Threatened [W&W Book 2]

Chapter 17

Anya sat straight up on her bed, confused and afraid. Then she remembered where she was.

Her magic! Anya panicked for a moment until she felt that all her spells were still in place.

It would have been the worst calamity if all the ladies' hair that she had done fell down. It would be exactly the sort of attention she did not need. She had to appear as if she was experienced. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She could feel her body shaking.

Anya let herself fall backwards and stared at the ceiling. She wondered how long she had been sleeping. Judging by the light coming through the window it had probably not been for long.

She did not know how she had dozed off, but it was probably because she had never before used her magic for such a sustained period. She had not realized how much energy it would take out of her.

Anya forced herself up and crouched by the floor of the bed. She reached under and pulled out her potion supply. She selected the vial that she hoped really would make her fly then pushed everything back under. Anya took a ribbon and used it to tie the vial under the long sleeve of her dress.

Anya wanted nothing more than to remain hiding in her room for the rest of the night. She was tense and she was afraid. But Thorne would likely know if she stalled too long.

Using every ounce of her willpower, Anya forced herself to walk back out into the fray.

* * * * *

Anya first searched out Lady Theresa. Anya wanted to see that her little nap had not harmed the lady's appearance in any way. It was the least she could do. Anya found that she could find her lady by feeling where her spell was and she followed the trace of her magic until she was at an unfamiliar door. She knocked on the door, and it slid open, revealing a flight of stairs.

She tentatively began to walk up them until she felt the first stirrings of magic in the air. She did not know what spells were hanging there, but they were oppressive and deep, far stronger than her own light spells she had cast on the hair of the ladies in the castle. She had clearly found the wizard's tower. Anya turned and walked down to wait at the bottom.

Anya leaned against the wall feeling unstable while she waited. Anya assumed that the spells on the wizard's tower were likely in place to guard his privacy and to keep the unwanted out. Perhaps they were even in place to protect others in the castle from experiencing negative effects from spells. There was nothing unusual about that.

Anya was not truly a wizardress, but as a witch she had an intuitive sense of magic. She could feel and draw out magic from various objects, from animals and from people. She had never encountered such strong inherent magic before, and she was truly afraid. Lord Wildwood had enough magic to utterly destroy her.

Again she wondered if sending her to kill Lord Wildwood had been nothing but a cruel trick of Thorne's. He obviously would not mind if she succeeded, but just as obviously he did not care if she died in the attempt. Perhaps it was a belated bit of revenge on Gage, extracted through Anya.

Even if it was, Anya knew that she really did not have any other course of action to take. If it were about Anya alone, she would flee and Thorne could chase her to the ends of the earth. But it always came back to the twins. Their wellbeing hung in the balance, and she could not simply ignore that.

Powerful or not, she would kill Lord Wildwood that night. He was unsuspecting, and that gave her an advantage.

* * * * *

After a short time, Lord and Lady Wildwood came down from the tower, talking in low voices. Anya stood where they could see her easily, and Lady Theresa cocked her head slightly to the side. "Is there a problem?" she asked with a smile.