{"id":253057,"date":"2026-07-13T02:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/a-lady-most-hexing-bec-mcmaster\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T02:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:33:15","slug":"a-lady-most-hexing-bec-mcmaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/a-lady-most-hexing-bec-mcmaster\/","title":{"rendered":"A Lady Most Hexing – Bec McMaster"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sterling launched himself up the stairs to the front entrance of the Willoughby\u2019s manor and skidded across the polished tiles in the entry as he turned to look for Edwina. She had both hands buried in her skirts as she sprinted across the lawn behind him. \u201cGo!\u201d she yelled, seeing him turn to wait for her. Very well then. Sterling bolted through the house, heading for the sunroom where the butler said that Lady Willoughby had fainted. \u201cEliza!\u201d Lord Willoughby shook his young bride frantically. \u201cEliza, wake up!\u201d Servants filled the doorways.<\/p>\n

Sterling pushed his way through them. \u201cOut of the way! Hurry now, let us through!\u201d And then he burst into the sunroom. There was a heavy pall in the air over Lady Willoughby. Goosebumps lit over his skin as soon as he strode within ten feet of her, and a sudden menacing urge to be elsewhere flooded through him.<\/p>\n

No wonder the servants didn\u2019t dare get close. Only Willoughby could stomach it. \u201cOh, thank God!\u201d Willoughby said, looking at him helplessly. \u201cIt\u2019s just like before! She just collapsed and she doesn\u2019t appear to be breathing!\u201d \u201cMay I?\u201d Sterling set his hands in the air above Lady Willoughby\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n

There was a spark deep within her, battling for life, but it was as if that choking thickness was smothering her. \u201cShe\u2019s still alive!\u201d Sterling grabbed the entity by the metaphorical throat\u2026. But it was as if the creature simply slipped through his fingers. Not a ghost. Not a phantom. Not a gray lady. It was like nothing he\u2019d ever handled before. He wasn\u2019t even sure it was\u2026<\/p>\n

tangible. Merely terror and dread, and an overwhelming pall of fear lighting along his nerves. A shadow appeared, malevolent golden eyes popping open and locking upon him. Then hands were rushing at him, wrapping around his throat. Ice. It felt like ice. In his throat. Catching at his breath. His lungs arrested. Sterling staggered off the daybed and collapsed on the floor, trying to snatch at the set of hands strangling him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBegone!\u201d Light suddenly flooded through the room as Edwina finally appeared, summoning a set of mage globes that swirled around her head. \u201cRelease him!\u201d And with her words, she cast her magic out in a net, locking around the entity trying to strangle him. The hands vanished. The sensation of ice left him.<\/p>\n

Sterling flipped to his hands and knees with a cough, clasping one hand against his chest. The sensation of doom completely evaporated. It felt as if the heat and light of Edwina\u2019s presence could conquer even darkness itself. \u201cDamn it, Sterling.\u201d She knelt beside him, resting her warm fingertips against his chest. Instantly, the pain and ache within his lungs vanished. \u201cI told you that you were dangerously unguarded against psychic assaults.\u201d \u201cWhat was that thing?\u201d Willoughby demanded.<\/p>\n

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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, or used to train AI, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover: Selkkie Designs To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at www.becmcmaster.com 1kitap1.com\/en Want to know when my next book is released?<\/p>\n

Want behind-the-scenes exclusives? All the McMasterverse news? Sign up to my mailing list! Too many emails in your inbox? Try my New Releases Only newsletter instead. Follow me on: * Bookbub * Facebook * Instagram * Goodreads * Or join my Facebook group The Company Of Rogues 1kitap1.com\/en 1kitap1.com\/en Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Afterword Also by Bec McMaster About the Author 1kitap1.com\/en L Chapter One ondon, 1896 Sterling Reed was late.<\/p>\n

Edwina Sheffield cursed under her breath as she examined her time piece, trying to ignore the hiss of air through the train\u2019s whistle. A single minute remained until twelve and this was the last warning the train would give. \u201cI am going to murder that man, hide his body beneath an entire cartload of coal, and drive it to Cornwall myself, where I can bury it in a peat bog,\u201d she growled, snapping the time piece shut.<\/p>\n

\u201cEdie, darling,\u201d said a smooth, cultured voice behind her. \u201cIf you\u2019re plotting murder this early in the morning, then you clearly haven\u2019t had time to take your tea.\u201d \u201cJesus bloody\u2014\u201d She trapped the words behind her teeth as she spun to face her tormentor in a hiss of skirts. And then she stopped as she came face-to-face with the most handsome man she\u2019d ever laid eyes upon.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t fair. Sterling strode along the St. Pancras station platform toward her, casually elegant in a travelling suit that had been personally tailored to fit the breadth of his broad shoulders. No man alive ought to look that good in tweed. A rakish hat covered the thick golden waves of his hair, but it did nothing to hide the shock of those canny blue eyes with their dangerously thick lashes.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t know what sort of deal Sterling had struck with a demon, but it had clearly cost him his soul. For the smile he laid upon her looked like it had been carved of marble by the skilled fingertips of Guillaume Geefs\u2014if his depiction of Lucifer ever smiled.<\/p>\n

Two weeks since she\u2019d seen him last. Two weeks since she\u2019d suffered a lapse in reasoning and bloody well kissed him. Two weeks since she\u2019d resigned from his employ. And none of it mattered, because the second she saw him, her heart started skipping beats again and her abdomen became a mess of heat and want and confusion. \u201cJesus bloody\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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