Page 3 of Happily Ever Witch
Why was Marrok so eager to save these worthless beings and this worthless cesspit? Everything and everyone in the Wicked, Ugly, and Bad Prison was nauseating. Dragons were scent-based creatures, so the stench of the place was sickening to Trevelyan. Awake or asleep it assaulted his senses and clouded his mind. Even without his impending death, he would be determined to escape. Wolves had a keen sense of smell, too. You’d think Marrok would understand his desire to get away from the odious odors.
Instead, Marrok slowly shook his head. “Don’t do this, Trev. You can bebetterthan this.”
Frozen-hells, the man was exhausting. Trevelyan couldn’t imagine the energy it took to give a troll’s ass about “being better.” “We’re Bad, you colossal imbecile. This is how Bad people act. You might want to stay on the fringes of evil, pining for your precious True Love, but I’m anactualvillain.”
“What are you going to say to your True Love, when she finds out you did this?”
“I don’t have a True Love!”
“Everyone has one.”
“I don’t. I don’t evenwantone. I just want to go home.” Wherever that was. The ancestral Green Dragon estate had been destroyed years before and everywhere else was unimportant. “I will rip through you, my fictitious True Love, and every single organism in the Four Kingdoms, if that’s what it takes to escape.”
Marrok watched him in stubborn silence.
Since they were supposed to be friends, Trevelyan decided to allow him one last chance to show some loyalty. He hadn’t given Marrok all the details of why he needed to escape tonight, but why should he have to? The man should just do what he was told, goddammit.
“Ineedto get out.” Trevelyan couldn’t put it any plainer than that. They’d been arguing about this for two days and now it was the end of the line. “The best way I can think to do that is to blow a hole in the side of this prison and walk away amid the confusion.” There wasn’t time for a better plan and no one else in the WUB Club seemed capable of lending a hand.
(Why was Trevelyanforeversurrounded by morons? Where did the smart beings hide? Had he killed them all, already?)
“People willdieif you do this.”
“I don’t fucking care!” Trevelyan roared, pushed to his brink. Inside of him, the dragon was pacing too, in agitation and impotent rage. The lack of support from their friend bothered the monster, as much as it bothered Trevelyan. The dragon was the truest part of him and it was locked away, unable to surface with the magic inhibitor on his leg. That smoldering frustration drove his ire to even greater heights. “You need to have my back, the way I’ve had yours. …Or else.”
Marrok slowly blinked. “Or elsewhat?”
“If you screw me over, I will make sure you regret it.” Trevelyan stabbed a finger at him. “I’ve played fair with you, so far. That can change.”
The wolf’s head tipped to one side, like he sensed the atmosphere in the room shifting.
Trevelyan watched him with glowing green eyes. “If you’re not with me, then you’re against me. Countless others have learned that I am a real Bad enemy to have.”
“I guess I’ll learn it, too.” Marrok’s foot still swung with casual, animalistic grace, but his gaze had gone cold. “Because, I’m not doing jack-shit for you.”
Trevelyan saw red. The wolf was trying to kill him. It was the only rational explanation. “You miserable littlefuck. You think you can betray me and I’ll just let it pass?”
“I think you’re out of your mind!” Marrok snapped back. “I’m not betraying you! This plan is terrible and you’re acting crazy. I’m not going to blow up this prisonwith us still inside of it.”
“I will make sure we get out! Itoldyou that!”
“Youcan’tbe sure and we both know it.”
“I will be dead or free. I’m sure ofthat.”
“What about everybody else? I won’t let you kill a hundred people, just because you want to go home early!”
Trevelyan’s restless anger and agitation reached a breaking point. He stalked across the small interior of the cell and hauled Marrok right off the bed. “How about if I just kill you, then?” He tossed the wolf up against the wall, prepared to slaughter him with his bare hands.
Marrok shoved him back. “You wanna fucking do this? Fine! We can fight it out.” He lifted his arms in a mocking shrug, his expression aglow with self-satisfaction and fury. “But,no matter which of us wins,you’lllose.” He leaned in closer, an infuriating smirk on his face. “Because there isn’t a damn thing you can do to make me help you. …And you know it, asshole.”
Trevelyan hit him. What choice did he have?
It was hard to say which of them would’ve eventually won the fight, since physically they were evenly matched. But alarms went off after a few minutes and dwarf guards rushed in to pull them apart. Marrok’s face was bruised and bleeding, as they wrenched Trevelyan off of him. Trevelyan imagined he looked much the same, but he was too enraged to feel any damage.
“I will take away everything you ever loved!” Trevelyan shouted, as they dragged him from the room. Betrayal burned at him, blocking out everything else. Marrok had been his friend. It went against his nature to trust, but Trevelyan had trusted him. The man’s treachery burned like acid. “I will leave you withnothing, you bastard!”
“I could threaten the same thing, except you don’t love anything!” Marrok bellowed back. “No one even likes you! You’re an evil monster!”
