The Witches of Glass Castle: Uprising (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 2) by Gabriella Lepore Read Free Book Online

simply been caught up in the fantasy that she and Colt could ever be something other than a freak-of-nature mistake.
    Her heart ached at the thought.
    The soaring castle walls came into view in the moonlight. Mia raced beneath the hedge archway and emerged into the courtyard. As her shoes hit the paving stones she came to a stop, panting. In the safety of the courtyard, she paused to catch her breath.
    Beneath the dark sky, the wind howled through the distant trees. Mia started towards the castle entrance.
    But she had hesitated a moment too long. From behind her, a hand clasped around her waist, wrenching her backwards into a narrow alley indented in the outer castle walls.
    A scream escaped Mia’s lips, but the hand slid up over her mouth, stifling her cries. Watching helplessly as the bleak courtyard slipped further away, she was dragged deeper into the chasm in the castle’s walls.

Chapter Four
    Health Warning
     
    Mia struggled to free herself as the hand pressed harder against her mouth. The sheer castle walls soared high above her on both sides, terminating in a narrow aperture exposing the moonlit sky.
    With renewed vigour, she pressed her hands against the arm that was snaked around her waist. In response, the hand clasping her mouth slid down to her throat. She opened her mouth to scream just as the hand swept her hair aside to expose the nape of her neck. ‘You know, you really should be more careful about where you loiter,’ said her captor, his breath brushing her skin.
    Mia shook his arm loose from her torso and fell back against him, her rush of fear melting into relief.
    ‘You told me to go,’ she whispered breathlessly.
    ‘And you listened,’ Colt replied into her ear. ‘I like it when you listen. The occasions are few and far between.’
    He stepped back, spinning Mia to face him. But as she turned, she squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that when she opened them, she would finally see him again. Not as a dream, or a memory, or a shadowed figure in the forest. This time, she would see him as him .
    Colt gave a throaty laugh. ‘You can open your eyes,’ he coaxed her. ‘I haven’t been hideously maimed or anything.’
    She indulged in the sound of his voice for a second longer, then opened her eyes and met his gaze. There, Colt stood before her, exactly as she’d remembered him. His black hair was a little mussed as it swept across his brow, framing two deep-green eyes that were now bathed in sliver moonlight.
    Mia reached out and touched her fingertips to his cheek, feeling his expression move into a careful smile.
    ‘Welcome home.’ Colt raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly.
    ‘Thanks,’ Mia breathed. ‘It’s good to see you. Although was it necessary to pull me in here? You really should come with a health warning.’ She moved her fingers from his face and touched them to her racing heart—though it was no longer fear that made her pulse race.
    Colt smirked. ‘I am the health warning. Besides, it hardly seemed fair that Finn got to play and I didn’t.’
    ‘Yes,’ Mia muttered, cringing at the memory. ‘Well, I hope I won’t be running into Finn again anytime soon.’
    ‘Finn is the youngest of my new coven,’ Colt replied. ‘He’s good, but hot-headed.’
    ‘Tell me about it,’ she agreed. ‘Maybe I should have introduced myself.’
    Colt gave an indifferent shrug. ‘I don’t think it would have mattered.’
    ‘He doesn’t know about me?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Oh.’ Mia’s heart sank a little. Colt hadn’t mentioned her at all? ‘You know I arrived last night, right?’ she asked, unable to stop herself. She searched his eyes for a reaction.
    His expression was removed. ‘I know,’ he said simply.
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘I had a feeling you’d come.’
    ‘I take it you’ve heard about my...’ she trailed off, then cleared her throat. ‘About my problem,’ she finished weakly.
    He smiled. ‘I have heard, yes.’
    ‘Just my luck, huh?’
    ‘You do seem to gravitate towards