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He stared down at her, at the beauty nearly obscured beneath the bloody cuts that crisscrossed her face And he finally accepted what his gut had been telling hi This witch was different She was innocent of the cruelty and treachery he’d suffered from Ancreta

Innocent

"We may finally know the purpose of that cantric of hers," the Shalanced at hi in the small audience that had followed hi why anyone would embed a cantric in a heart, and I’ve come up with one reason So the one in whom it was e?"

"I think it’s there to control her Punishe loaded spells into her cantric to punish her for doing the forbidden, or for failing to do the things he wanted her to do"

Like perform the moon ritual

"Then he put the cantric where she could never rehe said

"I agree" The Shaman shook out the lace cuffs of his sleeves "It ht him for hihe asked "To her own people?"

Paenther’s hands fisted at his sides "To one person, I think" Birik Goddess, he didn’t knohat she was He didn’t know anything anyns of a wohtmare of a ritual, she’d see hiainst his will, and he’d believed what Vhyper had told hiain his cooperation But when he thought back on that night, he reht she’d been even after Birik had attempted to ready her He’d assumed that proved her interest in hi had been as against her will as it had been his own

Paenther looked down at the ravaged, delicate beauty as if seeing her clearly for the very first tiht Birik like a panther cub Why?

But he knew She’d fought him over the animals

He looked up at Lyon "She’s an enchantress"

"What’s an enchantress?" Kara asked

The Shaman answered "The enchantress is one of the truest of the nature spirits the Mage evolved from There are few left I’ve seen them attract birds or butterflies Occasionally bees For this one to affect your animals is extraordinary"

"What function did she perfore, BP?" Lyon asked

"I’m not sure She called animals from the forest, five or six at a ti her in their blood while sheperforh the power of that ritual that Birik was able to free three wraith Daemons from the blade"

The Shaman frowned "Sacrifices are used to call forth dark power Killings like that would go against the very nature of a true enchantress"

Paenther nodded "Hence the punishments loaded into her cantric" It was suddenly so clear And yet not clear at all Just because she hadn’t wanted to kill the animals she took from the forest didn’t mean she held any love for the Ferals and Therians, the natural ene to her like they are if she supposedly attracts creatures?" Tighe asked

The Shahtfully "I’ to your own ra in her they don’t like Be very careful There’s no telling what else has been loaded into that cantric She could be a danger to you without ever runted "You think he could try to use her as a weapon"

"I’ is possible Just be very careful"

Paenther looked up at the sic?"

"Not as long as the one ove the spells still lives"

"He lives For now"

When he was sure the cutting was done, Paenther pulled out a knife and cut the ropes off her wrists Then he scooped her into his ar her in a different cell?" Lyon asked

"No She’s staying with htened "You heard what the Shaht Birik in the past doesn’t erous now"

"I heard But I owe her this"

"How can you owe her anything? She’s a witch, BP"

He otten But she’s earned an open ive it to her"

"You can do it down here"

Paenther shook his head, turned and walked away Logically, he knew Lyon was right She was still potentially dangerous, whether or not shewith since the first tione into hyperdrive

"BP"

"See you in the , Roar"

As Paenther carried her into the showers off the gyut had been telling him for some time, now That she wasn’t his enemy That she had never been his enemy That she had, in fact, been every bit as er

Stepping into the open showers, he turned on one of the faucets When the water ran warainst his shoulder and stepped under it, fully clothed For a long ti of all the things she’d told him, all the evidence of abuse he’d seen And the deep sadness that seemed to be etched into her eyes

Yet not once had he seen her cower And while she must have known Birik’s fury would be terrible if she freed her Feral captive, she’d done it anyway He ht have saved her from Birik’s immediate retribution, but he’d forced her to suffer another

Her strength in the face of such violent mistreatment had made it possible for him to believe Vhyper’s assertion that she’d been a willing and cunning participant in her own beating Yet deep down, even then, his instincts had balked at the clai innocent about her Soht he understood

He laid her on the bench across from the shower and peeled her soaked dress off her body His shocked gaze took in the sight of hundreds of fading cuts Across her breasts and nipples, through her pubic hair and tracing like latticework across her stohs How she’d taken such pain without screa, he didn’t know Had that been another of Birik’s ht when that bastard iht