Once Upon a Dark October

Chapter Twenty-Three

I took the longest route back to the cliffside, fearing a swarm of bloodthirsty bats would descend upon me. Safely inside the foyer of the estate—even though I knew it wouldn’t hold off the bats for certain—I sagged against the front door, tipping my head back. Wisps of sweat-dark hair snagged at my chin. I let the empty bucket hit the floor; I’d poured out the dirty water on the side of the road once I had left the castle grounds.

“I thought you’d be home hours ago.”

It was a relief to hear Morrigan’s voice. The beating of wings caused me to flinch before I remembered I wasn’t in danger. What a comfort it was, then, to be greeted by those who wanted me here. A coven of my own who did not treat me as if I were something to be stepped on. Emotions were hard to parse out in glossy eyes and fanged snouts, but the urgency in the pairs of wings wheeling around my head—sweeping and diving over each other—told me that I had been missed.