Page 32 of Happily Ever Witch
Esmeralda needed a good night’s sleep. Nobody could plot to escape an inescapable kingdom, and fight a mysterious queen, and deal with a pain-in-the-ass True Love without a nap. Unlike dragons who “never, ever compromised,” witches knew when to pick their battles. It was probably why witches outnumbered Trevelyan’s idiot kind a hundred-to-one. So long as he kept his hands to himself, he could stay in her room. It was the best option.
“You still seem upset.” Trevelyan mused. “Do you want to talk about it? My mother said that you should never go to bed angry.” He paused with a thoughtful frown. “But I think she just meant that you should kill all your enemiesbeforebed. Mother hated procrastination. …And her enemies.”
Esmeralda fixed Trevelyan with a look over the wide expanse of the heart-embroidered sheets. “Do you consider us enemies?”
“No.” His smirk faded. “You’re the one who wants to make this a fight, Ez.”
“You’re the one who’s determined to wage war against my family!”
“Marrok is not your family. Note how he’s not the one sitting here, offering to save your very lovely ass.”
She did have a lovely ass. It was gratifying that he noticed. “How are you offering to save me? I’m the one who savedyou. And you repaid my generosity by threatening to kidnap me.”
“I didn’t kidnap you. Feel free to leave whenever you like.”
“Seriously, has anyone ever liked you?Ever?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” His eyes traced over her body, like he was memorizing every inch. “Since we’re being ‘serious’… I have something very important to ask you and it needs a straight answer, right away.”
“I seriouslyambeing serious. You’re the one who sees this whole damn thing as a joke.” She fixed him with an exasperated look. “Well? What’s your vital question?”
“Is your skinnaturallythat color?”
“Oh for God’s sake…” She threw a pillow at him. “Why do I even bother with you?”
He dodged the fluffy projectile. “Well, it’s a legitimate concern, given the amount of glamours available to your kind. You should keep your skinexactlyas it is, either way. But, natural is so much better to fantasize about.”
“Keep fantasizing. That’s as close as you’re going to get to it.”
Glamours were one of the few spells that always worked for her, but her current appearance was one-hundred percent Esmeralda. Not that she was telling anyone in Wonderland thatshe could change her looks at will, especially not her pain in the ass True Love. There was no advantage to it and Ez was a girl who liked to have an advantage.
“Wait,” Trevelyan theatrically stroked his chin like something new occurred to him. “Level one witches can do glamours, can’t they? I’ll admit that I don’t always keep up on whatlower-powered beings are capable of.” He paused with studious concern. “Is ‘lower-powered’ the correct term? Or do you prefer ‘magically disadvantaged?’”
“I prefer ‘Esmeralda, The Majestic and Terrible.’ Thanks for asking.” She slammed some more ugly pillows into place, because the barrier between them could never be high enough. The rain continued to pound on the window, adding to her agitation. “God, once I escape from this shithole, I am never leaving the Enchanted Forest again.”
“You’ll probably reconsider that plan, once I burn the trees to blackened stumps and salt the ground beneath them.”
“You really are the worst person in the world.”
“I try.”
“And the worstTrue Lovein the world.” She continued, casting a quick spell to change into a long night shirt that read “Dragon Slayer.”
Trevelyan glanced at the front, where a cartoon dragon had been staked through the heart and a dancing witch celebrated her victory. His amusement seemed to deepen. “Maybe so, but I’m the only True Love you’ve got. And you’re the only one I’ve got.”
“For now.”
“Forever.” He didn’t look thrilled about the fact they were each other’s one-and-only, but he didn’t look pissed about it, either. He’d been brooding earlier, but now he seemed to just accept it as fact. “We might quarrel a bit and play some games, but we’re connected. Whether we like it or not. You said so yourself.”
She stared at him for a long moment, searching his green gaze.
Trevelyan stared back.
“I know.” She finally agreed.
Tension seemed to ease from Trevelyan’s wide shoulders. “And since we’re stuck together, it seems reasonable that we attempt to strike a truce.” He persisted. “We don’t need to worktogether, obviously. You were right before. Every dragon --and witch-- for themselves is the best way to go forward. But there’s no sense in us working at cross purposes, either.”
That sounded doable. “Temporarily.” She stipulated. Even a temporary truce with the dragon meant ignoring every sentence he uttered. She absently created a hair brush with her magic. “I doubt you can go more than twenty minutes without causing problems.”
