He had the nerve to smile. "I'm sorry. But it's not like I made her do anything bad."
"That doesn't mean you won't," I shot back, stepping away from him.
He reached out as if to touch me, but I recoiled. "She is human. She'll be fine."
I shook my head. "I'm like her, too. If I didn't have this protective charm, you'd do things to me, too."
Tony's eyes darkened. "You're not like them," he said softly, his voice almost gentle. "That's what I wanted to tell you."
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
His smile faded, replaced by something more serious. "Have you ever heard of bound witches?"
The words hung in the air between us, heavy and unsettling. My heart pounded, and I instinctively reached for the charm around my neck. "Bound witches?" I repeated, the unfamiliar term sending a
