Witch Born - LJ Swallow Page 0,77

you think you’ve got what it takes to beat us, Dorian?” he asks.

“Fuck you,” he snarls.

“If you want the witch, you’ll have to find her first—and beat this guy before he rips you to pieces.” Marcus chuckles and tips his chin at Ethan. “Dorian assaulted Eloise, Ethan.”

“No. He didn’t,” I rasp out. “Ethan. Don’t do what they want. Remember who you are. ”

Marcus looks down at me. “Give Zeke my regards,” he says.

Magic stronger than I’ve felt before screams through my mind and I shout out in terror, unable to fight back.

Chapter Forty-Three

I’m face down on the ground and my body is numb. The image of the drained guy from the Nighthold pictures careens into my mind along with an image of Dorian’s face. I heave in a breath and choke as dirt fills my mouth. Confused, I roll onto my back. What does solitary look like?

When I see the pitch, starless sky above, I know why I’m numb and why I breathed in dirt. I’m lying on a mixture of stone and soil and nearby the sea smashes against the rocks below. I push myself to a sitting position and shake from the cold deadening my skin. I’ve no jacket, only the sweatpants and long-sleeved shirt I wore earlier.

Thick-trunked trees form a barrier around me, and I can’t see through them to orientate myself. Drawing my knees to my chest, I stare around in horror as the cold bites harder. I’m on the island. I don’t know where.

Or how.

Or what happens next.

Holding out a trembling hand, I mumble the simple incantation to spark fire. The magic barely triggers, a gentle warmth in my palm and not flame.

Is this the reality for those sent to ‘solitary’?

My pulse hikes as I hear a noise in the trees.

“Eloise.”

I squint through the dark, cursing my missing magic, unable to make out anything but a large, human figure.

“Eloise. Run.”

Ravenhold continues with Magic Forged which is available for preorder here.

Ravenhold: Magic Forged

I have created a long preorder period for the book but will publish sooner than the date shown on Amazon.

Have you read the Nightworld Academy series?

If not, turn the page and read the first chapters of Term One or find the book here

Nightworld Academy: Term One

NIGHTWORLD ACADEMY: TERM ONE

SAMPLE CHAPTERS

CHAPTER ONE

MAEVE

"Tyler told one blonde joke too many, and my hand slipped."

"Into his nose?" Mrs. Peel's frosty blue eyes remain on mine as my explanation for my behaviour falls flat. I'm not affected by her hypnotic stare and refuse to crumble into apologies for my behaviour. To begin with, I would, but not anymore.

Especially not for punching Tyler.

"He needed hospital treatment," she continues.

"I am sick of him bullying me, and his jokes aren't funny." I push my long, blonde hair over my shoulder and wrinkle my nose. A floral scent always overpowers anybody summoned to Mrs. Peel's room. The smell isn't from the fake lilies in the corner, but rather her perfume. Maybe the student counsellor wears the scent to get information out of troublemakers quickly. Those who'll tell her anything to get out of the room and stop choking on the perfume.

I fiddle with my jacket zip. "Okay, I hit him harder than I should."

"You shouldn't hit people at all. Don't you have any remorse?" The famous glare continues.

I bite back the "not really" about to spill from my mouth and turn on my filter instead. I have no remorse, because I knew what Tyler planned to do tonight. How? This isn't a case of my spider senses tingling, but the increasingly accurate and annoying visions that crack across my skull at unfortunate moments. They hurt and they blind me.

As a kid, I was diagnosed with migraines. Then tested for epilepsy. A couple of years ago, I was carted off to the psychiatrist to seek treatment for my hallucinations.

After that fun stay in the clinic, I kept my mouth shut and put up with the attacks.

Recently, they've been clearer and more frequent. In my last vision, I saw Tyler attack the chief geek from our science class. I hate a bully, but bullies who choose the weakest to make themselves feel powerful piss me off more. In my vision, Tyler punched him, and I saw Denny hit his head on the pavement curb, around the corner from the school playground. I watched as Tyler panicked when the kid wouldn't move or speak. Then I bristled with anger when the Tyler in my vision ran, leaving the boy to die in the rain.

I don't usually