Page 87 of Happily Ever Witch
She impatiently shook her head and then realized she should’ve lied.
“Higher?” He guessed, not giving her a chance to change her mind.
“I can’t control it, so it doesn’t matter!”
Trevelyan’s head tilted. “Four?” His tone was different, now. More focused. “Five?”
“It’s high, okay? But just technically.”
Trevelyan stared at her. “Six.” It wasn’t a question. It was a whisper.
She winced.
His breath came out in a whoosh. “You’re a six? You’re sure?”
“Only on paper! I have never been able to accomplish anything huge with my magic. I swear it. It never works the way it’s supposed to.”
He gaped at her, completely ignoring her frantic explanations and the rampaging horde. “The WUB Club didn’t notice that you were a motherfuckingsix?! They put alevel sixwitchin with the other prisoners and they didn’t know you’d eventually escape?”
“Well, I didn’t tell them what level I was! None of those idiot doctors knew much about magic. They couldn’t be sure what I can do. I’m not even sure!”
“I’msure.” Trevelyan’s laugh was triumphant. Exuberant. “I’ve never been so goddamn sure of anything.”
She glanced up at him in surprise.
Trevelyan didn’t notice. He scanned their enemies. “Oh, this will be fun.” His slanted smile was like something from a conquering barbarian centaur, watching a city burn.
“I’m happy you’re happy, but my misfiring magic won’t stop a couple thousand knights.”
“Yes, itwill. You have more power than anyone else in this kingdom.” He looked baffled by her hesitation to use it. “My mate is alevel sixwitch. You are absolutelynotgoing to lose to some half-assed humans in metal hats. I won’t allow it.”
“None of the spells I cast go right! I explained all this, but you’re not listening…”
He cut her off, remembering their earlier conversations. “Cast a Good spell. Like we talked about. See what happens.”
“I’m not casting a Good spell! I’m awicked witch!” Esmeralda could barely think straight.
“Ez, you have to…”
Haigha blew out a plume of white-hot fire, drowning out his words. It incinerated half the hedge maze. The flames jumped fifty feet in the air, the heat intense enough that the Queen of Clubs’ men began screaming in fear and pain. Scores of them were charred to ash.
Esmeralda’s eyes went wide. There was no way she could stop this. There was no wayanyonecould stop this, except Trevelyan. “Are you sure you can’t turn into a dragon, right now?” She asked desperately.
“I’mpositive. If my dragon could get out, he’d already be fighting. He’s in a rage.” Frustration and fury were etched into the harsh angles of his face, despite his confidence that they’d somehow win this battle. “I would kill Haigha myself, if I could. Gladly, my darling.”
She nodded, believing him.
“It has to be you.” He persisted. “Youneed to do this. If you won’t use a Good spell, thenyes… turn him into a hog. Or a log. It doesn’t matter, just vaporize him.”
Esmeralda kept her eyes on the blue dragon. “Vaporize him?” She echoed blankly.
He held her hand in a death-grip. “You’re a fighter. Just like me.Fightthat son of a bitch for us.”
She didn’t know a spell to vaporize people. Why would she know how to vaporize people? She mostly did glamour spells. Those tended to work best for her. Magic to change her hair color, and create nail polish, and transmogrify stuff.
Could she do one of them… bigger?
Haigha prepared to burn the bottom levels of the castle. If those went up in flames, how would they escape? How could they get out even if hedidn’tburn them? They were trapped in the Heart Palace.
