Page 83 of The Nowhere Witch

“Myjob. She took my place.” She even followed his every move the way I had, but he’d never get the satisfaction of hearing that from me. Not ever, not even on my deathbed, which I might be standing upon right now.

I spun, walked over to the wall, and pounded on it with both of my hands, wishing I could get out of here so I could get away from him.

“I wasn’t replacing you. I didn’t like seeing the empty chair where you used to sit. So I hired Bibbi. I wanted to fire her an hour after I did.”

I was a horrible person, because that warmed my heart completely. I turned. “You did? Why? She’s a hard worker.”

“It wasn’t her work. It was her. She wasn’t the person who was supposed to be sitting there.”

He had missed me. It didn’t make any of the things he’d done any better, but at least he’d paid a price of some sort. He’d wanted me back, and fast.

I took a few steps back toward him. “If you didn’t want me gone, why’d you force me out?”

He sat up a little straighter, definitely struggling more than I’d ever seen him. “Maybe I didn’t want you to end up right where you are now. And perhaps part of me was worried I’d end up right where I am as well.”

“Why aren’t you getting up? Why do you look like you’ve been here longer than I have?” I asked, not liking the wrenching feeling I was getting in my gut. Hawk was a man of action. He didn’t sit in times like these. He’d be up and moving around, trying to figure out a solution.

“There’s another slight problem on top of not having an easy exit.”

“Which is?”

He nodded toward the stone in the center as if he already knew exactly what it was. “I can feel it locked in here. There’s something aboutitthat’s toxic to me on some level. It wasn’t as bad before, but in this enclosed space with it, I’m not going to make it very long.”

“Did you know that? Did you know it was in here?”

“I had my suspicions,” he said, still on the ground.

“And you came?” I asked, staring at him, trying to understand such a selfless act. He could’ve left this dome here with me inside and been done, problem solved.

“I had to. I couldn’t leave you to die.” He stared back at me as if I should’ve known that.

I felt a tingle build within me. This time I recognized the feeling. I’d felt something similar right before I kicked a dragon’s ass. All I had to do was look at Hawk, sitting there, looking drained, and it built from a tingle to a swell that washed over my body.

Hawk watched, nodding his encouragement, knowing exactly what was going to happen. If it had just been me, I would’ve died here. But I couldn’t let him die with me.

The magic was building all around me, and I knew if I let it rise even a tiny bit more, it was going to blow the cage I’d putitinto as well. I was about to go supernova, anditwould be out again, worse and angrier than ever, without a wall to contain it.

“Hawk…” His name came out slightly breathless, as most of my energy was being sucked up into the storm within.

His gaze was on me as I looked over at the cube and back to him. I could feel the magic churning all around and was barely containing it.

“Do it,” Hawk said, with zero hesitation.

Did he understand? “It’s going to—”

“Do. It.”

I let it go, and the dome shattered all around us, blowing outward like a million shards of glass. I stood untouched, the center of the storm as Hawk rolled to his side, shielding his face.

I’d barely gotten my bearings, looking up at the sky again, when I heard a rattling noise behind me.

“Get down,” Hawk yelled, right before he crashed into me, dragging me to the snow and landing on top of me. Another bomb exploded; a blast of burning air followed. A whoosh of malevolence spread out with it and leveled all the trees for a mile. A wave of dread came next as a howl filled the air and sent a shiver through me.

Hawk and I both scrambled to stand. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it swell above us like a tornado of malevolence. Hawk wrapped his hand around mine, trying to tug me behind him.

“Not this time,” I said, as I stepped in front of him instead.

He gave me a short nod, but didn’t let go of my hand. He wouldn’t fight me on taking the lead, but I wasn’t fighting alone.