Origin: an Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 1)

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “Uh-uh,” she said. “Don’t do that. Don’t distance yourself from this. We all have choices.”

  “That applies to you, too,” Alec said, glaring. “You knew what you were, and yet you make no effort to help save this city.”

  How dare he? He didn’t have a clue what it was like to be a witch. Adira’s anger boiled over until she reared back and slapped him with her free hand. “Fuck you, asshole. Nobody can save a city if they’re dead.”

  In one swift motion, Alec twisted Adira’s hand behind her back and pulled the other to meet it. “It is not my job to worry about that.” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “And don’t ever hit me again, or I will make you regret it.”

  Alec’s husky voice made that sound sexier than she imagined he intended. If only she had a free hand, she might even test what he meant by that. Instead, she defiantly lifted her chin. “I probably won’t live to see the day,” she said, challenging him. “But, perhaps, I should thank you.”

  Alec pushed her out the door and back in the alley. “Thank me for what?”

  “For avenging my death, or dying while you try.”

  She didn’t need to explain it. He would know what she meant. When the ravager killed her in the next display, Alec would be the one to take the beast down…if he could do so without the help of her magic.

  “You’re a witch,” he said. “You can take out the ravager yourself.”

  He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. Adira spun back toward him, and he let her. Tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t,” she whispered, shaking her head. “I’m not ready. If I were ready, don’t you think I would have been able to get away from you by now? Don’t you think I would have used some spell to stop you from coming after me?”

  Alec tightened his grip on her wrists. His face tipped down to meet hers, and his teeth gritted together. “You didn’t want to leave.”

  “I did before you kissed me,” she said, staring into his eyes, searching for the softness she knew was there…somewhere. “Tell me that kiss didn’t change things for you, too.”

  “It didn’t,” he said, almost too quickly. He looked away. “Our city needs you.” There was a note of sadness to his voice now. “You have to do this. You can’t run forever.”

  Adira’s eyebrows stitched together. The way he said that sounded like—

  “Why aren’t you ready?” he asked. “What do you need to face the ravager?”

  She shook her head, wishing she knew. “Time. Time to learn my abilities, to practice and refine them. I’ve spent my whole life avoiding using magic unless absolutely necessary.”

  “It’s necessary now,” he said. He loosened his grip on her wrists, but he didn’t let go. “You have thirteen days.”

  “Thirteen days?”

  Alec lifted Adira’s hand and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist, his gaze trailing up to her face, a fire burning in his eyes. He pulled a way, his hold still firm on her wrist where he’d just kissed her.

  “Learn how to defeat a ravager,” he said. Her wrist tingled beneath his thumb. “As I see it, you’ve already done it once before.”

  Adira narrowed her eyes. So he knew she was the one who saved him. Was this his way of returning the favor? “And what then?” she asked. “Marry the regent? Have his children?”

  Alec’s gaze fell away. “See that mark on your wrist?”

  Where Alec had kissed her, a black runic symbol shaped like a crude letter R burned into the soft inner flesh of her wrist. Raidō. The runic symbol for journey.

  “That mark is how I will find you,” he said. “In thirteen days.”

  The regent must have given him a raidō rune to use for tracking, although Adira doubted he meant for Alec to use it to buy a witch more time.

  A shuffling sound came from around the corner of the open side of the alley, and the old woman from the cart appeared.

  “Thirteen days?” the old woman asked. “Until what?”

  Adira’s heart throttled in her chest. There was no way the old woman was going to accept Alec letting her go after she stole from her cart. “I’ll replace the fruit,” Adira said quickly. “And I will be brought in. He’s just giving me time…time to…”

  The old woman tilted her head. “Time to make things right?” she asked. “Well, then, I suppose you should come with me.”

  Chapter 8

  Could witches control a person’s mind?

  The thought pounded into Alec’s skull as he made his way back to the marketplace. As far as he knew, that wasn’t possible. Yet, he hadn’t been himself back there. Alec Kladivo did not make exceptions to the law. He would have brought that woman in immediately.

  Instead, he’d done everything to protect her. He’d even led her into that room, letting her think he was playing into her ploy, so that no one would see him test her. And why? Because if she had turned out to be a witch, he didn’t want to risk any witnesses.

  Alec squinted at the sun. It must be late afternoon by now. Regent Dvorak would be back at the castle. Alec pressed back his shoulders as he made his way across the marketplace and through the gates that led to Dvorak’s land.

  He’d let Adira go. He would return to the regent with empty hands.

  Although it may have been a moment of weakness on his part, he could not dishonor his word. Adira had thirteen days, as promised. But after that, he was taking her in.

  As Alec trudged up the hill toward what was once Prague Castle, his thoughts drifted back to the alley. More specifically, to her.

  For someone afraid of her destiny, she was brazen, coming onto him like that. Under different circumstances, he might have taken more from her than just that kiss. He’d considered it. He’d had to stop himself several times from relieving her of her clothes and driving into her.

  So why hadn’t he?

  He’d been turning that question around in his head while they kissed, and the question haunted him even still. The woman was clearly streetwise, a fighter and a criminal. Yet, there was something innocent about her. Something that made it feel wrong to fuck her the way he should have. That had been the same something that led to him giving her those thirteen days.

  Alec had no doubt he would find her when that time came, but something told him seeing her again would only make things harder.

  Already, he was bewitched by knowing her. Couldn’t stop thinking about her. Regretted the absence of her breasts in his hands, her erect nipples between his fingertips, her sweet moans against his mouth.

  He should have just fucked her. Maybe that would have quelled his lustful infatuation with her long enough for him think up an excuse to give the regent for returning without a witch.

  Alec stopped and stared over the Vltava River. Where was she right now? Was she thinking of him as he thought of her, or just thinking how she’d gotten away and how she would evade him when her time was up? The old woman seemed to want to protect her, but he still didn’t know why. What he did know was that Adira had stolen from that woman.

  He had the plum to prove it. The one he now knew would be marked with the magic he would need to hunt her down in thirteen days, should the mark he left on her wrist fail him.

  But would she be safe until then?

  What if she didn’t make it that long?

  More and more, he didn’t like the idea of that woman being out of his sight.

  Alec stood in the great room, looking out over the city below. The sector’s Bohemian architecture was crumbling. St. Vitus Cathedral had already been demolished years ago to make room for new homes, as more and more farmers wanted to move into the city and away from the borders.

  Could he blame them? He’d once lived on the borders and seen a ravager make it past the barrier. Everyone wanted to be as far from that as possible—even him.

  A hand came down on Alec’s shoulder with familiar pressure and grip, the same way it had a thousand times before. Regent Dvorak.

  “What have you found?” he asked. Alec h
adn’t heard the regent cross the opulent marble floor, but that wasn’t uncommon. No one ever heard Dvorak coming.

  Alec kept his gaze on the city outside the large cathedral window. “The new device is promising, sir.”

  “But did you find a witch?”

  The truth burned bitter in the back of Alec’s throat. Normally, he would tell the regent. He would have brought the woman in already. But Adira wasn’t ready to face down a ravager. It wouldn’t have done anyone any good to bring her in.

  So why did he feel guilty for his decision? Why did he feel he had to hide the truth from Dvorak, who was the one person in the sector who did the most to protect everyone?

  What if he wasn’t afraid of Adira facing the ravager? What if what he was really afraid of was her sleeping with the regent?

  No. He couldn’t think like that. What was meant to be would be. In thirteen days, he would find her, she would face the ravager, and she would hopefully save the sector by bringing forth an heir. All he needed now was to stall the regent.

  Which would be worse? That he failed to find a lead, or that he’d found a lead and she’d escaped? Both would be a lie. He’d let her go. And neither lie would be acceptable to Dvorak.

  “Alec?” the regent said. “I asked if you found a witch. The guards reported a chase.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Alec said. “There was a thief. I saw the chase and thought they were after a witch, but by time I found her, the vendor she stole from had found her as well. I agreed to let the vendor handle it.”

  There. That hadn’t even been a lie.

  “Hmm…” The regent removed his hand from Alec’s shoulder. “You’ll resume the search tomorrow, then?”

  “First thing.”

  “I’m counting on you.” The regent’s words sounded equal parts threat, desperation, and confidence. “I only had enough magic to make one device, and I trust it with you as my most capable guard and witch hunter.”

  “Of course,” Alec said, lifting his gaze to make eye contact with Dvorak. “I won’t let you down.”

  Dvorak tipped up his chin. “She must be powerful, Alec. We’re running out of time.”

  A weight sank in Alec’s gut. The regent had taken in Alec and his family when Alec was just a boy. Had given him an opportunity that others wouldn’t even dare dream of. Alec’s life was good because of Dvorak. Because they both acted on their belief in sacrifice for the greater good.

  And here was Alec, hiding the possible key to salvation.

  The regent turned as if to leave, but Alec spun around also. “Sir?”

  Dvorak froze before slowly turning to Alec, a thin smile on his face. “Yes?”

  Alec knew the regent hated being addressed after the conversation was over, but there was just one thing Alec needed to know. “It’s about the device,” Alec said.

  Dvorak folded his hands in front of him. “Is something wrong with it?”

  “No, it’s not that.” Alec took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure how to word this without sounding as though he doubted the regent. “I just want to be sure I am correctly using the device. Could we use it to test women who claim to be witches, to avoid their need to face a ravager in the event they aren’t?”

  Dvorak ran his tongue across his teeth and pursed his lips. “You mean like the woman today?”

  Alec clenched his teeth. Well, yes, that was what he had meant, but to say so didn’t seem wise. “I hadn’t even thought of that, sir. I meant going forward.”

  The regent crossed the floor until he was standing inches from Alec. Dvorak was a head shorter, despite being one of the taller men in the sector, but he had a way of being as intimidating as a beast.

  “Let me ask you something, Alec.” He waved his hand to the side. “Do I tell you how to do your job?” He raised one eyebrow. “Because if I did, that would be acceptable, would it not? I am your superior. And yet, I have never told you how to do your job, have I? I’ve extended you the respect of just expecting you to do it, however you must to get it done.”

  Alec swallowed around the lump forming in his throat. “Of course. I didn’t mean—”

  Dvorak lifted a hand to stop him, his lips pressed into a thin line as he shook his head. “You are aware, I would hope, that the whole reason we need an heir—immediately—is because the magic currently accessible to us is limited. And that is because of how much I have done compared to regents of the past. I have used several lifetimes’ worth of magic to keep this sector safe, even as the original runestones have failed. I have sacrificed, countless times, my own well-being to repair what stones can be repaired. And I have used an inordinate amount of magic to create that device!”

  He’d only been brimming with fury up until now, but by the end of that last sentence, he was nearly shouting. Alec could think of no appropriate response that wouldn’t anger the regent further.

  The regent closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. When he opened his eyes again, his expression seemed minutely calmer. “Alec, you are a bright young man. Consider for a moment that we don’t have women lining up to confess as witches. If a woman says she is, does it not make more sense to trust she wouldn’t lie about that than to waste magic confirming? If she wasn’t a witch, then sure, I’ve traded the magic to perform the display for you to use that device. If, however, she is a witch—and I think it’s fair to assume most who admit to it are, despite today’s events—then we have wasted that magic and will still have to use yet more to perform the display.”

  That made sense. The game that could come with saving the sector would only be good if the women making these claims had the power to actually do so. By lying, they had everything to lose and nothing to gain.

  But the woman today had shouted she wasn’t a witch. Alec bit down on those words, though he didn’t like it, even if what the regent said was true. Finally, they had a way to bypass these events, even if only some of them, only for their very predicament to prevent them from being able to reasonably do so.

  He dropped his gaze to the ground, and the regent placed both of his hands on his shoulders.

  “I trust you to use the device responsibly,” Dvorak said. “Don’t let me down. You’re the only one I can count on.”

  When Alec still didn’t speak, the regent released him.

  “I have something I want to show you,” he said. “Follow me.”

  A few moments later, Alec found himself in one of the regent’s private sitting rooms. Dvorak sat in one of the leather-bound chairs and motioned for Alec to join him.

  Once Alec was seated, the regent lifted a large book from the chest-style coffee table between them.

  “Do you know what this is?” Dvorak asked.

  Alec was almost too big for the chair he was sitting in, the bulky muscles of his thighs and width of his chest making him feel as though he were a grown man sitting in a child’s chair. This was why Alec rarely sat. Shifting his weight, he peered at the book in Dvorak’s hands. “I do not, sir.”

  “This,” the regent said, “is one of the first ever transcripts of magic. From the original sixteen. It is how I was able to make that device, and it is how—with the help of an heir—I will be able to save our sector.”

  Alec studied the spellbook, guessing it to contain at least a thousand large pages. The cover was worn and nearly falling off at the binding, but in its own way, it was new. It was hope. There was still new magic—or new to them, anyway—in this sector to be discovered.

  Was this the only book Dvorak had found? Or were there more? Why was he showing this to him now?

  The regent set the book back down and pulled his ankle up onto his knee, resting both of his hands there. “I think I know what’s going on with you.”

  A shiver scurried up Alec’s back, and his cheeks burned. Of course Dvorak knew. He probably knew everything, and he just wanted to see if Alec would confess.

  “Sir, I—”

  “It’s okay, Alec. I don’t think it makes you weak. You’re human, a
nd that is not a bad thing. Today, you had a scare. That ravager nearly took your life. It terrified me, too.”

  Oh. His heart was still pounding from the adrenaline rush of thinking he’d been caught in a lie, but his breath came a little easier.

  “The runes on the sword are weakening,” the regent said. “I had hoped we could wait a little longer before restoring them, but today was an awakening for me. We reserve magic for when it is needed, and this is one of those needs. The sword is one of our last viable defenses. We must repair it.”

  “I agree, sir,” Alec said, thankful to finally have an honest and acceptable answer to offer the regent.

  “Good,” he said. “Then we are on the same page. Now, I have business I must attend to. The crops need my help to grow, I’m afraid, and I need to devise a plan to make the most of what little magic we have to spare for sure things. The people need to eat.”

  The weight of the situation slammed into Alec. Dvorak was right. They couldn’t just use magic for every little thing. Even if that meant some people died as a consequence to their lies.

  Alec lifted the book. “Do you mind if I look at this?”

  Dvorak’s lips dipped as though frowning were another way to shrug. “Have at it. I’m afraid it won’t be of much use to you, but maybe you’ll see something I haven’t had the time to find. You will let me know if you do?”

  Indeed. The book was little more than fire kindling to Alec. But for Adira… “Thank you, sir. If anything sticks out to me, I’ll let you know.”

  Dvorak rose to take leave from the room, but paused just inside the doorway to call over his shoulder. “Our queen is out there,” he said. “Find her.”

  Find her. Alec shuddered.

  The problem was, he worried he already had.

  Chapter 9

  This was not good. Of course, the old woman had every right to take Adira, especially if the Guard was doing nothing about her thievery. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d let a vendor deal with things…privately. But why would Alec let the woman take her?