Free creepy hollow 05.5 - scarlett by rachel morgan Page A

to believe that about yourself?”
    “It’s how all witches are brought up.”
    Beth met her own gaze in the mirror as Tilda sashayed around the room. “I am independent,” she whispered to herself. “I am strong. I am powerful.”
    “Scarlett?”
    Beth looked up and found Thoren peering around her bedroom door. Well, it was technically his bedroom door. She still felt bad about forcing him into a storeroom. “Hi,” she said, suddenly wishing she had a shawl to wrap around her shoulders. No , she reminded herself. Strong, independent, powerful. She didn’t need to cover herself up.
    “Uh …” Thoren stared, apparently having lost his voice or his train of thought—or perhaps both. Beth stared back with as much poise and self-assurance as she could manage.
    Across the room, Tilda started giggling. “What happened to your protective charm, little nephew? I thought you were supposed to be immune to Scarlett’s siren ways.”
    Clearing his throat, Thoren lifted his arm to show that the charm was still there. “I may be immune to the siren part, but I’m not immune to a lady’s natural beauty.” Tilda laughed even harder at that, doubling over while Scarlett felt her cheeks flush. She couldn’t keep her own grin from pulling at her lips, though.
    “I’m, uh, doing deliveries today,” Thoren said, “and I wanted to ask if you’d like to join me, but, uh, I’ll wait outside while you change.” He ducked out and pulled the door shut.
    “Oh, yes please!” Beth called after him.
    “Who said she’s changing?” Tilda shouted.
    “I’m definitely changing,” Beth said, reaching for the laces with her magic and coaxing them undone. “No way am I leaving the mountain in this dress.”
    “But it’s a waste of a good dress if no one else ever sees it.” Tilda dropped onto Beth’s bed with a morose expression.
    “We can think about letting the dress out of the mountain another time, okay?”
    “Mm hmm.”
    “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be at your assessment now?” Beth asked as she stepped out of the dress and picked up her warmer clothes.
    “Soon.”
    “Will you be gone long?”
    “Only a few hours. There isn’t much left for me to be tested on. I should be ready for the next Change Ceremony.”
    “Oh, should I rather stay here and wait for you if you won’t be gone long?”
    “No, go with Thoren. It’ll be fun for you to see some other parts of this world. Besides, Malena and Sorena are cooking up something super smelly in the workshop, so you probably don’t want to be anywhere around here for the next few hours.”
    “I thought I smelled something unpleasant after breakfast.” Beth pulled on her boots, wrapped a scarf around her neck, and closed the wardrobe door. “Okay, I’m ready to go.”
    She opened the bedroom door and found Malena storming toward her. No, storming toward Tilda, she realized in relief. “The High Tester just contacted me,” Malena said to Tilda. “You’re late.”
    “But I’m only supposed to be there in ten minutes.”
    “No, Tilda,” Malena exclaimed, before launching into a string of words Beth couldn’t understand.
    Thoren stepped closer to her and said, “Ready to go?”
    “Definitely.” Malena was intimidating enough on a normal day. With fury rippling through her, she was positively terrifying.
    The words echoed along the tunnels as Thoren headed for Malena’s workshop. “Your language is so beautiful,” Beth said, “even when spoken in anger. I wish I could speak it.”
    “I may not be able to grant you that wish,” he said as they entered the workshop, “but I can help you understand the language.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah. There’s a charm spell for that.”
    “Of course there is. There’s a spell for pretty much everything, isn’t there?”
    Thoren shrugged and smiled. “Almost. I’ll show you.” He walked to the shelves above Malena’s desk and pulled a box down. He reached inside, then held up a simple leather bracelet