Read The Witches of Glass Castle: Uprising (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 2) for Free Online Page A

assist me.’
    ‘That’s the spirit!’ cheered Amos, overcompensating for the otherwise dismal tone. As Isaac marched out of the room, Amos turned his attention to Wendolyn. ‘How about I brew us all some hot tea?’ he offered. ‘I dare say there’s nothing that a nice cup of tea can’t fix.’
     
    * * *
     
    By nightfall, morale was low. Blue, Dino, and Mia had hardly moved from the drawing room all day. Between them they’d worked through a tower of books. So far, their search for the spell to break the Arx had been entirely unsuccessful.
    And it wasn’t just the mountain of dusty volumes playing on Mia’s mind. Another day had passed and still no sign of Colt. Every time the drawing room door had opened, she’d whirled around in her seat, expecting to see him standing there. But each time she’d been disappointed.
    Forget about it , she told herself now. Focus.
    She returned her attention to her present book. The complex text seemed to blur before her eyes. She blinked once or twice to regain her focus.
    When twice an Arcana of the fifth house does thus apply its means to its predecessor of the fourth house, aligning to the Luna cycle in retrospect of the equinox...
    Mia frowned at the text. Huh? She read the passage again.
    ‘This makes no sense!’ she wailed, closing the book and pushing it aside. ‘Anyone else want to take a break?’
    There was a chorus of thumps as Dino and Blue slammed their books shut. Isaac scowled at them from across the room and returned to his reading.
    Dino stretched his arms above his head and yawned. ‘I never want to read another book again,’ he groaned. ‘Wait...that’s not enough. I never want to read another word again.’
    Blue rubbed his eyes and yawned. ‘Shall we stop for the night?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Dino before the last word had even left Blue’s mouth.
    ‘Yes,’ echoed Mia.
    Isaac cleared his throat and glowered at them. ‘Shh.’
    Mia rose from her armchair and shook out her stiff limbs. ‘I’m going to take a walk,’ she whispered to the boys.
    Dino sat upright. ‘Where are you going?’
    ‘Don’t worry,’ she reassured him in a hushed voice. ‘I won’t go far. I’ll be around the castle.’ She started across the drawing room before he could question her further.
    Without looking back, she ducked through the doorway and let the door fall shut behind her with a thud. Alone now in the dimly lit corridor, Mia made for the huge arched doorway leading outside.
    Away from the wood-burning warmth of the castle, she was met with a burst of wintery air as she stepped outside. The dwindling sunlight cast purple shadows over the stone courtyard, like fractures in a murky river. Mia wandered through the courtyard, trailing her fingers along the castle’s rough outer walls.
    A sudden swell of cold evening breeze flushed her cheeks and flowed through her long brown hair. The breeze drew her focus to the hedges that separated the courtyard from the grounds.
    Mia shivered.
    Colt was out there. She knew he was.
    After a quick backwards glance to the castle, she tentatively forged on, crossing beneath the hedge archway and emerging for the first time into the unlit gardens. Tall hedges looped around flower beds, and weathered benches lined the walkway.
    Mia stepped onto the grass and paced across the lawn. She knew exactly where she was going. Resolved in her quest, she moved in and out of the hedges, carefully avoiding the barren winter flower beds. Once she’d manoeuvred her way through the maze of hedges, an open stretch of dull December grass rolled down into an embankment. From the ridge, she was able to see to the forest below—the forest that was off limits to her and all other Arcana. Even on a clear evening like this, there was a dense layer of mist clinging to the front trees, hiding them almost entirely from sight.
    Mia stood motionless for a while, allowing the breeze to coil around her arms and legs before it moved up to her throat, where it