Abandoned (Book Two of the Castle Coven Series): A Witch and Warlock Romance Novel Read Free

on!”
    Piers leapt into the air, and in a matter of seconds, they were high above the courtyard. She was looking down at the people far below, watching them watch her. She should have been afraid or upset, but instead, all she felt was a reckless glee.
    “Ha, I should have known you were a flyer,” she said to him.
    “Oh? And why’s that?”
    “Everyone knows that witches and warlocks gifted with flight are unpredictable and wild,” she retorted. “All the old books say so.”  
    “Hmm, and what do the old books say about mouthing off before you’re back on solid ground?”
    “On that they are silent,” she responded with affected dignity. “But you better take good care of me. You can’t rough me up too much before I see the coven master.”
    “Rough you up. You know that doesn’t sound like exactly what I want to do with you.”  
    There was a definite flirtatiousness to his voice this time, and Hailey found herself blushing. She was saved from having to respond, however, when they found themselves at a window in one of the Castle’s many towers. Piers entered, and easily set her down on her feet inside.  
    The room was small, but incredibly luxurious. The tower’s round walls were lined with books of all kinds, and the floor was covered with a thick, plush carpet that looked like it had been knotted by hand. Off to the side was a large traditional wooden desk, and on top of that, unexpected amidst the traditional furnishings, was a sleek, little laptop.
    Hailey wondered what kind of man kept this library. She wondered if he was kind or stern, if he would see her as a person or as a tool. She turned around and to her shock realized that Piers was perched on the edge of the coven master’s desk.
    “Um, should you really be doing that?”
    “Why shouldn’t I?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.
    “Because you’re…because the coven master will…”
    Under his patient eyes, she stuttered to a stop, and then she frowned.
    “You’re the coven master, aren’t you?”  
    He grinned, and she realized that he didn’t need to be classically handsome. When he really smiled, he was gorgeous.  
    “I am. I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. It was simply too good a chance to get to know you.”  
    Hailey was torn between feeling incredibly angry or amused about the situation. On one hand, he had taken advantage of the fact that she was new in order to play a prank on her. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure that she would have been able to be as open and as easy with a man who she knew immediately as the coven master of one of the most beautiful places she had ever been. She decided that since she had tried to drain him and set him on fire when she first laid eyes on him that she would settle on amused.  
    “I’ll call it even if you forget about me thinking that you were going to harm those kids. You weren’t, right?”
    He shook his head.
    “No, that was me just doing my part for training the children. Eventually, they would all have latched on to me and I would take them for a little flight.”
    “And what does that train them to do, exactly?”
    “I don’t know, to hang on, perhaps? You did quite well yourself.”  
    She flushed a little, thinking of their brief flight.
    “Well, I can fly too. I’ve done it before.”
    “And it takes more to impress you than that, I’m sure. Hopefully, you’ll find things at the Castle that intrigue you and encourage you to stay, even if you were unimpressed with me.”  
    Hailey started to protest that she wasn’t unimpressed. Then she saw the laugh lurking at the corner of Piers’s mouth and gave in.  
    “All right then, impress me,” she said challengingly. “Show me what makes this place so very special.
    Something new lit up Piers’s face, and she realized that it was an immense sense of pride and pleasure that he took in his home.  
    “We strive to please. I’ll show you around the Castle, and at the end, you can decide for