Cauldrons and Cat Tails (Moonvale Matches #2)

37. Tandor

CHAPTER 37

Tandor

W ind whipped by my ears as I ran through the Greenwood Forest. I wasn’t nearly as fast as some of the other folk, but I didn’t care. I pumped my arms, pushing myself as fast as I could go.

My thighs burned with the effort. It was a pleasant agony. I didn’t know where I was going, and I didn’t care. I just let my body carry me away. Deeper into the forest, farther from the familiarity of Moonvale.

A strange purple fog cloaked the forest, blurring the edges of trees, camouflaging the leaf-covered ground. It seeped into my skin, snaked up my nostrils. The ice and ash scent of it was pleasant—it made my blood feel thick and sticky in my veins.

A product of the witches, surely.

I had only one witch on my mind. Kizzi. Kizzi with her sass, her obliviousness, her contagious laugh. Her long flowy skirts and her delicate pointed ears.

Kizzi, who cared for me too. Impossibly. Miraculously.

I wanted to go to her. To be with her. To finish out Hallow’s Eve with her by my side.

I pushed myself harder. Leaves whipped my skin as I passed.

My thoughts strayed to the journey, to the hours spent in the carriage with the witch pressed to my side. To the shared meals, the traded snacks. To the nights spent sharing warmth. To the nights spent sharing more than just warmth.

I brought myself to a stop. I clutched the trunk of a tree for support as I caught my breath.

I couldn’t resist anymore.

Turning in the other direction, I set my targets on Kizzi’s apothecary.

I slipped through the forest like a ghost, avoiding the critters and folk alike. My blood thrummed in my veins—my muscles surged with renewed energy.

Mind full of green hair and greener eyes, the run passed quickly.

The apothecary lights were off, the front door locked. But I knew she was inside.

My breaths sawed in and out of my lungs, fogging behind the mask strapped to my face.

I knocked on the door. Nobody answered. I knew better than to try to break in—she surely had enchantments set up to prevent that—so I knocked again.

And again.

And again.

Eventually, I heard the telltale creak of wood. The soft pad of feet. The sound of Kizzi approaching.

My pulse thudded in my ears.

When Kizzi pulled the door open, her hair was mussed with interrupted sleep, pulled up into a loose knot on top of her head. She was wearing a thin nightgown that clung to her in all the right places. Her feet were bare. She looked soft, warm, delicious . I ached to taste her. To tease her. To touch her.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily. “What’s going on?” she asked. Her voice was rough, and so unbelievably sexy. My cock hardened at the sight of her.

I didn’t say anything. I simply stepped forward, pushing her inside and slamming the door shut behind me. She gasped in surprise.

I grabbed her by the waist and pushed her back against the door. I crowded her, dropping my face into her neck, enjoying her proximity. I traced one of my hands up her throat, curling my fingers around her neck, lifting her chin with my thumb.

She was so small, my little witch. So delicate. I could snap her bones beneath my hands if I wished.

Or I could shatter the skulls of anyone who tried to harm her.

The thought brought a rumble to the back of my throat.

She trembled in my grasp, her breaths picking up speed. “What’s happening?” Kizzi breathed. “Tandor?”

I didn’t answer.

I gripped her around the waist and tossed her body over my shoulder. I held her carefully but firmly, making sure her soft stomach didn’t bruise.

She protested weakly.

I wanted her in my space. My home. And I wanted to keep her there.

I opened the door with one hand and carried Kizzi across town to my cottage.

She peppered me with questions the entire way. “Tandor? Hello? Where are we going? I have legs, you know.”

I didn’t respond. I had one goal in mind—to get her into my bed.

My focus homed in on the witch slung over my shoulder and nothing else. I didn’t know if we passed any other folk, if there were critters in my path. I wouldn’t have even noticed if the streets were on fire.

My cottage came into view quickly.

“Isn’t this your home? Tandor?”

I shoved the door open and kicked it shut behind me.