Page 48 of Happily Ever Witch
The Heart Castle
Esmeralda was looking for her phone.
The stupid playing card guards had stolen it from her, when she was arrested. They’d lugged her down to the basement, locked her in an interrogation room, confiscated the phone, and put it…whereexactly?
She had no idea.
Esmeralda blew out an aggravated breath. She’d been searching all around the lower level of the castle, where they’d held her after her initial arrest. So far, she’d found nothing of interest. Not even architecturally. Down in the bowels of the castle, there was less weirdness and gilding. The Carpenter must not have wanted to waste any of his creative energy on the Heart Kingdom’s prisoners. They were no doubt grateful for his restraint.
Esmeralda didn’t much care about the frabjous decorations or lack thereof. She just needed to make a damn call. And maybe blow off some steam. Doing significantstructural damage to the castle’s foundations was a great stress reliever. Her magic might be misfiring, but it could still blow things apart. She blasted the doors right off the hinges, as she moved from room to room.
Esmeralda had made it as far as the cell where the Walrus had interrogated her, but no phone was lying around. Also, no computers or landlines. Wonder-Why-I’m-Here-Land was truly the most dismal kingdom in the universe.
“What in the frozen-hells is that lettuce-y, corkscrew, sailboat-ish thing in the other room?” Trevelyan asked from the doorway.
That was a “rog.” Her twitchy magic had accidently invented it, during another failed frog-spell debacle. Formerly, the rog had been a heart-shaped fire extinguisher. Now, it was a glob of disparate parts and uselessness. Her powers really were getting weirder and weirder. It was like Wonderland fed into their natural affinity for chaos.
“It’scabbage-y, not lettuce-y.” The rog was an embarrassing freak of nature, but precision was important. Esmeralda glanced Trevelyan’s way, not at all surprised to see him. She’d been timing it. “You’re early.”
“It’s been two hours.”
“It’s been one hour and fifty-six minutes.” At least, according to her gold, borogrove-shaped wristwatch, which was expensive and accurate. It had to be. She’d stolen it from Cinderella.
Scarlett’s stepsister’s wholesome blondness and cupcake-y dresses hid a twisted soul. …But, that depraved nutcase had had some incredible jewelry. Cindy didn’t need such an awesome timepiece to count off all the centuries of her prisonsentence, so Esmeralda had taken it for herself. Diamonds looked great with any manicure.
Trevelyan leaned a shoulder against the slightly-destroyed door jam. “Alright. We can chat for the next four minutes, then. I’ll start.” He lounged there, evil and gorgeous. “Is there a particular reason you’re down here in the gloom?”
“This is where they brought me for interrogation. I’m looking for where they put…”
He cut her off. “Interrogation?”
“After they arrested me, yesterday. They had questions.”
His eyes flicked around the edges of the small room and his jaw tightened. “The Walrus interrogated you? Here? Alone?”
“There were a few of them. He was in charge.”
“What did they do?” His voice sounded eerily calm. It made the hairs on her arm stand up.
She looked over at him, wary.
“What did they do?” Trevelyan repeated in a more demanding tone. “Did they put their hands on you?”
“No. I mean, the playing card guards dragged me down here, but no one really hurt me. They just held me here and threatened me.”
He didn’t seem appeased. His eyes went to the lock on the door and his mouth thinned.
Esmeralda frowned at him, trying to read his mood. “I turned them all into hogs.” She reminded him. “Why are you upset?”
“I’m not.” He shrugged, but it was more like an agitated roll of his shoulders. “I just don’t like the idea of anyone else touching you.” He cleared his throat. “Sexual frustration is making me… irritated. It’s your fault.”
Nowhe sounded more like himself.
Trevelyan seemed keen to change the subject. “So, you’ve never had sex with someone you didn’t like?” He asked randomly. “Not ever, in your whole life.”
“Not ever in my whole life.” She confirmed.
“And how many men have you liked?”
