Page 175 of Happily Ever Witch
“At least the tile isn’t pink anymore.”
He laughed in delight.
Esmeralda found herself grinning, as well. Standing in the kingdom they’d won, safe in her dragon’s arms, she was finally right where she belonged. “Oh, shut up, Trev.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
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The Spade Castle
“Are yousurewe can’t do this later?” Esmeralda asked in a long-suffering tone. “I’m exhausted from wrangling frogs, I have to find a phone to call Scarlett, and we need to figure out where my brother is.”
Night was falling, casting all of Wonderland in a purple haze. Relocating the frogs had taken more time than expected. The amphibians wouldn’t have survived the cold weather overnight, especially since they seemed to love playing on the clown slide, out on the Club Palace balcony. Rounding them up had been the first priority. Now they were all safely living in the Heart Palace’s bog and Wonderland’s new royal couple could focus on more important things.
Trevelyan wanted to start off on the right nefarious foot, rounding up possible dissenters and renaming public buildings after himself, but his mate wasn’t allowing it. She was very insistent that they not piss off Wonderland’s remaining citizens, right from the beginning of her reign. She really was adorably Good, sometimes.
“I thought Marrok would be back by now.” Esmeralda went on, with a suspicious glance in Trevelyan’s direction. “You said you left him by a lake, safe and sound, right?”
“Yes. It’s very scenic. There’s a beach and everything.”
She stared at him.
His smile was all truth and innocence.
Crimson eyes narrowed.
“The lake was in the Diamond Kingdom.” He admitted casually. “Did I mention that part?”
“No, you didnotmention that part. Marrok can’t teleport. How is he supposed to get out of the frigging Diamond Kingdom?”
“Why would he want to leave? There’s a beach! Everyone likes the beach. Marrok’s happy as an oyster, I’m sure.”
Having saved the wolf from Snow White’s clutches, defeated his numerous enemies, and united the Wonderland crowns, Trevelyan was in a jubilant mood. But, he had one more vital task to check off his to-do list. Marrok would have to wait.
Esmeralda kept complaining about her beloved brother being stranded in the Diamond Kingdom, as if it was their most pressing concern. “I swear, if Marrok dies of thirst, crawling through a desert…”
“I’m telling you, he’sthriving. All he has to do is hike over some sand dunes.” Trevelyan waved the matter aside. “But, I’ll go and look for him, if you’re worried. God knows the manishelpless, these days. I just need you to see this, first.”
“You’ll find Marrok, if I humor you and admire whatever it is you want to show me? That’s the deal?”
“Yes.I promise.”
“Fine.” Esmeralda agreed and refocused on the huge building in front of them. “What am I looking at?”
“A record store.” Trevelyan announced with real pride. “I promised to get you one today and here it is! I’m the best husband in the world.” (Green Dragons always were. It was simply undeniable.)
The record store idea had occurred to him, while he walked around the empty Club Castle and wondered what they were going to do with the place. The former queen had had abysmal taste and no way in the frozen-hells was Trevelyan living in such a cold climate. That thought had led inexorably to the realization that he and Esmeralda now owned fourpalaces. They might as well put them to some use.
He wasn’t sure what to do with the Diamonds’ sandcastle or the Clubs’ ice palace, but the Spade Kingdom showed real promise. He’d only been there five minutes and he already saw the possibilities.
Esmeralda didn’t.
“It doesn’tlooklike a record store. It looks like a cottage-y castle, with a leaky thatched roof. Trust me, I know all about leaking roofs.”
