High Witch (High Witch Book 1) by Mona Hanna

shoulder.
    “He’s not half the man you are. Not even a tenth.”
    Julius let out a growl, then grabbed Ariel around the waist and pulled her to him. He forced his lips onto hers, his tongue into her mouth, while Ariel struggled against him. Brayden grasped his head, unable to stand it. Ariel scratched Julius on the face, and he released her, laughing. She wiped her mouth.
    “You do that again and I’ll come back from the dead and cut you up. You’ll never touch me again.”
    Julius roared. “Oh, so you’re willing to die for — him? Really? I’m sorry, darling, but I’ve done this before. No one ever chooses their own death over another’s. Ever . Everyone is inherently bad. You’ll kill him, and you’ll come to me, and I’ll have every single inch of you. And all this passion, this rage, this fire you have inside of you, will be mine to control. You’re the best one yet. It’s the good ones that become so bad . I can just taste it. Oh, I can taste it...”
    “Enough! Enough! Stop it.”
    “Whatever you say, darling.” Julius put his arm around Ariel’s waist and pressed her up against him.
    “Take hold of your little friend. He needs to come, too.”
    Ariel reached her arm out, and Brayden grasped hold of it. She was so tense it was like she was made of steel. Julius narrowed his eyes, then they were all spinning, before their feet stood on solid ground again. Brayden took in lung fulls of fresh air. He realized he’d been holding his breath.
    They stood on a cliff edge, a wild breeze blowing around them, through the trees behind them and the valley below. Nadia stood nearby with Brayden’s mother, two large men next to them. The men walked over and took hold of Brayden’s arms, dragging him to stand by Nadia. That’s when Brayden saw it.
    Near the precipice, tall, looming over them, was the contraption Julius was going to use to put Ariel through the test. Brayden nearly collapsed. Julius had changed his methods. This was worse than fire. This was worse than anything.
    He was dead.

Chapter 13

    The clouds above them were dark grey; the wind still howled, an icy breeze blew around them. Brayden stood between the two large men, each one holding him by the arm, while his mother, Emily, was beside him, held by Nadia. The contraption stood several feet away. It had finally hit Brayden. He was going to die today. His mother was going to see it. And Ariel — oh, Ariel...
    Brayden looked over at the structure, wondering how Julius could have made it. It was enormous. It was huge. It was — horrible.
    The base was a wooden platform, as wide as three carriages. Another smaller platform rose from it, the height and width of a small bed, with three half-circle strips of metal spread out along it. One to hold someone down by the neck, waist, and ankles. Growing out of the base stood five tall wooden poles, three at the back and two at the front. The poles held up the roof of the machine. It was at an angle, the front end raised slightly. The roof. Brayden felt all the color drain from his face.
    Large circular blades were fastened to the roof, each twice the size of a large plate. Their edges were jagged, sharp, looking as if they could cut through metal itself. The circles were positioned a couple of inches apart, set up so they would come down over Ariel’s torso and lower half. It looked as if there were five on the top half, then a space, then more than ten on the bottom half. Ariel would be ripped to shreds. Even if she killed him quickly, the pain she would suffer before...Brayden felt sick. Julius disgusted him. His love — oh, his love...
    At the back of the machine was a complicated set up of ropes and blocks and pulleys, designed to make the blades spin. There was an enormous lever at the side of the device, which Brayden assumed would lower the roof down. And bring it back up. Julius was relying on Ariel killing him before she was killed herself. He was going to control the contraption. Brayden