The Witch's Tower, Tamara Grantham [best ereader for academics TXT] 📗
- Author: Tamara Grantham
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“I prefer him in this form,” Raj said.
“He’s not so bad.”
“He’s following us all the way to the northern lands unless you cure him first. Please cure him.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because whoever put that spell on him will have to do it. He’s missing a leg and an eye, which means she holds power over him. It also means I can never use any magic on him.”
“Then you need to tell him you can’t do it. Otherwise, he’ll keep following us.”
I glanced at the wolf, his eyes closed, ears relaxed. Could he hear what we said?
“There may be a way,” I said.
“Yes, how?”
“His name. She removed it for good reason. If he were to remember it, one could use it in a spell to restore him.”
Raj sighed, looking disappointed. “Isn’t there another witch he could pester about this?”
“Yes, if you can convince him to find one. In the meantime, I’d like to get some sleep. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be true to his word and help us find our way out of this forest.”
Raj grunted. “It makes me wonder why the witch cursed him in the first place. What did he do to deserve it?”
I shook my head. “Some witches can be spiteful and petty. He may have done nothing more than steal vegetables from her garden.”
“Or he may have done something really awful.”
“Yes, that’s also a possibility. At least he agreed to guide us out of the forest.”
“Let’s hope he does it.”
I watched the sleeping wolf, seeming at peace as he rested by the fire, wondering if he were someone to be trusted and could get us out of these woods. I stood and turned toward my sleeping pack when Raj caught my hand. Warm, callused skin cradled my own. His touch didn’t feel how I’d expected, which made me wonder, had I been expecting him to touch me?
“Gothel, thank you for healing me.”
“It was nothing.”
“No.” He stood close to me. His warmth radiated around me, making my heart flutter. He brushed his hand over my cheek, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “You deserve my thanks. I’ve never met anyone with talents like yours.”
“Oh,” I mumbled, my insides twisting. I couldn’t look into his eyes. What would happen to me then? No. I couldn’t do that. I stepped away from him. “Good night, Raj.”
He looked confused, hurt maybe, as I backed toward my sleeping pallet, but I wasn’t sure what to make of my feelings, and being so close to him was difficult. I laid down and stared up at the stars, but it didn’t stop my heart from pounding. Raj made me feel things I’d never experienced before. My mother had never prepared me for any of this. Maybe she would have if I’d been a little older. We could have had those talks that women gave to their daughters, but all I knew of them were the brief conversations of the cooks in the castle kitchens, or the passing words of young girls in the streets of Willow Wood. I knew nothing of men, or what they could do, or why Raj made me feel the way he did. Was it normal?
Perhaps it wasn’t. Maybe I’d come down with a sickness.
I rolled to my side, looking out over the forest. With my back to Raj, I listened to his footsteps as he walked back to the fire, and the creaking of his armor when he sat on the log. For some inexplicable reason, I wanted him near me. I wanted to feel his warmth again. What would it be like to lay with his arms around me?
Squeezing my eyes shut, I willed the feelings to go away. They couldn’t be good, or normal.
My mind wandered, and finally, my heart stopped racing, allowing me to drift to sleep.
The morning arrived gray and dreary as we rode our horses down the forest path. I hadn’t slept well. My dreams had been plagued with nightmares of giant wolves, and a certain man with dark, exotic eyes and gentle hands. I’d only spoken a few words to Raj all morning. In truth, I felt too awkward to speak to him casually. What if everything I said sounded ridiculous? For whatever reason, I didn’t want to sound ridiculous. I wanted to sound smart and witty. But all I felt was awkwardness, so I remained silent.
The wolf trotted ahead of us. He moved with determined focus, his head held low, nose sniffing the ground as he paced down the trail. We’d rode through the same scenery of dead trees and red pools of water, and I was beginning to lose faith in him.
My horse snorted, pinning her ears. I patted her neck to keep her calm, though it seemed the only thing to put her in better spirits would be to leave the forest.
We crested a hill. The wolf stopped, looking out over the landscape. Beneath us, the trees thinned, and I spotted the first greenery since we’d entered Spirit Woods. Pastureland replaced the dreary monotony of dead trees, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Was it possible? Were we finally leaving?
The wolf sat on his haunches and sniffed the air.
“Good job, Wolf,” I said. “You did it.”
“But how?” Raj asked. “We wandered in circles all day yesterday.”
“I don’t know.” I glanced at the wolf. “I guess you just have to know the right person.”
He gave a playful yelp, then led us down the trail. I half expected the forest to swallow us up and send us back to the beginning of the trail, or giant wolves to jump out and attack us, but nothing happened, and we finally approached the edge of the woods.
The world brightened as we left the enchanted forest behind us. Green grass rolled in waves along either side of the road. The air held the scent of sunlight. Feeling it again on my skin was more exhilarating than I thought possible.
I cautiously pushed the hood off my head, letting the sunlight bathe my hair that trailed behind me as we rode. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt so free. The sensation was foreign to me. I’d been locked away in the tower for so long, and being out on the open road, with the wind and the sun on my skin, was a new experience.
In Willow Wood, I hardly ever traveled during the day. My hair stayed hidden in the darkness, and that was the way I wanted it.
Raj had asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and now I knew the answer.
I wanted freedom.
The unexpected emotions caught me off guard, and I glanced back at Raj who trailed behind me. Watching me, his curious gaze lingered on my hair. Reluctantly, I pulled the cowl back over my head, covering my hair, resuming my sentence in the shadows once again.
Raj rode up next to me and kept pace with my horse.
“Why do you wear the cowl now?” he asked.
“I’ve told you before.”
“No. You said it was for protection—to stay hidden from those who might harm you. But why do you wear it now?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.
“Is it because of me?” he asked.
“No…”
“You fear me?”
“I don’t. Not exactly.”
“Then what?”
I fisted my hands around the reins, the leather straps smooth and warm, wishing he would’ve just stayed behind me and not decided to have a conversation.
“I don’t fear you, but maybe I don’t trust you, either.”
He nodded, his jaw clenched, as if unhappy with my answer. “What can I do to earn your trust?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you can’t.”
“What does that mean?”
I pondered his question before speaking. “I’ve never known many men in my life, and the ones I know, like the high sorcerer, are hardly people I trust. I barely knew my own father. I’ve been in a tower with a cat and a half-sane companion for the last five years. I guess I don’t know how to trust anyone, to be honest.”
And I’d just opened up to him. I certainly hadn’t meant to. What had happened to staying quiet? Not only had I spoken, but I’d divulged an intimate piece of myself that I’d never told anyone before. I’d almost admitted to him that I was a miserable, lonely wretch. This was going too far.
“I thank you for your honesty,” he said.
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