Poison and Potions: a Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by Erin Hayes

  At least she wasn’t the only one in the market wearing a cloak, so as long as she did find a way out of here, she wouldn’t have to worry about Alec realizing she was the same person as the witch he was after.

  She still didn’t like that he’d seen her face twice before that, though. First at the dispensary and then in the crowd. It placed her in the market at the same time as a witch, and that alone was too much of a connection for her.

  She shouldered past another cluster of people in the crowd, then darted across a wide pocket and into one of the back alleys. Now was not the time to worry about Alec and what he’d seen. Now was the time to figure out how to escape.

  Spotting a guard at the other end of the alley, she back tracked, quickly angling her face so that no one would see who she was. She nearly ran into a second guard, but when he reached out to grab her, she ducked and bolted under his outstretched arm.

  Shit.

  Guards were everywhere.

  She zig-zagged through the crowd and headed into the section of the center city where the alleys were more of a maze, hoping these guards weren’t as versed in these streets as was she.

  Dipping into another alley, she found herself faced with another guard. She ran toward a side wall and jumped, then sprang back off the wall upon impact to soar over the guard’s head. Adira hit the ground running, trying to push through the cramping pain in her side.

  Her parents had trained her in parkour, which gave her the slight advantage of being able to run, jump, climb, and otherwise navigate through obstacles both in the streets and in the city’s less-developed outskirts. But it’d been years since she’d used the skills; her stamina was not what it used to be.

  As a sword clipped at her calf, she was also reminded that her parkour skills did little to negate the guards’ weapons.

  She pounced onto a stack of barrels, then leapt at the side of another building and clung to the low roof ledge. Her fingertips barely grasped the edge. She pressed the balls of her feet against the wall, pushing herself higher to adjust her finger hold.

  Another guard was already scrambling up the barrels after her. He reached for her ankle and tugged, but she swept her other leg across to kick his hand away and then pulled herself higher on the ledge, getting one elbow onto the roof.

  Finally, she got both arms and her upper body up and was able to swing one leg over and then the other. She didn’t have the energy to go much farther. She rolled onto her back to move away from the ledge, then came up to feet, crouching to peer down into the alley.

  The guard she left behind was shouting to someone at the end of the alley while pointing at the roof. She scrambled back. She needed to keep moving.

  Beneath her, the building trembled. The guards must be coming up the stairs, and it wasn’t just one of them this time. Adira’s lungs hurt, her throat burned, and her sides ached…but she was just a few alleys away from the outer city, and from there, she could get to the outskirts and hide.

  The guards burst onto the roof before she could take action. She couldn’t go back down into the alley, and there was no way she could get around that many of them to the staircase—not to mention who might be waiting at the bottom.

  Did they even know why they were chasing her? Or were they just after her because they saw her run?

  Didn’t matter. Adira stayed careful to keep her face obscured as she took a few steps toward them. This made them pause, perhaps because they were confused to the prey approaching the hunter.

  She needed more space between her and the roof ledge. That was all. And once she had it, she turned and bolted, her feet pounding hard against the roof beneath her. She couldn’t slow to place her steps, but they needed to be perfect. She needed that last step to be as close to the edge as possible.

  If she overstepped, though, she wouldn’t get proper push off through the ball of her foot, and she wouldn’t make it across the gap.

  So Adira moved as fast as she could without sacrificing precision, hoping she had enough strength left in her to compensate for the lack of speed.

  Before she even reached the ledge, she knew it wouldn’t be enough, but she didn’t falter. She pressed forward, pounded that last step against the concrete, and pushed off with as much force as her tiny legs could muster.

  She threw the top of her body forward as she soared, giving herself just enough momentum to make the jump, though she wouldn’t land on her feet.

  Catching the top of the other roof with both hands, the side of the building crashed into her stomach and knocked the wind from her lungs. Breathless and burning with pain, she leveraged her body up and dragged herself away from the ledge, trying and failing to get pull in oxygen.

  They would be up here before she even caught her breath.

  Vyléčit.

  She had to think the word instead of say it, her hand clenched in a fist. But magic was more about intention than word.

  She visualized the word again. Vyléčit.

  Heal.

  A third time, like a mantra in her mind, nearly pleading with her own magic to work. Vyléčit. Vyléčit. Vyléčit.

  She stumbled to her feet, still not fully recovered, but enough so to bring in some air. The guards were still atop the other building, none willing to attempt the jump and only a few just now turning around to head for the stairwell.

  There were other guards, though. Dvorak practically had an army of them.

  Adira didn’t wait for full healing. She scattered toward the other side of the roof. Timed her steps back to make them count this time, and then throttled forward. The gap between these buildings was smaller, and she made it across without additional injury.

  Unfortunately for Adira, now they knew they were after a witch. No one healed from an impact like that so quickly…not without magic.

  She was almost there, though. This time, she ran to the corner of the roof and hurried to the ladder on the side of the building. She gripped the side rails, protecting her hands with the fabric of her cloak, then pressed her feet to the sides as well. With that, she slid down much faster than she could have climbed.

  When she reached the bottom, she hopped down and turned to dart off into the outer city, but she hit a wall that hadn’t been there before.

  Stunned and a little dazed, she stepped back. The impact left her disoriented. Which way to the outer city then?

  She turned back, only to see it hadn’t been a wall she’d crashed into after all.

  It was him.

  The strong lines of his face did not soften when he looked at her. His expression stern and unyielding, it was clear he had not come to thank the witch who saved his life.

  He stared straight into her eyes, and for a moment, she thought he looked angrier than he should have. After all, he’d caught her. That was his goal. Shouldn’t he be pleased with himself?

  “You,” he said, eyes narrowing, hand clenching around the device in his hand. “You’re the witch.” He scoffed, as though bitter with her about it. “And here I thought you were just a common thief.”

  Adira stepped back, though really there was nowhere to go. This alley was a dead end, and he was blocking the only exit.

  She had to admit, it was pretty impressive he’d caught her. He’d known to come here and wait, rather than chase her. Most guards were all brawn and no brain. But Alec…he was both.

  “I’m no witch,” she said evenly.

  “Then why run?”

  She tilted up her chin. “Well, people with swords were chasing me. What else was I to do?”

  Alec didn’t waver. She wasn’t going to outsmart him, that much was clear, and she’d used all of her energy trying to escape the rest of the Guard.

  If he used that device, though, then he would know. He would know she was a witch, the whole city would know she was a witch, and then there would be no escaping it.

  She would meet the same deadly fate as her mother.

  Chapter Six

  The young woman’s face was flushed, a
nd Alec’s heart twitched in his chest. She’d outsmarted most of the Guard. Doing so wasn’t exactly a difficult feat, but her physical strength, speed, and agility could rival even his own. And that scared him in all the wrong ways. It scared him because he knew, in that moment, he admired her.

  He admired the woman who very well might be the next Doomed Queen.

  But the worst of it was he wasn’t sure what he was more afraid of: failing to capture her…or succeeding.

  In all his years working for the Regent—all his encounters as a guard—he’d never really seen a woman before. They were faceless. They were his duty. They most certainly didn’t radiate energy like this woman. Not even the witches.

  Alec stepped closer, cornering her so she couldn’t take off again. He expected her attention to dart around for a clear path to escape, but instead, her gaze burned into his. Her breasts rose and fell with the heavy breaths of a woman who had just outrun a dozen men, and Alec felt a part of himself awakening.

  Lust.

  He clenched his teeth. There was only one way this could end.

  “You,” he said to the young woman. “Mishka, was it?”

  She took another step away, but the wall behind her stopped her retreat. She swallowed and steadied her gaze on his. “Yes.”

  Nonchalant. Calm.

  She was lying.

  Alec grabbed her wrist. “What’s your name?”

  “I told you,” she said, this time her voice wavering.

  The fear in her voice ran through him like ice, and he dropped her wrist.

  Why had he let her go? She should be afraid. He shouldn’t feel wrong about that.

  He quickly licked his lips to alleviate his dry mouth, then placed his hand on the wall behind her, right beside her head. His face dipped down to hers, and he whispered, “A whole city is after you. Did you think you can run forever?”

  Her hand slipped up to his wrist, though her grasp more gentle than resistant. “I think I have to.”

  Thoughts bubbled up and over in his mind, but he refused to let himself process any of them. He couldn’t let emotion distract him from duty.

  “Because you robbed that woman? Or because you’re a witch?”

  She shook her head. “Does it matter? I’ll be killed either way.”

  “We all make sacrifices,” he said. “The Sector’s issues are bigger than just one person. We can’t let people run around taking what they want, and we can’t allow the ability to survive wane just because we’re afraid we might die.”

  He’d let his own sister die to protect this city. Damned if that would be for naught. If this woman was a witch, then she was a chance to protect their world before the barriers came down for good.

  “If we don’t find a new Queen, we’ll all die,” he added, more to make himself feel better than to convince her of his duty.

  “I hope we find her as much as you do,” she said, a light breeze lifting the ends of her hair as it swirled down the alley. “But I’m afraid I’m just a common criminal.”

  Alec could find out for certain in mere moments with the new device the Regent had given him. One drop of her blood to confirm—that was all it would take. That was why he had chased her down here. To find out for sure.

  That was really the reason, wasn’t it?

  And if so, why was he still standing here? Why not test her already?

  “Either way,” he said, “I must bring you in.”

  The woman’s grasp loosened, then her fingers tapped down one by one against his wrist. “I will go,” she said, “but don’t bring me back there a prisoner. Surely I deserve to face my fate with dignity.”

  Alec smirked. She was playing to his sense of duty—he wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or offended. On one hand, she believed in his nobility; on the other, she thought him a fool.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Bit late for that, don’t you think?”

  “Then I’m sorry it has to be this way,” she said.

  The woman spun out from under his arm and around to his back. She kicked him in the back of the knee, throwing him off balance before she darted down the open end of the alley toward the outer city.

  He twisted around and bolted after her, catching up in just a few long strides. When he reached out to grab her, though, he missed.

  Maybe that was what he wanted.

  He shook his head and pushed forward harder, closing on her again and capturing her with both arms around her waist. Then he grabbed her wrist and spin her back toward him before pushing her back so hard that they both collided into the wall on the other side of the alley.

  “Nice try,” he said.

  And it had been. But what did it mean that she had failed? If the witch testing device determined she was a witch, she would be forced to face a Ravager. She was strong—but she wasn’t that strong. If she couldn’t get past him without a weapon, she would never overpower one of those beasts.

  He would be sending this woman to her death.

  Not your place, Alec.

  It was not his job to interpret the rules—only to enforce them.

  “Let me ask you one thing.” The woman tilted her head. “Why is it the Regent only started using the witch tester device now? Why not earlier today—why not prevent that woman from being killed?”

  Alec froze, the question stabbing against his conscience. He’d had the same thought. The Regent would have an explanation, though—one that Alec did not owe this woman.

  “I’m afraid you won’t talk yourself out of this one,” he said coldly. “But if you cooperate, I won’t mention your earlier thievery.”

  “If you’re not taking me in for stealing, then what for?” She quirked an eyebrow. “You haven’t tested me.”

  The witch tester was still tucked into his pants. He could test her now. But could he bring her in if she was a witch?

  He wanted to believe he could, but that niggling double still pinched him. “I think it would be best the Regent test you himself. Let’s go.”

  He tugged her arm to lead her down the alley back toward the square. At first, she cooperated. But then suddenly, she froze, digging in her heels.

  He turned back toward her, prepared to lift her up and carry her over his shoulder. Holding one of her arms up, he reached down to hook his arm around her waist.

  That was when she kissed him.

  It was a light, teasing kiss. A brush of her lips against his own. Just enough to get his attention.

  Alec paused, still holding her firm, but not moving his face away from hers.

  “That was brazen,” he said, his tone dropping.

  “You scared?” she asked. “Worried someone might see the big bad witch hunter making out with a suspected witch?”

  “I’m a lot of things,” Alec said, “but afraid is not one of them.”

  “Prove it.” She pushed her body closer to his, her breasts pressing against him and her hips sliding against his own.

  Alec almost felt bad for what he was about to do, but he wasn’t made of stone. His cock was straining against his pants, and a fire was burning in his stomach. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

  He brushed his lips against her ear. “I’m not afraid. But you should be.”

  But the way she trembled when he said that was not in fear. She wanted this, and not just because she thought it would save her from her fate.

  “The other guards will be here any minute,” he said.

  “I could make that minute feel like ten,” she said, the seductive note a promise that no man could resist. At least that was what Alec was telling himself. “Kiss me.”

  “You’ll regret it if I do,” he promised.

  “You’ll regret if you don’t,” she shot back.

  Fine. He’d warned her, and he wasn’t a saint. He nibbled at her bottom lip, pressing down just enough to make her whimper before he covered her mouth with his. Her body rolled against his, and he slipped his arm from around her waist to grab her other wrist aga
in.

  As her tongue tasted his mouth, he pushed her back into the wall again, raising both of her hands above her head and pinning them both with his left hand.

  “I’m not going to let you run off again,” he said quietly, running his thumb down the side of her neck and across her collarbone, “but I will stop if you tell me to.”

  When she didn’t protest, he kissed her again, sliding his hand to her breast and rubbing her nipple through her clothes until she moaned again.

  This was so wrong. Even if this woman did survive the Ravager, she would soon be sleeping with the Regent. Hopefully having the Regent’s children. The thought disgusted him.

  He should stop. Right now.

  But his body would not comply with the command. Instead, he pressed into her harder, pushed her body with his tighter against the stone wall, pinched her nipple until she cried out.

  “Tell me to stop,” he said in her ear.

  “I don’t want you to stop.” She kissed this neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Let’s go somewhere.”

  He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat.

  “Just for a little while,” she cooed.

  “It won’t change anything,” he said, but his voice caught in his throat, and already he was starting to doubt himself. “Tell me you know that.”

  “I know,” she said. “I know it won’t change anything.”

  But something told him she knew different.

  Chapter Seven

  Adira was close. She could practically feel those big macho man walls crumbling. Deep down, she knew Alec was not a bad man. He was just working a bad job for what he believed was a noble cause. But if she could get him to see her as a person, not just as a thief and possible witch, that could change everything. Then he would see that protecting the people of Sector One included her, too.

  Alec peered over her shoulder, in through the window of the home they were backed up against.

  “In here,” he said, tipping his head to the door beside them. He held her hand and led her into the empty apartment space.

  A lot of the rooms in this part of town were abandoned, which was how she came to know of it as an escape route; it was always the fastest, least populated way out.