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

settled like a collar. The scent of pine drifted out from the forest, igniting her memories of summer. Her memories of Colt.
    She squinted as she scanned for movement amongst the long shadows. There was something there, she was sure of it.
    Boldly, she began down the embankment, closing in on the curtain of mist that eclipsed the forest. When she reached the hazy boundary, her stride didn’t falter. She allowed the mist to swallow her, to lick at her skin and seep into her lungs. She was caught now, drawn in deeper by the mist’s enchantment—whether she wanted to venture farther or not.
    Her feet hit the forest floor in robotic thuds, crunching through the fallen bronzed leaves as she passed through the web of trees.
    I’m not afraid , she reminded herself. Her heart began to beat faster. The mist’s enchantment was unnerving; her legs weren’t her own anymore. She had willingly relinquished her control the moment she’d crossed the forest border. So much for just having one reckless act per lifetime , she thought ruefully.
    With that, Mia’s feet were knocked from under her. She stumbled forward, released from the mist’s enchantment, but before she hit the earth, arms clamped around her and hoisted her upright. No sooner had she caught her breath than she was being pulled deeper into the dark tangle of trees. She fought to free herself, but her captor held her tightly. And it didn’t take her long to realise that the arms around her did not belong to Colt.
    ‘Let go of me!’ she cried.
    Her attacker gave a low growl.
    Mia kicked back at him, squirming in an attempt to free herself. To her dismay, her efforts were useless.
    So this is how it ends , she realised, cursing the Arx for what seemed like the millionth time that day. I knew the stupid Tome of Black Magic wasn’t just mislaid!
    All of a sudden, she heard her assailant grunt and then abruptly lose his grip. Mia fell to the forest floor, disturbing a layer of tawny leaves as her palms smacked down on the soil. Some distance away, her attacker lay dazed, as though he had been thrown off course.
    Mia stole her first good look at him. He was a Hunter. A boy, no older than thirteen or fourteen. Ebony curls flopped into his dark eyes as he staggered to his feet. He was short and stocky, and more solid in stature than any fourteen-year-old Mia had ever come across.
    ‘She crossed our border,’ the young Hunter snarled, looking through the trees at his own attacker. ‘She was mine for the taking!’
    ‘Let her leave.’
    Mia’s heart leaped at the sound of the voice.
    ‘Colt,’ she whispered. She turned and stared into the shadows, following the young Hunter’s gaze, but she could only make out his vague form amid the leaves.
    ‘Let her leave, Finn,’ came Colt`s strong voice again.
    Finn, the young Hunter, glanced at Mia before returning his attention to Colt. ‘But... no ,’ he objected flatly. ‘She’s an intruder.’ His voice was surly and quick, and he rasped with irritation. ‘She’s fair game. Permit me to make a kill,’ he demanded.
    Mia bristled.
    Colt didn’t respond. Instead, he spoke to Mia from the shadows. ‘Leave now, Arcana,’ he uttered quietly. ‘You are not welcome here.’
    Finn looked back and forth between the two. He trembled with the promise of a hunt, but at the same time he seemed stunned, clearly shocked by the exchange he was witnessing. An Arcana and a Hunter, after all, had no business conversing with each other. And Mia, a trespasser, was fair game—as he had pointed out to his leader.
    Mia tried to speak, but the words caught somewhere in her throat. She staggered to her feet and stumbled backwards, almost tripping over tree roots as she turned and ran from the dark forest.
    Well, that couldn’t have gone any worse , she thought wretchedly as she raced back to the embankment. He’s already forgotten I exist . She considered the option that perhaps she’d been disillusioned all this time. Perhaps she’d