Page 64 of Happily Ever Witch
“I don’t care!” She yelled back, heading down the stairs to the bottom floor, picking her way through the huge mess they’d made.
Yes, they definitely needed a new castle. This one was getting systematically ruined, one room at a time. What could you expect when you locked a dragon and a wicked witch inside of it, though?
Trevelyan stood by the balcony, watching her storm off. Sucha lovely ass. “I think you might want to know what I know.” He sing-songed tauntingly. “Since it’s about you…” It was a dare and neither of them could resist a challenge.
She hesitated.
He slowly smiled.
That beautiful crimson gaze swung back his way, just like he wanted. “Alright, what’s your big secret, wiseass?”
He leaned over the railing, loving this game. “Guess who’s the new Queen of the Heart Kingdom, darling?” Green eyes gleamed. “I’ll give you a hint: She’s mated to the handsomest dragon in all of Wonderland.”
Chapter Thirteen
Pick your perfect nail polish from our unlimited selection!
Not Mint to Be-This is the exact same color you keep buying, and keep hating, and keep buying again. Only now it’s got a cuter name!
Happily Ever Witch Cosmetics Website
The Club Castle
Dragons liked power and hated rivals. It was a fact of their species.
All the various color lines dedicated a great deal of time to conjuring up horrific new ways to destroy their enemies. And dragons hada lotof enemies, so a horrific number of their horrific ideas got tested out in a number of horrific real world trials. Because they were also arrogant, dragons were further convinced that only other dragons posed arealthreat to their own power. Whenever possible, most of their most horrific ideas were tried out on their own kind.
Consequently, no one understood how to hunt dragons better than dragons.
If you were rich and cruel and needed a dragon captured, hiring another dragon to do your dirty work was the smartest plan. Especially if the dragon you needed captured was Trevelyan. Anyone who’d ever met Trevelyan had a motive to hurt him. He was the most hateable man in the world.
There was a fan fiction site on the internet entirely devoted to furious death-to-Trevelyan daydreams, where authors of every known species fantasized about ways to kill him. Florian of the Blue Dragons, son of Ferdinand and Brandgomar, often lurked there, taking thoughtful notes on the more creative tortures.
Unlike many dragons, Florian was an intellectual. An academic. He didn’t care much for hands-on fighting, but he excelled at strategy. He was hired, at a steep hourly rate, to advise kingdoms with dragon problems.
And Wonderland had a dragon problem.
When word reached the wintery Club Kingdom that Trevelyan, Last of the Green Dragons had somehow defeated every single person in the Heart Kingdom, the Queen of Clubs was displeased. Florian was summoned to help her remedy the situation. Immediately.
Since she was paying double his usual rate, he’d dropped everything and come to Wonderland. Selling his magical services to help capture other dragons was the best way to stay free himself. Plus, he was bright enough not to boast about his strength or flash around his powers. That helped, too. People hired Florian, but no one had ever tried to enslave him. He was professional and discrete. As a bonus, his job paid very well.
Dark Science allowed Florian and his assistant to bypass the barriers. A quick word with the Queen of Clubs --who’d told him Trevelyanmustbe taken alive, no matter the cost-- and then Florian went straight to the soldiers’ barracks.
The most important part of his new assignment was prepping the Club Queen’s army for the battle to come. Becausetherewouldbe a battle. If Trevelyan was breathing, he’d fight. And if he fought hundreds of men would die.
Maybe more.
Florian wouldn’t be among them, of course. He’d allotted three hours for this job and then he was leaving Wonderland. Hopefully forever. He was a consultant, not a combatant. He would simply prep the knights for the slaughter they were about to face.
And what better way to prep people than an informative slideshow?
Wonderland was a technological wasteland, but Florian had brought his own meticulously prepared computer presentation, which hopefully this motley crew of knights would be able to follow. Most of them were humans. Not the brightest species. He’d have to use very small words and lots of pictures.
Impeccably dressed in a navy suit, Florian stood on the makeshift stage that had been erected for him and clicked the button to begin his presentation. The first slide was projected on the large screen behind him, the title direct and unsentimental:
How to Kill a Dragon without Dying Yourself
“As you know, your upcoming mission was to go to the Heart Kingdom and collect Trevelyan. The timeline still stands, but there has been a slight change of plans. The Green Dragon was supposed to be asleep, when you arrived.” Florian adjusted his wire-rim glasses. “Now, he’s awake.”
