Page 21 of Happily Ever Witch
Damn if Trevelyan didn’t enjoy her sneering. What dragon could possibly resist so much fire? “You might do.” He decided and barely dodged another heel through his foot.
The Walrus ignored the byplay. “Yeah, but… you don’tneeda True Love, anymore. You’re awake, so she’s served her purpose. We can get rid of her, now.”
Trevelyan slowly blinked. The man still wasn’t getting it. Was one dead body on the floor not enough? Was Trevelyan being too subtle?
The Walrus continued talking, heedless of danger. “Dragons aren’t all sentimental about their True Loves, like wolves, and witches, and friggin’ Midas. You won’t care if we kill this mouthy bitch. That’s what makes you the best at being Bad.”
“No.” Trevelyan corrected, his roiling temper achieving conflagration. “What makes me the best at being Bad isI’m the fucking best at being Bad!”
The last part came out as a reverberating roar. He might not be sure what he was going to do with the witch, but he knew for goddamncertainthat no one was going to steal her from him. His powers were too weak to take on his true form, but the dragon was still within him. Always. And it was fully awake now, pissed that someone would threaten what was theirs.
Green smoke began to rise from his skin and swirl around his body, a precursor to the transformation. That was enough to terrify anyone with a brain in their head.
The Walrus shrank back.
The remaining playing card guards froze in terror.
Esmeralda didn’t even flinch.
Trevelyan ignored what that revealed about her IQ and advanced on the Walrus. “Now let me be very,veryclear, because you seem very,verystupid.” His voice echoed with flames and death. “What’s minestaysmine, for as long as I want to keep it. No one takes it. No one threatens it. No onetouchesit.”
The Walrus was too terrified to even move. Trevelyan got that reaction a lot.
“I could kill every person in this kingdom without even noticing they were alive, in the first place.” Trevelyan went on ruthlessly. “And I will start withyouif you ever --Ever!--take… or threaten… ortouch… my witch.” If he’d been in dragon-form, fire would be coating that carefully enunciated threat. “She is justmine.” The words sizzled the air.
Esmeralda seemed transfixed. Like she was seeing him for the first time. In a way, shewas. The dragon was his truest self, so she’d better get used to it.
Trevelyan pointed at her for the Walrus’ benefit, so there could be no mistake. So everyone could be crystal clear on the one and only rule that mattered. The line between life and death for every other man in the universe. “No one. touches. what’s.mine.”
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…” The White Rabbit came scampering back into the room. “This isn’t going well, at all.”
“You said the mystical coma would drain him.” The Walrus frantically hissed. “Well, he doesn’t look drained.”
“He’s stronger than I gave him credit for, but I’m sure his powers are completely depleted, by now.” The White Rabbit’s whole body shook with fear, belying his assurances. “He can’t transform or he already would have.”
“I’m not taking the chance. Gas him or something!”
“I can’t use the sleeping gas, again. Spells only work once on a person.” The White Rabbit fished a hypodermic needle from his waistcoat. “Here! I prepared this, just in case. You’ll need to jab him with it.”
“You’re the scientist.Youdo it. Quick, before he escapes.”
“The castle is enchanted so neither of them can leave. He’s not going anywhere.”
“We won’t either, if he kills us!”
He was trapped in here? Trevelyan spared a glance towards the ceiling.
Fuck.
“This tranquilizer will knock him out.” The White Rabbit insisted, like he was trying to convince himself of the plan. “We’ll administer it to him and we can wake him up again, with heavy restraints in place.”
Trevelyan’s eyes narrowed, realizing the little bastard was about to send him back into a coma. He instinctively reached for his powers, but they weren’t there. He was still weak and he’d already used too much energy.
Damn it, how was Trevelyan supposed to be a proper villain without magic? Brute force was so much messier, but it was the only option. Could he grab the needle from the Rabbit’shand before the son of a bitch used it? Hopefully, because he was about to try.
Dead or free.
Trevelyan started forward.
