushing me back. I kept retreating, but felt as her light became stronger, brighter, and the witches shrieked more.

After a moment, Ariella was by my side. “Run,” she told me. “The light won’t hold forever.”

Relying on my senses, I ran beside her, away from the witches.

When it was safe, she let me know and I opened my eyes.

Then we ran some more.

Ariella and I were mostly in silence as we drove for three entire days, changing borrowed cars at least once a day.

When driving through Colorado, I couldn’t contain my nervousness. I didn’t like being back here.

“I see you’re all jittery,” Ariella said from behind the wheel. We had been taking turns driving every few hours, so we could rest. “Is it because of the witches?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t care about them.” Even if they found Farrah inside the Shade Fortress, they had no way of getting to her.

“Then what’s going on?”

I glanced out the window, to the mountain range rising