Halfway Hexed Read Free Page B

channels—”
    “But I don’t know the proper channels!” Could the wizard government really be so rigid that they wouldn’t take into account extenuating circumstances? People had been trying to kill us! The town had been under siege! There’d been no time for magical red tape. I wanted to explode with fury and couldn’t understand how Bryn could sit there so calmly.
    “Right, but I do know the protocols, and they’ll say I should’ve used them, whether I suspected internal corruption or not. They’ll claim there are safeguards to ensure that any communications reach headquarters intact. So if there was a problem here last week, I should’ve reported it and asked for assistance, rather than breaking laws to handle it myself. I wasn’t supposed to be interfering in what happened to you.”
    “Right. You should’ve just let me get killed or whatever.”
    “The documents that have been filed so far don’t reflect that you were in danger. The ones I sent apparently haven’t made it to the WAM offices in London.”
    My eyebrows shot up. Intercepted? Stolen? Destroyed?
    “How do you know?” I asked.
    Bryn didn’t answer, which was probably for the best. I didn’t need the names of the people who spied for him.
    “Look, it’s your choice,” he said. “This is dangerous business. If you tell the truth and agree to do whatever Barrett says, they’ll probably let you off with a warning.”
    “But you couldn’t get off with a warning, and I’m the reason they’re coming. My using magic is what started all this.”
    “You didn’t know what you were getting into. Now that you do, I’ll understand if—”
    I held out a hand. There was no way I would let Bryn go down alone for helping me. Not if I could prevent it. “You showed me the letter last week.”
    The corner of his mouth curved up. “You should bind yourself to me, Tamara. If you’re going to take risks with me, you might as well reap the rewards.” He ran his fingertip over my left ring finger. Warmth and magic danced up my arm and seeped into the deepest parts of my body.
    I shivered, trapped for a moment in his dark blue gaze. I can’t. “That would be crazy. We barely know each other.”
    “We know each other in the way that counts most.”
    I blushed, drawing my hand away from his. Not that I really wanted to pull back. What I really wanted was for him to keep my hand and to take the rest of me along with it. Except I wasn’t supposed to let him have any part of me. I tightened my muscles and looked away from his face. “What else do I need to say about the last couple weeks?”
    “There are two things that you have to remember and never waver about. First, that you saw the letter saying I’d won the appeal. Second, that the curse from the wizards caused the pixie-dust spill. You can’t let it slip about your fae ancestry.”
    “I won’t.”
    He had another bite of sushi while studying me. “Do you know how lawyers help witnesses prepare to give testimony?”
    I shook my head.
    “They practice with them. After lunch, why don’t we spend a few hours getting you ready for their interrogation? I’ll play a Conclave member and ask you questions. You cantry to evade the traps I set for you.”
    “I have to go back to the bakery for a little while, but I can practice until then, and I’ll come back afterward if you think I need to.”
    “Good. Let’s plan on that.”
    “Let’s see first how the afternoon goes. I’ll be back tonight if I need to practice, not just because you want me to come over.”
    “Oh, right. Thanks for setting me straight.” The sarcastic edge to his voice caused a stab of guilt to shoot through me. He’d done a lot for me, and we both knew it. I should’ve been sweeter to him, or at least more gracious. And honestly, I wanted to be. That was the trouble. I couldn’t trust myself around him, so I was doing my best to keep us apart.
    “I wasn’t—it’s not that I don’t want to see you, but