Page 104 of Wedded Witch

“Sure, sure,” Mavis says, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “And I’ll be winning beauty pageants by sundown.”

Kel leans over, whispering loud enough for everyone to hear, “Honestly, she might.”

Sol’s chuckle fills the room, and even Ri lets out a low grunt that might be a laugh.

Swyn’s hand squeezes mine again, and I catch her eyes, warmth radiating between us. “You’ll be fine,” she assures me softly, her voice a steady anchor amidst the teasing. “I’ll be right here.”

I flash her a smile. “I know. Just don’t let Mavis put me in anything ridiculous while I’m recovering.”

“Oh, I’ve got just the thing,” Mavis cuts in with a wink. “A nice floral robe and some fuzzy slippers should do the trick.”

Kel grins. “I vote we let her.”

I groan dramatically, throwing my head back. “See what I have to deal with? Lucky Charm, I don’t mind sharing you, but does it have to be with these arseholes?”

“Arseholes?” Ri snickers. “It’s assholes, dude. And you need to pick a different nickname for her. Lucky charm’s mine.”

“I called her that first,” I reply with a triumphant grin which causes Ri to bare his teeth at me. “Though I guess I can claim the titlewifefor her.”

“Enough,” Mavis interrupts again, clapping her hands. “We need to get moving if you boys are serious about breaking this curse. Time’s ticking, and I’m not getting any uglier.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Sol mutters under his breath.

Mavis shoots him a look. “Keep it up, cinnamon roll, and I’ll be feeding you some ‘special’ tea next.”

Sol pales. “Point taken.”

With a dramatic sigh, I try to sit up straighter. “Alright, get going before she decides to curse us all.”

Mavis gestures toward the door. “Off we go, boys. We won’t come back empty-handed.”

As Mavis, Kel, Ri, and Sol head toward the door, I can’t help but call after them, “Try not to get lost in the catacombs! I’m not coming to rescue you this time.”

Kel winks. “We’ll leave the heroics to you, big bro.”

As the door swings shut behind them, the playful atmosphere lingers for a moment before Swyn’s eyes meet mine again, softer now. The room feels quieter without the banter, the gravity of what lies ahead settling back in.

SWYN

I waitfor the front door to close and the four of them to exit through the garden gate before turning back to Oland. He looks so much better than when we found him, and I have to wonder at what kind of miracle healing magic Mavis must have weaved on him, because I was honestly worried he was dead.

Forcing myself to push that thought - and the accompanying panic - from my mind, I take a deep breath.

Be brave, Swyn, you can do this.

“How are you feeling?” I ask Oland tentatively.

“I’m fine. Honestly, I could have gone with them. Don’t know why the old bat insisted on me staying here when she knows she did a damn fine job of healing me.”

I smile at the affectionate lilt to his voice when he talks about Mavis. The pair of them have banter like she does with Ri. Actually, Ri and Oland seem similar in a lot of ways. Being a bit gruff being the main one.

“So you’re from Spells Hollow originally?” I ask, trying to fill the silence.

Oland relaxes back onto the pillows and pats the bed beside him. Weirdly, it doesn’t feel strange to lie next to him and roll onto my side, so that we’re facing one another. It feels right.

“You know I come from a long line of Watchers. We’ve always been assigned to the Galdurs. When your family moved from Spells Hollow, my ancestors followed. There was a short spell when we were back here for a while, but I didn’t recognise the place until the other day. We were kids, but I’m guessing it was your parents or grandparents who came here looking for a way to break the curse. They left when your mum found out she was pregnant.”

“With me,” I whisper.

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