Page 64 of This Is Not True Love’s Kiss

Godwitches be. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was developing feelings for my wife.

CHAPTER 33

Aoife

Isat next to Lor in front of the campfire, the sun barely skimming the horizon, and Leena sat across from us.

Our clothes had dried and I was back in my leather trousers and tunic. Goosebumps pebbled my skin, and I shivered. Then warmth blanketed me, a cloak around my shoulders. Lor’s cloak. I stared at him with wide eyes as he tipped his head, and I summoned a tight smile of thanks.

Around us, the rebel members packed tents, pots and pans clanging as they put them in crates and loaded everything into carts that would travel the mountain road.

Leena dragged a stick through the dirt, talking to Lor about their next mission, the route they were taking, what new brotherhood mission they were hoping to foil.

I tried to pay attention, but Lor’s scent of musk and bergamot surrounded me, his cloak smelling of him. That same scent that had washed over me last night when he’d slipped into my tent and demanded I let him sleep next to me.

Then there’d been that moment where he’d bent his head, breath warm against my cheek, lips so dangerously close. Like he’d wanted to kiss me.

We’d had too many of those moments lately, moments that were clouding my mind. I swore I’d never be chained again. Not in slavery. Not in marriage. Not in any way.

But I’d be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t wanted to kiss Lor last night. If I wasn’t curious about what kind of lover he’d be. If he’d be as caring and giving in bed as he was in every other area of his life.

Heat flushed my body, and I gritted my teeth, willing myself to stop these ridiculous thoughts. A week of us getting along and a few good moments between us didn’t erase all the other complications, didn’t erase the fact that I didn’t want to be someone’s wife. Or that Lor didn’t want to be someone’s husband.

Lor swore beside me. I’d gotten so caught up in my thoughts I hadn’t heard anything he and Leena had said.

I looked over to see his face ashen, his hands clenched at his sides.

“So that’s what the brotherhood wants,” Lor said. “Just like I suspected. It doesn’t end with conquering Fairwitch Isle and our magical castle. They want the Fair Folk as well. And now that Ronan has escaped, he’ll lead the brotherhood right to us.”

His jaw clenched so tight I thought he might crack his molars.

My stomach dropped straight to the ground. “How?” I asked. “How can the brotherhood capture us?”

“They have a weapon,” Leena said. “Their alchemists have been working on this particular potion for years. It’s one that they intend to use on the Fair Folk when they find them. They’re on the other side of the continent as we speak, about to test the weapon out on a kingdom they’ve been eyeing. We’re to meet them there in one weeks’ time.”

“So you can help them conquer this kingdom?” I asked.

Leena nodded. “Yes, but we obviously have our own plans to undermine the mission, to keep them from getting this magic they want.”

Lor’s brows drew together. “What’s so special about this kingdom?”

“It was the known refuge for the godwitch of death, and apparently they have magic that can bring back the dead. But not in a good way.” Leena shuddered. “It brings back the physical bodies of the dead, but not the souls. This kingdom has protected this magic from being used for harm for centuries.”

Lor swore. “And the brotherhood wants to take it, and what? Raise an army of the dead?”

Leena raised an eyebrow, and the thought of dead people marching around, fighting, horrified me.

Lor shook his head as icy dread filled me. “What is the weapon? What do they plan to do to the Fair Folk, exactly?”

Leena’s gaze flicked to me, her frown deepening. “They want to enslave the Fair Folk again. They want to be like the godwitches, and Lor, they have the magic to do it. The power to do it. If they get ahold of the Fair Folk and can force them into slavery again, they’ll be unstoppable. Your only luck right now is that they’re on the other side of the continent preparing to attack Bolivare. You have time to prepare.”

Raise an army of the dead. This was so much worse than I ever could’ve imagined. We couldn’t be enslaved again. We wouldn’t survive it. Chains tightened around my wrists, around my ankles, and the ground tilted.

Lor’s arm was around me, steadying me, and I took a few deep breaths, coming back to myself.

A few of the brotherhood members struck down the single remaining tent in the clearing. “We need to get a move on,” one of them called to Leena.

She stood. “The good news is we know Ronan will be headed to Bolivare, and with a few hard days travel, we should be able to catch up to him. We’re going to stop him from reaching the brotherhood and revealing your location.”