Hitching the bag over my shoulder, I faced Roman again, and he was grinning at me.
“I see you’re prepared.”
“Absolutely. Now, let’s go kill ourselves a sorcerer.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
In a matter of seconds, Roman had transported us to an empty meadow, quite close to the spot where Finn brought me to call my dad. The purple barrier hovered in the air and shot up into the sky just a short distance away.
“Come, we’ll walk from here.”
“Where are we going? There are no houses for miles.”
“Correction, no visible houses.”
“Right,” I replied, not entirely sure what he meant by that.
Roman strode ahead of me, and when he reached the barrier, he walked directly through it. I followed him, but when I reached the other side there were still no houses in sight.
“Theodore’s been staying on the other side of the barrier?” I questioned.
“After what happened the other day, I presume that he decided remaining just outside of Tribane was the safer option.”
He swept his hand through the air and gold shone from his palm. It was like he was using an eraser to wipe away the glamour because each time he swiped his hand a new piece of a hidden picture started to emerge. Theodore hadn’t just hidden any old house here in the middle of nowhere, he’d hidden his mansion. The very same mansion that I saw crumble to the ground with my own two eyes on Ridley Island almost a year ago.
To be able to recreate a house that’d been destroyed was just mind-boggling to me.
When Roman was done and the entire mansion was revealed to us, I instinctively took a step back. I had a bad feeling about this and that bad feeling was confirmed when the door opened and a small, dark figure emerged.
Rita.
We were a short distance from the building, so she began to walk towards us. I looked to Roman for guidance on what we should do, but he was staring at Rita like the very sight of her enthralled him. Well, okay then.
“Um, what’s happening?” I asked.
“It appears that Theodore has decided to send his protégé to come and face us instead of doing it himself.”
I snorted. “Scaredy cat.”
“More like a clever cat. He knows you love her like a sister and that no matter what happens you won’t kill her.”
“Well, that’s just cheating,” I replied, annoyed now.
“Little witch, what a pleasure,” Roman called out. “I’ve been hoping we’d meet again.”
“Fuck you,” she spat. “Neither of you should be here.”
“Rita …” I began but trailed off when her eyes cut to me, and my heart chilled to its very core at the look she gave me. Pure hatred. “Oh, don’t start this shit again, Tegan. I’m not your Rita, so stop giving me those bloody puppy dog eyes and thinking I’m going to come back to you.”
This was the most she’d said to me since she went to join Theodore, so despite her venom, I took hope from the fact that she was actually talking to me.
“I’m not going to give up on you,” I shot back. “Even if you have turned into a massive bitch.”
Roman chuckled. Something flickered behind Rita’s eyes, but she quickly disguised it.
“Say whatever you want. I think I’ll kill you now so that I can be done with you turning up all the time trying to save me.”
“You’d really do that?” I asked, unable to help the wobble in my voice. “You’d kill me?”
Her mouth tightened. “Why not? You’re nothing to me, nothing but an irritation.”
Roman was still laughing like he knew a secret, and I wished he’d stop. This wasn’t a laughing matter. He shot Rita a seductive look, and I suddenly realised that he had the hots for her. Great. That was all we needed to add to an already complicated situation.
“Tegan, do you think you can handle her on your own?” he asked. “I want to go and find Theodore.”
“No!” I screeched. “She just said she’s going to kill me and you want to leave me alone with her! What the fuck?”
“I wouldn’t be leaving if I didn’t think you’d be safe,” Roman replied like he hadn’t a worry in the world.
“I don’t care what you think. You’re not leaving me.”
He took a step closer and stared deeply into my eyes. “You can do this. I believe in you.”
And with that, he disappeared.
Several very loud expletives erupted from my mouth.
Rita grinned viciously.
Before I had the chance to do a thing, she threw a bolt of magic at me, knocking me to the ground. I yelped, feeling the pain shoot right up my back.
“Christ, Rita!” I snapped. A sharp sting shot through my middle, and fear clutched at me. I pressed my hand to my stomach, hoping the baby was okay. Rita’s gaze followed the movement, and her eyes narrowed in something close to disgust.