Free Enthrall Me (The conclusion to Enchant Me) by Anne Violet Page B

don’t want our people to live in fear anymore? Do you think I have the same selfish desires you do?” he asked in a icy tone, one that came with an implied threat if I wasn’t careful.
    I broke our intense eye contact; I didn’t think I had the acting ability to pretend I cared about any of his reasons. “No, I don’t think you’re like me,” I replied carefully.
    “This cause is important enough to sacrifice anyone and anything for. We Druids will be free.” I didn’t respond, but bowed my head submissively. I could feel his eyes on me as he took a sip of wine then with a decisive click set it back on the table. “You can go to your room now.” A sense of unease got cozy with my mind as I walked away, it wasn’t like Garron to open up.
    The next morning Garron split everyone off into mock battle groups, to prepare for the upcoming mission. Black hair swirling around her, and blue eyes lit with presumed victory, Tempest took up the position across from me. I smiled wickedly at her; this would be fun.
    　
    As the days passed I was forced to acknowledge a grudging respect for Tempest. Surprisingly, we were evenly matched, I won as many fights as I lost, but the really shocking, no, more like disgusting thing, was I found myself strangely attracted to her. She fought with passion and complete abandon, and I could only admire her for that.
    But when Ryker walked up for his turn to face-off with her, that sick attraction snaked through me, and I felt a jealousy I hoped to never experience again. As I watched them one day I became so immersed in my own thoughts I didn’t notice Lisette standing next to me.
    “Have you ever wondered why you hate Tempest?”
    I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself, but hatred wasn’t the dominant emotion I felt right now, but she would know that. I turned to her and waited. Lisette glanced up at me, and smiled, but it was a cold smile. “It’s not Tempest you hate, but yourself. She reminds you of your own weakness, and acts out, the feelings you hold inside.”
    I scowled at her, and the urge to push her away grew strong. Unconcerned, she turned back to the fight. “We often hate those who remind us of our worst or weakest selves,” she said, and walked away. I was nothing like Tempest.
    Looking out over the practice grounds, I noticed Sebastian going against the triplets. He only fought half-heartedly and was paying for it, with multiple wounds and bite marks. Our healers were already depleted trying to heal everyone during our mock battles, and any new injuries would mean the hurt would be down for days. I marched over to Sebastian, grabbing a large branch on the way, and clubbed Sebastian hard on the flank. He yowled loudly in pain, and shimmered out of his preferred panther form. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, his bottom lip quivered in anger and hurt. “If you’re going to be this weak, you don’t deserve to be here,” I informed him, tossing the stick down, and stalking off. I didn’t expect a reward for my good deed, since tomorrow would bring the moment I’d been waiting for, and that was enough.
    　
    CHAPTER 9
    On a stealth mission, the less people you have the better, yet I still felt uneasy leaving the bulk of our force behind, but at least those we brought were the best of our Grove. I didn’t know most of the new recruits names, and didn’t care, they would undoubtedly be casualties of our war.
    Ryker stepped forward putting a hand on my shoulder. “You must be impatient. In the end we’ll all get what we want.”
    I glanced back at him, suspicious all the sudden, but I only saw Ryker eager for a fight. I built a shield around us, then glanced over at Tempest, and nodded. On my cue, Tempest called forth a whirlwind that circled around us, and carried us all the way to Ireland.
    Tempest set us down in the forest not far from our enemies circle, giving us a couple of seconds to reorient ourselves. We didn’t have much time before the