Free The Witches of Glass Castle: Uprising (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 2) by Gabriella Lepore Page B

didn’t mean it, you know,’ she ventured in a small voice. ‘What I said about you being a Hunter and all.’
    His expression was indifferent. ‘I am a Hunter,’ he said simply.
    ‘But you’re not...a heartless one,’ she offered meekly.
    He frowned, and a pained expression crossed his face. ‘Of all your remarks, that’s the one that stings the most.’
    ‘Okay, you’re very heartless,’ she humoured him.
    He paused, turning fully in his chair to look at her. ‘Keep talking.’
    ‘Cruel, too,’ she said, edging timorously back into the room.
    ‘The cruellest,’ he added.
    ‘Definitely.’
    ‘And don’t forget, you’ve got to keep your friends close and your enemies closer,’ he cajoled.
    Mia tiptoed to where he sat. ‘I won’t,’ she said. ‘Just one more thing...’
    ‘Yes?’ Colt asked with a shadow of a smirk.
    She placed her hands on her hips. ‘Are you ever going to kiss me?’
    Colt tried to hide his smile. He rose to his feet and pulled her into a familiar kiss.
    Everything else melted away. She was back where she belonged. She was with Colt. 
    ‘So...’ she breathed as they parted. ‘About this candle...’ She pressed her fingertips together and ambled back to the spot on the floor where the candles still stood. ‘All I have to do is make one flame leap to the next? No six-foot infernos or pyrotechnics or anything?’
    ‘Just light the candle,’ Colt answered wryly.
    Mia sank to the floor and sat cross-legged before her task. ‘Get ready to be amazed,” she said, flexing her fingers.
    Colt grinned. ‘Darling,’ he scoffed, ‘I was born ready.’
    One hour and twenty-seven minutes later, Mia lit the candle.
     
    * * *
     
    Dino sat upright on his bed, watching shadows play across the door.
    Where is she? he wondered, glancing at his watch. It was past midnight. He stood up, then sat back down again. No , he thought, biting his lip. I can’t go skitzo every time she’s out . She’s fine. She’ll be with Colt.
    The others had gone to bed hours ago, but Dino couldn’t sleep. Not until he knew Mia was back safely.
    I can trust Colt , he reminded himself for what felt like one time too many. Although the fact that they’d had to seek sanctuary at the Glass Castle begged the question, could they really trust anyone? Even his own mother was a suspect in his eyes. Perhaps it was paranoia, but trust was something Dino didn’t feel he had an awful lot of lately.
    Somewhere along the line, he had become Mia’s guardian—self-appointed, but responsible for her safety nonetheless. In fact, over the last few months, that had been his main purpose in life—his only purpose—although he would die of embarrassment if Mia ever caught on.
    Something had shifted within him after everything that had happened with Tol over the summer. Since then, Dino had vowed to be the opposite of his so-called father. He would not simply coast through life trying not to kill anyone. Rather, he would go all out and make sure nobody else did, either.
    If only she’d just stay where I can see her , he thought irritably. Saving Mia was going to be hard work.
    ‘Where are you?’ he muttered to the canopy over his four-poster bed.
    Alone in the shadowy room, his thoughts began to spiral. What if she’d been found by whomever they were hiding from? Was she out there somewhere, hurt and needing his help? His gaze shot to the dark night beyond the window, which was just visible through the gap in his bed curtains. What if it was too late?
    He quickly climbed out of bed and straightened the collar of his T-shirt.
    I’ll get help , he decided, making for the door. Wendolyn will know what to do .
    Beyond the bedchamber, the corridor was quiet and gloomy. It was bitterly cold in the cavernous castle and there was very little light, with only a few oil lamps burning over the staircase that led to Wendolyn’s quarters. In the opposite direction, the winding route to the Hunter wing was swallowed up by the