Witch Born - LJ Swallow Page 0,22
need to see.
My stomach turns over as the faces of victims flash through his mind, one after another, some glazed over in death and others mouthing for him to stop. Again and again I look for my uncle's face, to witness what Dorian did to him. If I find my proof, I can justify the plans I have for Dorian.
But I’ve mere seconds before Dorian manages to tear his fingers from my grasp. “Get the fuck off me, witch.”
But it's too late, because the last face I saw in Dorian's mind, his face a death mask, was my Uncle Lawrence’s.
“You’re an evil bastard,” I shout out at Dorian and stand.
The dining hall murmur drops into silence as we face off, as Dorian stands too. He slams his hands on the table and leans forward.
“You’re skating on fucking thin ice with me, witch. Pull yourself into line.”
I lean in to him, my revulsion replacing the strange sensation from earlier. “Fuck. You.”
The words are loud enough to elicit a giggle from the nearest table.
I don’t witness Dorian’s response—to their laughter or me—as I stride from the room, head high but trembling.
Blindly, I make my way along the hallway, desperate to put as much space as I can between me and the evil hybrid. Plunging through the door to the courtyard, I step into the darkening afternoon. Soon the hemia will join us in lessons and that’s not something I look forward to.
The door opens and closes with a slam and a red-faced Dorian strides towards me. I brace myself for an assault, no longer believing he won’t hurt a girl.
Chapter Thirteen
“What gives you the right?” he shouts and stops so far into my personal space we’re practically touching.
“To ignore your arseholeness?” I retort.
He leans in, his fringe sweeping my face. “To challenge my authority at every opportunity. Are you crazy enough to fight for my position in the academy?”
I bark a laugh in his face. “No. I want you to leave me alone. I won’t fawn over you.”
His breathing comes fast, his anger rolling over me like the waves hitting the island’s rocky shores.
"You invaded my head," he snaps.
"You put your hands on me," I retort.
He shifts closer. “What did you see in my mind, witch?”
“More than I want to, freak.”
“Try that again, and I’ll ruin you.”
I swallow. “Physical threats, Dorian?”
“Nope. I’ll tear apart your mind, Eloise.”
“You can try, but you won’t succeed.”
Wind lifts my hair and it touches Dorian’s face, and even though there's no sensation on my skin, the fact part of my body touches his infuriates me. He takes hold of my hair and drags his fingers along the strand, narrowed eyes on mine.
“What brought you to Ravenhold?” The intense blue catches my attention and my vision blurs for a second. I laugh at him trying to push into my mind with his weakened magic.
“I raised the dead.”
Dorian blinks rapidly at my words. “Bullshit. You're an elemental witch who's skilled at mental magic too. Nobody can perform necromancy.”
I scoff. "Wrong. You’re a hybrid, but so am I. Only mine is all schools of witch magic rolled up into this delightful package."
"So, it's true then? The Thornbrooks created their master race." He wrinkles his nose. "I expected their experiment to be male."
"I’m stronger than any other person here— even you— and I’ll figure out how to seize my magic back.”
“The Confederacy would kill you,” he mutters, studying my face as if seeing me for the first time.
“They didn’t kill you, and you’re worse than me.”
“Because they can’t,” he retorts. “I’m not stupid. Their solution is to keep me here because they can’t change me. I’ll escape one day and the Confederacy will cease to exist once I’m out there. I’ll pick them off, one by one.”
His sudden decision to share his thoughts catches me off guard and I stare as he rubs my hair between his fingers. Does Dorian believe that he’s capable?
“Necromancer? Shit.” His tone borders on awe but remains hard.
“And you know exactly why that scares the Confederacy, don’t you? I can raise the dead, but also control them. The vampires are terrified of necromancy. That’s why they wiped out necromancers—only they could ever influence an undead, vampire mind for more than a few minutes.” I jab him in the chest. “I can control yours.”
Dorian steps back and gives a mocking laugh. “Since when did you think you’re more powerful than me? Nobody is.”
“Somebody is. You’re here.”
A muscle twitches in his jaw. "You don't know anything."
Buoyed by his