Free High Witch (High Witch Book 1) by Mona Hanna Page B

each other’s arms, side by side, their gazes locked together. Ariel closed her eyes, and Brayden looked at her sadly.
    “Marry me, Ariel,” he whispered. She looked at him, then put her hand on his face. She gazed at him fondly.
    “In a heartbeat,” she whispered back. He smiled, but he knew his eyes were filled with sadness.
    He knew one of them would die tomorrow.
    He hoped it was him.
    But he was starting to realize it might be her.

    ***
    Brayden could barely breathe as they approached his mother’s house at noon the next day. They rode their horses quickly into the street where she lived, and he saw her house up ahead. He steered his horse into the garden at the front of her small wooden home, nestled among so many like it. Ariel arrived behind him. He dismounted, shaking, so full of anxiety he could hardly think. Ariel came to his side, and she held his face in her hands. He looked at her, taking deep breaths. He finally nodded, and she took his hand.
    They walked under the porch, up to the smooth brown door. Brayden reached out and grabbed the handle, stilled himself for a moment, then pushed the door open. They walked into the front room.
    Julius was standing in the right side of the room, by a table. Nadia stood beside him, grasping his mother’s arm, holding a knife to her throat. His mother’s hands were tied behind her back, her mouth gagged. Brayden looked into her blue eyes, and saw the horror in them. Her light brown hair was plastered to her head, her cheeks were tear stained. He couldn’t bear seeing her like that.
    Julius stood there, staring at them, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked over at Nadia. “Go, now,” he said. Nadia nodded, and before Brayden could even react she put her arm around his mother’s waist and they disappeared. He screamed.
    “This ends if you kill her!” he cried. Julius only smiled.
    “I’m not likely to kill my leverage, am I?” he said. “And, frankly, you’re in no position to say when this ends. That’s up to me, and it’s up to her.”
    Julius fixed his gaze on Ariel, his dark eyes looking her up and down. He looked at her closely, and Brayden wanted to smack the smile off of his face. What killed him is that Julius was right. He was useless in this situation. It was between Julius and Ariel. She tensed next to him, still holding his hand.
    “We’ll go with you, but we need assurance you won’t hurt Brayden’s mother. I’m not exactly going to take your word for it. If she’s alright, we’ll co-operate.”
    Julius nodded. “You’ll see her, soon enough. I’ll release her when things are...underway. No harm will come to her.”
    Ariel growled. “You mean you’ll release her when you’ve killed Nadia. When you’ve killed your slave. If only I could get her to side with me, we could rip you to pieces.”
    Julius smiled again. “You’ll be thinking differently in a little while. The last thing you’ll want to do to me is — rip me to pieces.”
    Brayden saw Ariel go red. “You disgust me.”
    “You enthrall me.”
    “I despise you. I’d kill you now...”
    “But then Nadia will destroy your little friend’s mother. If I don’t appear by her side, in the next hour, the boy’s mother dies. And so will he. Nadia won’t take too kindly to my death.”
    Ariel’s breathing became ragged. She took a step forward. “Then let’s just finish this. We go to her, now.”
    “In time. But there’s something I’ve been meaning to do first.”
    Julius lurched forward and punched Brayden full in the mouth. He stumbled backwards, his face stinging, then was about to lunge at him when Julius shook his head.
    “Touch me, and I’ll make sure your mother suffers before I release her. You can’t do a thing to me, boy.”
    Brayden stood there, clenching his fists, breathing deeply. The coward. The devil. He wanted to rip out his throat, but he was just as bound as if ropes tied him. He could barely contain his hate. Ariel touched his