Threatened [W&W Book 2]

Chapter 28

Author's Note:

Happy New Year!

The one good thing I can promise for this new year is that this story will be completed roughly the second week in February.

Thanks for reading!  :)

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Anya found herself back once again in the heather surrounded clearing. Jim shot spell after spell at her, and her defensive shield held up. He taught her how to use the shield in other ways, such as to hold someone immobile as he had with Lord Wildwood, or to protect something, or even to move the shield to hit something like a blunt force object.

When they were finished, Anya sat down in the middle of the clearing with Jim and tried not to think about how the next time she would return to the clearing was drawing nearer. It was not so difficult. She felt tired but satisfied. She had not expected it to be so easy to learn. Perhaps she had an affinity for using her inherent magic.

"How long have you been a wizardress?" asked Jim.

Anya smiled a bit and decided reinterpret the question as how long she had been using magic. "Since I was a child, my father taught me."

"I'm surprised that he did not teach you any of this."

"He was not exactly a conventional wizard." Or a wizard at all. They were in that dangerous territory again where he was asking about her past. He was probably just making conversation, but it made her uneasy. She studied the red flowers around the clearing and tried to think of a way to turn the conversation.

"They're heather," Jim told her conversationally. He must have been following her gaze.

She already knew that, but she did not enlighten him. "They're very beautiful," she commented.

Jim stood up and walked over and pulled a few of the smallest bushes from the ground. He shoved them together roughly into a bunch and handed them to her. "Here. I think that the patch can spare a few."

"Thanks," Anya said awkwardly, not looking at him. It was sweet of him. The twins had given her flowers they picked when they were little. Kallie still did once in a while. But this was different. It made her feel warm.

Or hot. He had just handed her the main ingredient for killing Lord Wildwood in a fiery explosion. Anya felt like she would throw up at the thought. She held the flowers tightly.

"Are you tired?"

He always seemed to notice when she was not feeling quite right. He watched her too closely. He was dangerous. How long before he realized what she was plotting? Anya felt a shiver of fear. Jim might be her downfall.

"Yes, I am," she said, trying to keep her voice even. She watched his face, and saw nothing but gentle concern. It made her feel even sicker. She did not know who she was any longer.

"I'll walk you back to the castle," Jim offered.

Anya shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'll just rest here and then take a short walk."

His gaze was on her. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, of course. Sometimes I just need to be alone in the forest."

He nodded his understanding. She forced a shaky smile to her face to reassure him that everything was fine. She hoped that he did not think that her behavior was odd.

"I'll see you back at the castle," he told her with a slight smile.

Anya wondered if she had hurt his feelings. She hoped that she had not but it would be better if she had. Anya curled herself into a little ball and clutched the plants in her hands.