The Warlock & The Witch (Fate of the Ten Realms Book 8) by J. S. Striker

Author:J. S. Striker [Striker, J. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

The trip back home was a whirlwind of roaring thoughts and unsettled emotions, but Henry shoved everything in as soon as he reached his house. He wasn’t fazed when he found his brother there, sizing up his clothes and general state in suspicion.

“Where were you? And why do you look like that? You know, Martin has been worried about you these past few days and I could see his worries had merit. You’re lucky I managed to convince him not to report anything to—”

“What happened between you and Emerald Sutton?”

That wasn’t how Henry had wanted to bring the topic up, but it was too late to take it back. It caught Gunther off guard, and the man gaped at him for a few seconds before recovering. Confusion muddled Gunther’s features.

“What? Why are you asking, and what’s going on—”

“I’m asking a straight question, Gunther, and all I need is a straight answer.”

If a voice could kill, Henry’s was a newly-sharpened blade. He rarely used it, but Gunther knew it existed, and knew he wasn’t messing around. The man’s confusion switched to resignation.

“Fine. We were hooking up. She’s crazy and she played me—”

“One thing I know about Emerald is that she’s not crazy,” Henry cut in once more, his aura turning colder as his energy glittered at his feet. If Gunther knew him, he knew Gunther—and he could tell an on-the-spot lie when he saw one. Had this always been the case with his brother? Had he just not noticed? “She’s known for keeping a cool head at all times and not involving herself in other people’s business. We both witnessed it every time she faced the Council.”

“Henry…”

“But there’s some truth in your words,” Henry granted, watching. Observing. “You were with her for some time.”

“I wasn’t—” A hand wrapped around the front of Gunther’s shirt and the man’s eyes bulged. Gone was the charmer who could smile his way through everything and in its face was the first flicker of nerves. “Let me go, Henry. There’s nothing to tell.”

“Care to test out the truth chamber for that?”

Gunther’s eyes bulged wider. “You wouldn’t.”

“Have I ever bluffed, brother?”

Gunther stilled. “Henry, let me go.”

“Not until you—”

“Fine. We were together. I proposed to her.”

Perhaps the reluctance played a big part, but Henry sensed the truth ringing in the words. His hand loosened until Gunther stepped back, sniffing loudly and brushing the crumpled shirt area.

“You broke it off after the Silver incident,” Henry surmised. “That was when I felt the change in you.”

“As I had a right to,” Gunther said, ignoring the second statement. A wild look appeared on the man’s features as he defended his stance. “We’re the Lyras and we have a reputation to uphold. Her brother was crazy. You saw it. She kept defending him, too, which was an embarrassment.”

Shame clenched Henry’s gut that he had judged as harshly as Gunther once. But he tilted his head, seeing the lapses succinctly.

“You kept Emerald a secret even before the incident, Gunther. That means you were never planning to marry her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.