Page 57 of A Song of Saints and Swans
Both Tan and Nox were barely controlling their laughter. Asa was the picture of politeness, but discreetly elbowed Tan before wryly murmuring, “Is she talking aboutyourfather, suge?”
Tan loudly snorted, causing a pair of fellow audience members to glance our way in irritation. “Veleswisheshe could run around pinching young girls. Fucking dirty old creep.”
He’s not wrong.
The young girl abruptly threw herself on the wooden floor, writhing and clawing at her throat as if she couldn’t breathe. “She’s doing it now! The devil is trodding upon me with cloven hooves by Sarah Good’s command.”
Acclaimed performance?! This is terrible acting.
“Someone shouldeatthat child!” I loudly stated, bringing the show to an immediate halt. “Then the rest of you should find something better to do with your time than fabricate stories about women living in the woods who simply want to be left alone.”
I should know.
Apparently, hecklers were nothing new to this troupe of court jesters, as the ‘judge’ didn’t break character. His beady eyes snapped to the audience as he peevishly addressed me. “What’s that I hear? A confession? Is there another witch in our midst tonight?”
“You have no idea,” Nox muttered.
The few whispering audience members had changed seats, giving me a wide berth as if I carried the plague.
This didn’t bother me in the slightest. I’d existed on the margins of society for hundreds of years, ostracized and feared. It was only after bonding with my fated mates that my familiar disguise as a terrifying old crone had fallen away. Now humans saw me as the 27-year-old peasant-turned-disgraced-Tsarina I was when I became the last Baba Yaga—which annoyed me to no end.
I miss the screaming.
“I’m more witch than anyone here,” I sniffed. “That being said, not every rumor about me is true—although many of them are.”
With a flick of my wrist, the papers on the judge’s table flew into the air, as if by ‘invisible specters.’ When the aggravating young girl accusing Sarah Good shrieked in terror, I sent a pinch her way that she’d feel for days before violently tossing her across the floor.
The audience—and Tan—went wild, clapping and cheering as if it were part of the show.
“You crazy fucking witch,” Nox sighed heavily, as if I hadn’t vastly improved the performance, before dutifully masking us in darkness so we could escape.
That place was dead anyway.
“Well, that went about as smoothly as I expected,” Asa chuckled, squinting at the pinkish sky when we emerged on the bustling street. “Now the sun hasn’t quite set yet, but I cannot wait any longer to share the Halloween costumes I picked out for everyone.”
Costumes?!
Tan cackled when he caught sight of my darkening expression. “You may be cute, Acey, but you are going to end uptriple-stuffed if you keep pressing your luck with our witch.”
I was poised to suggest we return to the hotel for exactly that when Asa leaned down to brush his perfect lips over mine. “Please, sweetness. Trick-or-treating was frowned upon in my house growing up, so it’s something I never got to do.”
He knows just how to thaw my cold black heart.
Asa’s dark and sweet scent washed over me, clouding my better judgement. “You may still end up on your hands and knees for me again later,” I warned, “but I suppose the ‘trick’ part sounds intriguing...”
A warm, red light pulsed from my Rider, answered by a bright white one from Tan—as invisible to the humans streaming by as my Riders’ horns. The two of them smiled stupidly at each other, radiating love, but at least Nox still looked as resigned as I felt.
“All right,lan,”he huffed. “The anticipation is killing me. Let’s see what you’re torturing us with for the night.”
Asa tore his lips from Tan’s before excitedly digging into the backpack he’d brought along. “So grumpy, my grumpy bear, which is exactly why I got you… a bear costume!”
Oh, this will not end well.
If I didn’t know exactly how much love these three men shared, I would have feared for Asa’s life with the look Nox was giving him. After a tense moment, my grumpy Russian bear snatched the costume and tore into the plastic covering it, muttering the entire time.
He likes it.
“What about us,Gueneshem?”Tan attempted to dig into Asa’s bag, only to get swatted away. “Did you get us an adorable couple’s costume?”
