Cat in a Cauldron

Chapter 14 - Welcome Home Cat

The darkness lifted, for the most part, to reveal Salem at night.

Cat's heart beat out of her chest as she looked down on the mass of flickering lights that was the town, the expanse of glittering water that was the ocean. Trees rose up around her, filling her with scents and memories of things she'd missed so dearly. The bite of the autimn air made Cat shiver, and she sighed at the familiar sense of safety that filled her. She closed her eyes, imagining for a moment that she had never left, that all was well.

When her eyes slid open, she saw Todd watching her. His gaze was inscrutable, and Cat could only guess at the color of his eyes. There was a curve to his lips that Cat wanted to touch, to memorize, to hold close forever.

She shoved the thought away, knowing there was too much between them. He was Paleblood and she had too many issues.

She'd trusted two men in the last half-year, and both had lied to her. One was currently trying to kill her. She had let him in, brought him close, and all the while, he had only wanted to plunge a knife into her back. Cat felt stolen, used, and broken.

She wasn't going through that again.

It had been decided in her heart, the moment she sent Wytchfire to kill someone she trusted, that she would stand alone from here on out. She didn't want to trust someone else, to weaken herself like that again.

She stomped on the throb her heart made looking at Todd, denying it purchase.

"Can you do something for me?" Cat asked him. He nodded.

"Anything."

Cat stepped close to him, pressing herself against him, gripping the front of his shirt. She kept her gaze on his face, saw the way his stormy eyes flashed and deepened at her touch. His breath was cool and it washed over her skin, threatened to sweep her off her feet. When had he begun to affect her like this?

She took another step, pushing him backwards once. She lifted a hand to touch his cheek, wondering at how he let her move him like this, how he seemed defenseless, this dangerous Faerie Prince. He was so tall, and Cat had to rise onto the tips of her toes. Then she placed a single, feather-light kiss on his lips.

His eyes closed for the briefest of seconds, and then they flashed open wide.

"Cat -"

She pushed him back another step and straight into the center of a toadstool ring. There was a flash of light and Todd was frozen in place. A tear fell down her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but I need to do this alone."

There was a clanging of bells from up the hill, past the trees. For some reason, the alarm was sounding through the whole school. Cat switched her gaze towards Red Anchor, worried about the change in security.

"Cat."

She frowned and glanced back at Todd. The magic didn't have the same hold on him as it would others. Cat assumed it was his white blood. He still couldn't leave the cage of light, but he could move, speak.

"Cat, you should be wary of him," Todd said quickly. "Adam is ruthless, driven by hate."

Time was running out before Cat could get up to the school without getting caught. Her heart was racing and she clenched her fist.

"How do you know?" she asked him.

Todd's eyes hardened and he snarled.

"He's my brother."

Cat froze, blood running cold.

A Paleblood Hunter?

Impossible.