Chapter 25 Dylan #2
Despite throwing it with considerable force, Non didn't even stir. I went in search of a slightly bigger pebble and tried again.
It took five pebbles in total to get Non to wake up, and even when she did flutter her eyes open, she still took her sweet time to come around.
“Doesn't make a good impression on the boss if you're sleeping on the job during your first shift,” I chuckled.
Her eyes snapped open as soon as I spoke, and she jumped to her feet. She nearly went tumbling as she scrambled for her staff. Once it was in her hands, she angled the tip at my chest, her brow furrowed so deeply I was worried it might stay that way permanently.
I had never found being threatened a turn on before, but gods, she was adorable when she was angry.
“I would recommend using the sharp end on that thing if you want to do some real damage.”
She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question.”
Her chest rose and fell with the frustrated breaths she huffed out. Eventually, she lowered her staff and took a few steps closer. Murder in her peculiar eyes.
The wards around Llwyn Onn were almost impossible to see, and even when you caught a glimmer of the iridescent sheen, it was temporary. But as Non moved closer, I felt the suffocating pressure ease, ever so slightly.
She lifted her chin as she stabbed a finger towards my chest. “I'm serving my Coven. I was assigned this area to cover during the night watch.”
A smirk tilted my lips. “And a fine job you're doing of it, I see.”
I didn't think it was possible for her to look more annoyed, but she managed to. “You're just the type of intruder I was told to look out for; I should call for backup. You aren't supposed to be here.”
A cruel smile danced on my lips. “And yet you're still stood here arguing with me.”
She opened her mouth, drawing in a breath as if she was about to scream. A sad little part of me had hoped she would hold off for a few more minutes; the bickering really did it for me. But as she started to scream, my body reacted in an instant.
I lurched forward, and my hand moved to cover her mouth.
I had no intention of touching her anywhere else.
The wards would have snapped me in two. But my boot caught on a stone I hadn't noticed, and I tripped forward.
Luckily, Non was only a few feet away from the castle wall, and I was able to plant my free hand against the wall.
Stopping both of us from crashing to the floor.
Our bodies were now dangerously close, pressed flush against each other. I could feel the frantic beat of Non's heart against my own. Her gold and silver eyes were like glowing orbs as they pinned me with a look of outrage.
“If I take my hand away, do you promise not to call for help or scream?”
The temptress arched a brow, and I found myself shifting my weight backwards so she couldn't feel exactly what that look did to me.
“Well?” I pushed, “As much as I enjoy spending my evening pressed against you in a dark corner, I would rather that mouth of yours not be covered, not with my hand, at least.”
A sharp pain pinched the inside of my palm, and I snatched it away with a hiss. A trail of dark blood began to trickle down my hand.
Her grin was feline as she licked the drop of blood off her lower lip. I knew that image would haunt me forever, etched into my memory when I met my maker. It would follow me still, even when I became nothing but ash in Annwn.
Non seemed to visibly shiver as she continued to lick the remains of my blood off her lip. I could see the cogs in her brain turning. She started to speak, inevitably asking why my blood made her feel the way she was currently feeling.
“How exactly did you plan on serving your Coven when you can't wield D?n's power?”
Thanks to my quick interruption, her face twisted in frustration rather than focusing on the effects of my blood.
“That's none of your business,” Non snapped.
It only struck me then that when I'd tripped, I had actually stepped past the wards that surrounded Llwyn Onn.
But I was still in one piece, and my lungs and ribcage seemed in tip-top condition as always.
I wasn't screaming in agony; seemingly, the wards had either fallen completely, or something was blocking them where we stood.
The latter was more likely because if the entire ward fell around Llwyn Onn, the whole place would have been in a frenzy.
Flicking my eyes away from Non's enchanting stare, I noticed the torch above her illuminated the faint outline of the wards. But instead of the almost invisible ward falling between us like a wall, it was being dispersed around us.
Non was repelling the wards.
But only a few days prior, Non had run headfirst into the ones outside Ledr Bronwen's office, bouncing off them, breaking her nose in the process. If she could repel the wards, wouldn't she have walked right through them that day, too?
There was clearly much more to uncover about her newfound ability. And this, the way Non seemed to repel the wards, this was exactly the weakness I had been tasked to look for.
A sour taste coated my mouth at the thought of Non being harmed if I shared the information with Gwaun. The fact that she was his daughter would mean nothing to him; it wouldn't stop him from using her like a pawn in his conquest for more power.
“Will you be out here every night? That's a lot of excuses I'll have to come up with so I can visit.”
She ran her hand through her hair as she looked off into the distance to where the encampment of the Northern, Southern, and Central Covens sat in the expanse behind Llwyn Onn.
“This is my punishment for what I did to Seren the other day. Ail Llew told me I was assigned to watch this area every night until the Anoethau start. Even while I compete, I still have to serve out my punishment, just not as frequently. How generous of Granny.”
The look of guilt that was on her face made me murderous.
I had been there the day she got into it with Seren.
Although I hadn't seen exactly what had happened outside the study, we'd heard it all.
Knowing what Seren was like, I could say with certainty that she deserved everything Non had done to her and more.
I nodded towards Carnwennan. “Ever thought about taking that out of its coverings and trying to use it correctly? If you're going to be out here regularly, then I suggest you have a weapon you can actually use to defend yourself should the need arise. That staff is a waste of time.”
Non pulled the dagger from its sheath and examined it before shrugging. “Am I supposed to feel something when I hold it?”
“The fabric wrapped around it is spelled to dull the effects of the stone hilt. I'm guessing you've only been able to summon it when your power takes over?”
Non nodded. “I don't know how I did it last night. It just seemed to appear from nowhere. I haven't tried since then, though.”
“The fabric only dulls the connection between a Witch and the stone; it doesn't stop someone from summoning it entirely.
An incredibly powerful Witch wouldn't be hindered by spelled fabric. My best guess is that when you lose control like you did last night, your power is strong enough to still summon Carnwennan.”
Non's eyes widened in shock at the mention of how powerful she was. It took effort for me to not start giving Bronwen and her Coven a verbal lashing there and then for keeping the extent of Non's powers hidden from her.
I reached out my hand, and the wooden staff that Non still held ripped from her grasp, landing in my open palm.
“Summoning means you move something from one location to another, moving Carnwennan from its sheath to your hand, for example.
If you were really a Wielder of D?n, the wood in the staff should call to you, which it hasn't. But Carnwennan has had the spelled fabric wrapped around it the whole time for protection. How about we take it off and see if you can feel the stone smithed into the dagger call to you.”
I gestured for Non to pass me the weapon, which she did. I unwrapped the fabric from the hilt and dropped it on the ground.
Her eyes were fixed on Carnwennan as I took a few steps back and held out the dagger.
“Close your eyes and focus on finding the connection. The stone calling to you is like a tuning fork ringing, or so I've heard. Once you pick up on its call, you can envision where you want it to go.”
Non took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She lifted a hand, ready to summon Carnwennan to that exact spot. As the dagger began to tremble, she opened her eyes, panic painted on her features. She nodded towards her open palm.
“But what if she sharp end stabs me here—”
Her question was cut short as Carnwennan hurtled through the air. Non let out a shriek and dropped to the ground.
I dove forward, but even I was too slow to intervene; the speed at which the dagger shot towards her was unlike any other Witch or Wielder I had ever seen, save for myself.
Thankfully, her lapse in concentration meant Carnwennan flew off course and hit the castle wall behind Non.
She stood slowly and covered her audible gasp with her hand as she saw that the dagger had embedded in the stone wall, causing a large fissure to appear.
Pride and something else swelled in my chest. I had no doubt she'd be magnificent if she was given the chance, but the speed and force with which she summoned the dagger on her first try was unreal.
“Next time, try to not get distracted when directing it where to go. I'd hate to see that pretty face of yours get ruined.”
Non whipped around, her face disgusted. “You're a pig.”
“You wound me, cariad.” I made my way towards Carnwennan and tried to pry it from the stone wall, but it was well and truly stuck. “Why don't you try summoning it again? Maybe you can aim for my head this time.”
She crossed her arms. “Why don't you just summon it yourself, oh mighty Son of the Sea?”