The Witching Hour

Chapter 34 - Conviction

"You were a mark." Hunter swallowed, his Adams apple bobbing up and down. Ivy's mouth opened, ready to hurl more obscenities his way. He spoke fast. "But I broke the rules of espionage and fell in love.

Ivy's face scrunched up. Wrapping her arms around her shoulders, she willed her body to breathe. Her head needed to be clear for this conversation.

"You have to believe me," Hunter pleaded, stepping toward her. She sidestepped him and moved further away, physically and metaphorically. Sighing, he stopped the pursuit. "The Queen wanted me to get close and keep an eye on you."

"Why didn't you say no?"

The question escaped her lips, sputtering out between them like a fish out of water. Hunter ran a hand through his hair and over his face, stopping at his jaw in hesitation.

"You don't say no to the Queen." Hunter's eyes slid past her. His body shuddered at a memory.

"No, you are not Sabrina and the Queen is not Lucifer." Ivy shook her head, exaggerating the side-to-side movement reminiscent of a 5 year old.

Two pop culture references, Ivy would be proud of herself if she weren't distracted by a treacherous boyfriend.

"She might as well be – if not worse."

"What changed?" Ivy pressed on. She needed to be prepared for whatever came next. Escape plans wouldn't formulate themselves.

"Cassie's death upended the plan," he said. "The Queen saw a real opening, and I had already fallen for you by then. She knew this and took advantage of the situation."

"And the Queen?"

Ivy couldn't let his feelings for her derail her line of questioning. She anticipated curling up into a ball and sobbing until kingdom come once he left. She would let herself wallow in the pain, but she needed to stay strong at this moment.

"With the Pentacle seemingly broken, she didn't want to lose a powerful witch." Hunter wrung his hands and shifted on his feet. "You specialized in earth so you would have made a great addition to the Court. I just needed to get you to that point."

"How?"

Ivy ran her hands across the dirt wall, hoping there would be some way through this. Roots and worms wove around one another, creating their own ecosystem. Never a fan of warms, Ivy recoiled from the sight. She never liked the slimy feeling when she held them. She let them do their thing in her garden, but she avoided touching them.

"I don't know. You were close to forcing everyone out then Cassie came back." His tone took a malicious turn, his eyes narrowing like it was Ivy's fault. "You got it in your head that Cassie was still alive and went back to those other witches."

"Those other witches are my sisters," Ivy snapped, whipping her head around.

Hunter's upper lip twitched, but he refrained from voicing whatever comment had popped into his head. As she watched him transform into a distorted version of himself, she couldn't help but wonder how much of this had been there under her nose. How much had she ignored the signs, if there were any? He must be good at his job if he was willing to go almost five years deep.

Realization dawned on her. Her eyes grew to saucers, her lips forming a small 'o.'

"How much have you told the Queen?" Ivy thought back to everything she had told him in confidence, specifically the strong connection to her plants and her ability to heal. She hoped he had loved her enough to keep some things a secret.

"I kept a few things to myself." Hunter read her frightened gaze like an open book.

Ivy let out the breath she had been holding and gave him a small, appreciative smile.