Page 81 of Reckless Witch

I halt. I told Leilah that my spell is invincible, but the girl has proven herself resourceful. I turn and head back toward her dorm.

“How soon can you get here?” I ask.

“Twenty minutes.”

“I’ll be waiting in the hall outside her door.” I end the call and lock my gaze onto Leilah’s dormitory.

Bloody hell, what I can do to her body in twenty minutes.

Two hours later, I catch up with Raith on his walk from his afternoon class to his office. He’s looking far better than he’s looked in years. Leilah’s blood did him good. He gives me a sideways glance and keeps walking.

“I just came from Rebecca,” I say. “She said the magic used in the spear is elemental.”

He frowns. “That’s advanced magic.”

I nod. “Maybe a dozen people on campus are capable of casting such a spell. Off the top of my head, I can easily eliminate half of them.”

“Who are the remaining six?” he asks.

I rattle off a list of names—four teachers and two students.

Raith gives a single shake of his head. “What reason could any of them have for wanting to hurt Leilah?”

“I would like to say I don’t know, but it’s clear the students associate Leilah with her grandmother.”

“Not surprising,” he says. I start to reply, and he adds, “I’m not saying anyone has a right to kill her. I’m not sure that’s enough for any of these kids to commit murder. Is it possible someone breached The Academy wall?”

I want to reply with an emphatic no, but have to say, “I don’t know. The search Ethan and I made along the wall turned up no evidence that anyone—or anything—breached the wards. The attack with the Thol’guk and the spear make two attempts on her life. I have no real leads. I’ll take a look at our six obvious suspects.”

He glances at his watch. “Get Hamish to fill in for Ethan’s afternoon classes and have him help with the investigation.”

“Ethan is guarding Leilah’s room,” I say.

He looks sharply at me. “You didn’t reinforce the spell around her room?”

“I did. But she’s too damn resourceful. Ethan and I agree that someone has to keep watch on her.” I wonder if Ethan is making love to her. I was a fool not to take her into my bed before they discovered she was back.

Raith stares straight ahead and walks a little faster. “We can’t stop her if she wants to leave.”

“Actually, we can. She’s agreed to a blood pact with us.”

A corner of his mouth curls upward. “I have no intention of making a blood pact with her.”

“It will force her to keep her word, and we can remove Ethan’s sigil from her hand. That will give her back the use of her magic.” I brace for an argument, but he goes quiet. I know enough to let him think.

“She shouldn’t be practicing magic,” he finally says.

“The devil, you say.”

“She needs to grow up,” he replies.

“She’s twenty-two,” I say, though I know that’s not what he means. “You intend to make her pay for a perceived treachery.”

“It isn’t perceived,” he snaps. “She openly betrayed me. That has nothing to do with this situation.”

“Lie to yourself, Raith, but don’t insult my intelligence by lying to me.”

“You and Ethan are so afraid of losing her that she’s got you both wrapped around her finger.”