Page 91 of Love's a Witch
“Naturally,” I agreed with her, gently teasing. But also, where did the dragons live exactly? I hadsomany questions.
“The more sparkles, the better. They also like anything unique or amusing. The last time I was granted a visit, I brought a mother-of-pearl secret chest. It was a puzzle of sorts, you see? They had to unlock several mechanisms to open each secret drawer or panel. And then inside that, I’d added a glorious bunch of Sri Lankan sapphires—pink ones, mind you—and they’d been delighted. I took my tea there that day, and it’s still one of the best afternoons of my life.”
“Are there many of them? Or are they solitary creatures?” I realized my knowledge of dragon communities was sorely lacking.
“Och, there’s a good bunch tucked away up there. They have families and live together as a community. Quite a peaceful bunch, really. They fancy themselves protectors of Briarhaven, as I’m sure you know better than anyone.”
“Me? I don’t really know, actually.” Imagine that, dragons protecting our wee town. I wondered why she thoughtIwould know. “Are they related to emberwolves?”
“They are. And I heard you’ve been lucky enough to gain one as your familiar. Is that right? Will you bring him to me?” Her eyes lit up, and I took a step back, imagining her on a throne, screeching,Bring me your emberwolves!
“I’m sure he’d be happy to meet you.”
“Och, that would be the best.” Dorothy clapped her hands, and then her face fell into worried lines. “Oh no, I’m going to have to research the best gift for an emberwolf. I wouldn’t want to offend him.”
“Cheese,” I said, and laughed when she looked at me like I was putting her on. “I promise you it’s cheese. He’ll be your best friend for life if you feed him cheese.”
“Cheese it is, then. You’ll bring him next week?” Dorothy flicked a hand on the Apple Watch at her wrist and brought up her calendar. “Thursday suits.”
“Um, right. Sure. I’ll bring him Thursday. He’ll enjoy getting out.”
I wasn’t sure how much Blue would care one way or the other, but when Dorothy rounded the table and threw her arms around me in excitement, I realized I’d made the right decision. I may be making a lot of people in Briarhaven angry with the incessant snow, but I might have other tools in my wheelhouse to start winning more people over. And my sweet boy, Blue, looked to be one of them. After she walked away, I smiled up at Knox.
“There you go, Sloane. Winning the town over, one dragon lover at a time.”
“You think they’ll come to accept us?” I leaned in as the carolers took to the stage and began to sing.
“I think they already have.” Knox kissed my forehead, and I snuggled close as the carolers sang about their wish for a white Christmas.
At this rate, they’d have it and more.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVESloane
I missed Knox.
I was surprised just how much I’d come to rely upon him, in such a short time.
By Sunday, I wanted nothing more than to strip myself out of this pink ski suit, curl into a cozy blanket, and read a book by the fire. Blue missed me, as I’d made the decision to let him stay with Henry over the weekend, keeping Haggis and Oswald company. From what I was told, he was having the time of his life, but I was ready for him to come home. I hadn’t spent another night at Knox’s, despite his attempts to take me home after the festival because I was nervous about being seen going home with the town’s shining knight. It was one thing to ingratiate ourselves by doing good for the community, it was another thing entirely to be taking one of the most-loved bachelors in town for my own.
To my surprise, Knox not only handled my rejection well, he also called me once he got home to video chat with Blue. We ended up talking for hours, curled on our sides in bed, hashing over all the experiences we’d had each day. It was nice. And a part of me had ached to be next to him. I could see it, already: our days winding down curled up in bed, having these talks face-to-face.
I wasn’t so sure that I wanted just a trial run with him anymore.
Restless, I went downstairs, ready for a cup of tea before bed, needing to unwind from a whirlwind weekend. I hadn’t thought much about work in the past few weeks, having finished my last major marketing gig a few weeks before we’d arrived to Briarhaven.
But I realized after meeting so many people this weekend that I wanted to do something else.
I wanted to tell their stories.
It was really just an offshoot of marketing, wasn’t it? Working on helping a brand showcase themselves was simply storytelling. And I’d met so many fascinating and deeply magickal people over the weekend that my hands itched to work the tidbits and snatches of what I’d heard into something more. Something tangible.
At the very least, it gave me some direction for the first time in ages. Being back in Briarhaven, my creative energy was starting to come alive again. At some point, I needed to speak to the woman at the bookstore—I suspected she could tell me if anyone was cataloging the stories of Briarhaven’s people.
“I’m knackered,” Nova said from where she and Lyra were sprawled on the couch. Broca snoozed quietly in her chair, the festival having knocked everything out of her.
“Me too. But I think we did good, didn’t we?”
“Did you know that Marcie at Mystic Munchies weaves spells into her baked goods? She has an entire holistic section that is specific to certain needs.” Lyra waved a finger in the air. “I need to see if she’ll share some of her secrets.”
