Kiss the Dragon (Maidens Book One) by Michelle Fox Page B

sisters.”  I wondered, when she saw me again, if I would be considered a sister? Would we be that close? Was the happy ending I’d glimpsed in my vision really going to happen?
    Yes, the voice assured me just as the witch lifted the knife off my neck.
    “How do I know you’re telling the truth?” she asked, her eyes wide.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
    “Believe me, don’t believe me, but know this is your one chance to live. If you don’t take it, he,” I pointed to Alec with my chin, “will come for you. Choose wisely, witch.”
    She swallowed hard, but stood and backed away from me. Snapping her fingers she murmured something under her breath. The heaviness pinning me down dissipated and I could move freely again. I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the fact that my limbs were all numb.
    As for the witch, she looked shell-shocked and much younger than I realized. I imagined she had no idea what she was signing up for when she joined the coven. Perhaps they had even conned her into joining. I could see the witches scooping up vulnerable runaways. Homeless kids would make the perfect sacrifice, no one would notice when they went missing.
    “It’ll be okay,” I said to her, my voice gentle. “You made a mistake, but now you get to fix it.” I waved to the smoldering remains of the other witches. “You were chosen for a special fate, one none of them deserved. Don’t waste it.”
    Alec moved to go for her, not understanding what was happening between us. I held up my hand to stop him. “Let her go. It doesn’t end here for her.” He gave me a questioning look, which in dragons, manifested as raising the eyebrows almost as high as his ears. His copper tinged eyes met mine, probing. I held firm and motioned for the witch to go. She didn’t hesitate, and with a snap of her fingers and a few muttered words she disappeared, gone as if she’d never been.
    “Don’t worry, she’s not going to bother us,” I said at Alec’s perplexed expression. He’d drawn up his eyebrows until they almost made a teepee over his nose.
    “Malcolm,” he said.
    I nodded and closed my eyes. “Let me see what I can do.” I didn’t poke at the voice this time, I was done playing. Instead, I rattled it, hard. It rose up in me, agitated and flustered.
    Where’s Malcolm?
    Snaking its way through my nervous system, the voice murmured something too low for me to hear. Then it laughed, a high shrieking sound that made me wince. Every muscle in my body tensed as I tried to rein in the voice’s power. It fought me, thrashing until I dropped to my knees, but I didn’t let it win. The voice was part of me and it couldn’t get away from me, not when I was this determined.
    Show me Malcolm or I swear I’ll figure out that witch’s spell and you’ll be on mute as long as I live.
    That stunned the voice into silence, and after a moment, it finally gave me what I wanted. Opening my eyes, I said, “Malcolm is fine. He’s back at the castle.”
    Alec’s eyebrows relaxed as he took in the news. “Thank the gods,” he said casting his words skyward.
    Locating his wallet on the asphalt, I scooped it up. Then, pointing to what remained of his clothing, “I think the only problem now is that you have no clothes.”
    He chuckled, the sound low and deep in his enormous chest. Then leaning down, he carefully wrapped one claw around me and lifted me up. I gasped as I went airborne. I trusted him, I did, but I also didn’t relish the idea of my legs dangling from twenty feet in the air. Alec