Page 156 of Happily Ever Witch
Why put Trevelyan on trial? Who had convinced her that this was a bright idea?
His gaze fell on Marrok, again.
Marrok arched a brow.
Trevelyan’s head canted to one side.
Oh.
From out of nowhere, he recalled why he’d befriended the wolf in prison: The two of them were apex predators. While they might not have always liked each other, Trevelyan and Marrok saw the wisdom of cooperating. Things had gone to hell the night of Trevelyan’s escape, but the logic of their initial arrangement held. Why waste energy fighting each other? Mutually assured destruction helped no one but their opponents.
The enemy of your enemy is your slightly-less-hated enemy.
Marrok was disappointingly moral at his core, however the man’s deviousness was never in dispute. He always had an angle. Right now, there was no plotting, seething, promise of revenge in those lupine eyes. No call to resume their personal war. Instead, Trevelyan just saw a question.
“Your sister’s been looking for you, wolf.” He called testing the waters.
One tawny brow arched ever-so-slightly. Recognizing that calling Esmeralda Marrok’s sister was Trevelyan acknowledging their family bond. Dragons didn’t fuck around when it came to families. “Is Ez okay? Have you hurt her?”
“She’s my mate.” Trevelyan answered simply.
Marrok settled back in his chair. He understood what the word “mate” meant to dragons. He knew it was a no-bullshit answer to his silent question. An acceptance of the offer. “Alright.” He said mildly. “For now.”
“For now.” Trevelyan agreed.
That fast, they had a deal.
Marrok’s mouth tilted at the corner.
Trevelyan’s eyes gleamed.
In unison, their attention swung towards their prey.
Oh, this was going to be fun.
“So, what’s he being charged with?” Marrok asked lazily. “Because I have somegreatsuggestions.”
The Queen of Clubs waved a dismissive hand. “We’ll figure that out later. Knave? Call the first witness.”
“First witness!” The Knave of Clubs shouted towards the door.
“I don’t leave witnesses.” Trevelyan assured them all.
“That’s a fair point.” Marrok nodded. “I once watched him kill a guy, who saw him kill another guy, who’d seen him killanotherguy. I was lucky he didn’t kill me for seeing it.”
“I tried.” Trevelyan reminded him.
The Mad Hatter began counting off the various bodies and degrees of separation in that story on his fingers.
“I want a new wedding.” Snow White announced to the world. “I don’t even remember my first one. My therapist says I’m right to think that’s unfair. He says I have to trust my feelings.”
“Damn dwarf.” The Mad Hatter grumbled. “He still owes me twenty gold pieces from the last Wolf Ball Championship.”
“There must be silence in the court!” The Knave shouted. “Rule Forty-two says that every outburst will addanotheryear to the dragon’s life sentence. Jury, write that down.”
The jury dutifully marked their notebooks.
“Where’s my lawyer?” Trevelyan wanted to know.
