Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Oh!” I gasped and my voice came out so loud—as though I had shouted instead of just gasping.
“You are free, little witch,” I heard Baba Yaga’s voice say, though I couldn’t see her anywhere. “Do not come crying to me if the curse finds you.”
Then she was gone—and so was the bedroom and the whole hut for that matter. I found myself standing upright, fully dressed, on the road that led to Hidden Hollow.
I had made my choice and now I was free…or so I thought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The wintery forest was gone and the autumn leaves had returned. Rath was fully dressed and standing right beside me on the dirt path that led to Hidden Hollow. He looked like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. Blinking and frowning, he turned to me.
“Hey, what’s going on? Why aren’t we in Baba Yaga’s hut?” he rumbled, looking confused.
“I, uh, think she evicted us,” I said. “She already talked to me, though—you slept through the whole thing.”
“What? You should have woken me up!” he protested.
I shook my head.
“I couldn’t. She kept you asleep while we talked.”
“She put a sleeping spell on me? That’s fucking unfair,” he growled, looking grumpy. “I should have been able to help you deal with her! What did she do to you?”
“She didn’t do anything…except unbind me.” I took a deep breath—the deepest breath I’d ever taken in my life. It was like the binding had been squeezing me tight for so long I didn’t even realize how constricting it was. Now that it was gone, I felt free in a way I never had before.
“Really? She removed the binding?” Rath looked cautiously pleased. “What did she demand in payment, though?” he asked.
I shook my head again.
“She didn’t ask for anything. But she did say that I couldn’t ever bother her again,” I added. “And she warned me about the family curse.”
“What is it? Did she say?” he asked.
“No—she said it wasn’t her secret to tell.” I sighed. “But I don’t want to think about it right now—I just want to enjoy being unbound.”
“Do you feel different?” Rath studied me. “You look different. You look…less wound up. Less tense.”
“That’s how I feel, too.” I had a sudden idea. “Let’s go to town! I want to talk to some strangers!”
Rath grinned.
“Sure, baby. I’d love to introduce you around, if you feel like you’re up to it.”
“I definitely am!” I said.
“Well,” he remarked, looking around. “It seems like we’re halfway there already. How about grabbing some croissants and hot chocolate at The Lost Lamb for breakfast? That way I can introduce you to Celia, the owner. Maybe even put in a good word with her about your baking skills.”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. If I could talk to people now, I could get a job that wasn’t on-line. Maybe I could even follow my passion and bake for a living instead of drudging away writing stupid add copy and doing web design all day!
(Let me just say that if you like doing on-line work, more power to you. It had never been my choice though—I would much rather be making batches of muffins and mountains of cakes and pies and pastries than spending my time as a keyboard warrior.)
“Let’s go then!” Rath took my hand in his and smiled down at me.
As our fingers entwined, I couldn’t help feeling a rush of emotion for the big Orc. He had protected me and helped me get to where I needed to go and to face Baba Yaga and get myself unbound. And he was the sweetest, most patient, most protective guy I had ever met.
Could it be I was falling in love with him?
“Is he your Heartmate?” Baba Yaga’s voice whispered in my memory. And hadn’t she mentioned that I would be safe from the family curse as long as I didn’t have a Heartmate?
I pushed the memory and the worries aside. I didn’t even know what a Heartmate was. It was probably some kind of outdated superstition and I had no time for it.
I would worry about the family curse later, I told myself. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy my new freedom and meet the people in my new town. Right now I just wanted to have fun.
Pushing all my worries to the back of my mind, I hurried to keep pace with Rath as we walked into town.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The next few days were the most amazing of my life. I was finally able to talk to people and I adored every minute of it.
You might think that living all my life as a shy introvert would keep me shy and introverted, even after the curse was removed. Instead, I found the opposite to be true. I suddenly loved talking to people—even ones I didn’t know—especially ones I didn’t know.