Page 71 of Outlaw Witch

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WHEN WE GET TO THEwarehouse, I have to smack my hand against Zeph’s chest when I spot his sneering expression. Having seen their apartment, I can see why this place disgusts him. The smell of mold and decay seems to be stronger today than ever before. Maybe it’s because I’ve been away from the warehouse for a while, but the state of the place is worse than I remember. Even our cheerful throws and cobbled together furniture plus Ember’s artwork aren’t enough to distract from the water stains or how the walls seem to be crumbling.

Still, none of us needs his judgment.

“You might want to modify your facial expression, dude. You wouldn’t want the wind to change and to be stuck with that awful sneering asshole look on your... oh hold on, nevermind,” I say with a smirk.

Spotting Rook in the living room, I’m quickly dragged into a bear hug. I pat him on the back a few times before he allows me to go free.

“I’m fine, buddy. None the worse for wear.”

Rook grunts, looking me up and down like I might be lying and am secretly missing a limb.

“I need to speak to Luna. Is she in the garden?” He nods at me and I slap him on the shoulder, spinning on my heel and stride off, leaving Zeph gaping after me.

I don’t feel bad about leaving the two oversized men together. Rook averages about ten words per week, and Zeph isn’t exactly verbose, so I’m sure the two of them will get along great.

As expected, I find Luna out back in her garden. She’s busy brewing something in her cauldron over an open fire. Her hair’s wild about her delicate face and she’s currently cackling at something Hanna is saying.

“This is a very witchy scene,” I say in greeting, plopping myself onto a cushion beside Hanna. It’s damper than I expected and I shudder as the material touches my damp skin. Gross.

“I am a witch, so I don’t know how I could look less witchy,” Luna says matter-of-factly. She then grabs a couple of mugs and fills them with the potion she’s brewing, thrusting the contents at both me and Hanna.

“What’s this?” I give it a cautious sniff.

Luna gives mea look, like I’m stupid for asking. “Your six monthly contraceptive potion. Good job one of us is concerned about your baby-making parts.” She does a weird little shimmy, gesturing to my uterus.

“Uh, thanks, I guess?” I down the liquid and shudder. It tastes like she’s juiced a bunch of grass and added a hint of cat pee. Nasty.

“You’d actually have to be getting laid for it to matter,” Hanna says.

I flip her the bird, but it’s half-hearted because she makes a good point. “Yeah, no chance of that.” I’m pretty sure I’ve not been with anyone since I last took one of these potions, which is kind of depressing.

“Have your mages not made a move yet?” Luna’s face is the picture of surprise and I just shake my head at her response. “I thought that at least one of them would have donesomething,by now.”

I snort, holding up my hand. “First, they’re not ‘my’ anything. And second, they can barely stand me.”

It feels a little weird saying the words. I can almost taste that they’re not quite true. Roscoe’s easy to get along with, and Fabian’s been nothing but friendly toward me.

I’m not going to even begin to get into the situation with Zeph.

But I’m aware that they need something from me and that’s the only reason they have me around. Once they have it, once Fabian’s curse is cured, they could kick me to the curb and we’ll never see each other again. I get a strange stab of sadness at that thought, but push it down.

I’m doing a job here and that’s the extent of our relationship. No point mooning over what might be.

“They’ll come around,” Luna replies in a soft voice.

Hanna snorts from beside me, nudging my shoulder. “Luna’s Seen it. You getting it on with all three of them, dicked six ways to Sunday.” She gives me a dirty grin. “I told her it was a fucking weird sex dream, and she needs to tone it down with the smutty books she’s been reading. But she won’t believe me.”

“Who has sex dreams aboutotherpeople?” Luna exclaims. “One of these days you’re both going to have to acknowledge my Sight.”

“You told me I was going to marry a prince,” Hanna says drily. “Seriously, we don’t even have princes around here.”

“You’ll see,” Luna replies with that annoyingly smug smile that says she knows more than all of us. The one that really drives me nuts.

“Anyway,” I say, hoping to brush off this entire conversation. “I need your help with something.”

“Oh yeah? Is it seducing the grumpy one? I have to say I’ve got some ideas.”

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