by Sarina Dorie
He stooped lower, his lips brushing my forehead. “I have been a monster, haven’t I?”
“I don’t want someone who is still in love with my mother. I don’t want you to look at me and want her.” I wasn’t going to be a consolation prize.
He squeezed me so tight it was close to painful. “It’s true you have to be as strong and creative as she was to survive, but that doesn’t mean you’re like her. You aren’t cruel. I know you wouldn’t . . . hurt me.” He swallowed.
I wondered if that wound I had seen when I’d had my vision had been her doing.
“I need you to understand I don’t want her. I want you,” he said.
I wasn’t convinced yet. “I deserve someone who loves me. Someone who treats me like he loves me.”
“I quite agree.” He took my hands and dropped to one knee. “That’s why I would like you to marry me.” He cleared his throat, and he glanced away, suddenly shy and hopeful and nervous all at once. “If you’ll have me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Fairy-Tale Endings
I stared at him, uncertain whether I had heard him correctly. This had to be a dream. The Felix Thatch I knew wouldn’t dare admit he had feelings for me lest someone find out and punish him for having a heart. He didn’t even want to be seen in public with me.
My lack of answer surely didn’t bode well.
“I need you to know I shall be there for you.” He swallowed. “I want to make you happy and to cherish you and adore you and keep you safe. I don’t want anyone but you.”
“What about all that stuff about not wanting anyone to know I’m your weakness?”
“The Raven Queen? Princess Quenylda? They already know. They’ve already done their worst, and our love has survived.” He offered me a hopeful smile. “You don’t have to decide now. You can think about it. And we don’t need to get married right away. We can become engaged and wait until you’re ready.”
“Until I’m ready.” That was a good one. “You’re the one who’s commitment phobic.”
From his sour-grapes face, I expected him to make a snarky comment, but he didn’t. “I deserve that.”
Sunlight shone down across his pale skin, golden warmth dancing across his face. He was so beautiful and otherworldly. Even with bedhead, he was perfect. I loved him more than any other man alive. Now I knew he loved me too.
It had taken him this long to show it. I didn’t want him to get away.
He implored me with his large eyes. “Will you think about it?”
“I’m already done thinking.” A smile broke out across my face. “The answer is yes.”
He leapt up and twirled me into his arms.
Elric burst through the door. “Congratulations! I knew you’d make the intelligent choice.” His cheerful expression turned to consternation as he gazed at Thatch’s bare backside. “Oh, blast, I did think you’d have some clothes on by now.”
Vega followed him in. “Well, well, this certainly is a surprise.” She jabbed a finger toward me. “Just so you know, you aren’t allowed to marry until after I get married.”
Elric tried to cover Vega’s eyes. “Don’t look, darling. I don’t want you to take fright and for it to harm our unborn child.”
She snorted. “Fright? More like laugh too hard.”
“Do you mind?” Thatch asked. “I believe Clarissa and I would like a little privacy.”
“Oh,” Elric said, his shoulders sagging. “I suppose that means you two want more time to, ahem. . . . Come along, darling.”
Vega winked at me as she strolled out of the room. It looked like we both had gotten our happy ending.
THE END
A PREVIEW OF BOOK 14:
Wedding Bells and
Midnight Spells
WOMBY’S SCHOOL FOR WAYWARD WITCHES
CHAPTER ONE
Happily Ever After—Almost
Never had I ever been so happy in my entire life. Felix Thatch was willing to put aside his obstinate ways—or at least some of them—and show the world he was in love with me. He had asked me to marry him, and I had said yes. Prince Elric, the Fae sovereign I was allied with had even given his blessing.
Also, I was pretty happy I had discovered who the Princess of Lies and Truth was, and Elric’s sister-wife Quenylda was safely under house arrest and awaiting trial. She wouldn’t be able to kill my coworkers or attempt to kill friends and loved ones again.
Unless her sovereign—and father—was lenient with her, which was a possibility I didn’t want to think about at the moment.
A bump in the carriage jostled me into Thatch. Not that I minded. We were safely on our way back to Womby’s School for Wayward Witches. I threw my arms around his neck and covered his face in kisses. The storm clouds of his gray eyes twinkled with amusement.
He laughed and pulled away. “Stop. Before someone outside sees.” He kissed me on the nose and sat me in the seat beside him. “If you can’t behave, I’ll have to punish you.”
I asked with mock seriousness, “Is that a threat or a promise?”
“You’re impossible.” He mussed my hair, scattering auburn locks into my eyes. Soon I would dye my hair back to pink.
The carriage ride from Prince Elric of the Silver Court’s estate was just one more opportunity to spend time with my betrothed, free of curses. The curtains of the carriage were drawn open to let in spring air and sunlight. The breeze wafted in, brushing Thatch’s dark hair into my face.
He was tall and lean, his face as elegant as any Fae’s. He was beautiful in the way many Witchkin were, inhumanly perfect.
I admired the engagement ring on my finger again. It was too loose, and I had to slip it over my index finger so it wouldn’t fall off. The ring was silver with filigree around black stones, reminiscent of something that would have been popular a hundred years ago. The timeless beauty of it matched his vintage taste.
“We can have a jeweler in Lachlan Falls fix it this week,” he said.
“Isn’t that something you can do with magic?” I asked.
He leaned back, adopting a haughty air. “Being a Merlin-class Celestor capable of doing any kind of magic, I probably could control and harness an Elementia affinity for metal, even though I’ve never attempted to do so for something this small and delicate before. And naturally because I’m an artist, I probably have the special awareness and eye for detail that others of inferior skills lack.”
I waited for him to wave his wand over my hand and—presto chango—fix it.
He only smiled. “I take it you didn’t hear about what Vega Bloodmire did to the ring Prince Elric gave her.”
My eyebrows rose in curiosity. “No.”
“Vega decided the ring was too small and didn’t like how tight it was. As a Merlin-class Celestor, Vega felt she was able to do anything, as she is wont to do. She stretched the metal but didn’t take into account how this would put pressure on the stones, and thus she cracked the diamonds and cut herself trying to pick them up. It’s hard to say if it was the blood combined with the cursing or Vega’s temper, but the ring ended up as a molten lump on the floor of her classroom. Ludomil Sokolov had to use his Elementia magic to scrape up the mess. Josephine Kimura said Vega was in tears over it.”
Vega? Tears? Thatch had to be pulling my leg. It was hard enough to imagine Vega asking for help from the school’s custodian, let alone allowing a melted engagement ring to trouble her. Then again, Vega was pregnant, and her hormones might be out of whack.
I had firsthand experience with the dangers of blood magic. That, combined with her affinity, might have resulted in the first accident of Vega’s life.
In any case, I decided I would let a professional take care of the ring rather than have someone else fix it. I took Thatch’s hand, gazing adoringly at him.
He lifted my palm to his lips and kissed my hand. “You’re thinking about kissing me again, aren’t you, Miss Lawrence? You can’t keep your lip
s off me today, can you?”
I laughed. He reached past me to close the curtains, planting a kiss on my neck as he leaned by. This carriage ride would be over too soon, and we would be at work again where we would act as professionals, adhering to school rules. I intended to take advantage of every moment of privacy I could with him now.
I scooted closer, placing a hand on his chest as I leaned in to kiss him. He drank me in with such passion, desire stirred inside me anew. A breeze fluttered in around the curtain, cooling the fever of my flesh. The wind sent my red hair into both our faces.
He dipped his head down to my throat. His smile was mischievous. He brushed my hair away and gathered my hair in his fist before yanking my head back.
I batted at his hand. “Ow! You know I don’t like that.”
The carriage hit a bump in the road. His erection pressed against me. I tried to twist away from his grip but couldn’t. “Stop pulling my hair.”
I reached up to grab a fistful of his hair. The moment I jerked his head back, he moaned. Of course he would like this.
“Harder,” he said.
I straddled myself across his lap. The carriage hit a pothole in the road. His erection bumped against me, sending a jolt of pleasure through me. I tugged harder at his hair. He arched back, his erection pressing against me.
This was a bad idea to start now. We were ten minutes from the school. The more I teased him with pain, the more likely he would be to lose control. His eyes would turn black, and his affinity would consume him. Neither of us would want the pleasure to end.
I let go of his hair and plopped back into my seat.
“Why did you stop?” he asked.
“You liked that way too much.”
He sighed. “Indeed.”
“There will be plenty of other times I can pull your hair,” I said.
He grinned. “You have the rest of your life to torment me.”
“Do I?” I didn’t want to be an Eeyore, but some of my joy deflated.
I didn’t know whether his fate had changed or he was still at risk of dying. If only I could see the future he had seen, I might know if it had been averted and my fear of danger was all for naught. For all I knew, he might have misinterpreted a vision.
His eyebrows drew together. “What’s wrong?”
“How long am I going to have with you?”
His smile faded. “Oh, Clarissa.”
That wasn’t an answer.
I should have known my joy at the idea of a wedding with Felix Thatch would be short-lived.
“Well?” I asked. “Do we know you’re still going to die?”
He held himself stiffly, his posture making him look formal and formidable. “We shall all die eventually.”
I gave him a withering look.
“I don’t know. I will endeavor to scry my future again through the creation of a painting. It isn’t a task to be completed in a day.” He offered me a hopeful smile. “My intuition tells me I’m not in danger. Now that one of our enemies has been imprisoned, we will be safe from further threats of harm from the Princess of Lies and Truth.” He swallowed. “The Raven Queen agreed she would hurt no one for five months so long as we proved to her Princess Quenylda was indeed her enemy. I sent her the evidence.”
Time had whittled down since I’d made that agreement. I had two and a half months left. After that, I was afraid it might be a free for all once the school year was over.
Thatch’s tone remained grave. “It is possible this boon will have satisfied her enough to put me in her favor once again.”
I wasn’t sure if he was being sincere or just trying to get me not to worry.
“Let’s discuss something that will bring a smile back to your face.” He patted my hand. “Are you dying your hair pink again? Do you intend to wear a hot-pink wedding dress to match? And striped stockings?”
A little bit of my joy returned, even if the gloom of the future threatened my happiness in the present. “Maybe.”
Thatch hugged me to his side. “Do you wish to tell your mum in person or by post?”
I felt my smile widening. “I can’t wait to tell her. She’s old-fashioned, though. She’ll probably be insulted if you don’t ask for her blessing.”
“Indeed.” If Thatch felt excitement, his clipped monotone gave no indication of it. “I previously took the liberty of discussing the matter with her. She gave her blessing if you should ever decide to marry me.” A smile twitched at his lips.
I tried to puzzle together when he would have had an opportunity to speak with her. “When did you ask her?”
“A year ago.”
My voice rose. “Back when I was dating Elric?”
He shrugged.
I laughed. “That was a little presumptuous, don’t you think?”
“Some would call it foresight.” He smiled and glanced away, his expression unexpectedly shy.
He had loved me a year ago when I thought I’d hated him? All those times I had assumed he’d been manipulating me to make Elric jealous, or to make me love him while abstaining from loving me as part of his bargain to Elric, it had all been for show. My heart burned in my chest.
I laced my fingers through his. “We need to set a date. How much time do we need to plan?” It would be nice to have a wedding during the summer, but I didn’t know if that gave us enough time for booking a venue and planning. I could wait until the following year. Then again, a fall wedding or a winter wedding could be pretty.
Thatch took my hand and placed it on his knee. “As soon as you like. Tomorrow or the day after if arrangements can be made.”
I stared at him, perplexed. “How can anyone get ready in a couple of days?”
“It’s quite easy if we elope.”
“You heard what Vega said; I can’t outshine her. I need to wait until she’s gotten married first. It would be the right thing to do.”
He peeked out the curtain of the window closest to him. “Of course it would. But since when have I ever done the right thing?”
I laughed, but he didn’t. He had been the commitment-phobic one, not even wanting to tell people we were dating when we had been. Now he wanted to hurry everything along?
“I can’t get married this week,” I said. “I need to shop for a dress and get a haircut. I’m not ready. Plus, I need to talk to Josie.” It was going to come as quite the surprise to her.
More of the smile slipped from his face. “Must we?”
“I can’t keep our marriage a secret. Josie will never forgive me if I do.”
“You could tell all your friends … after. In fact, it might be safest if—”
I pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t you even try. You asked me to wait, and I did. Then you broke up with me. If you want me to marry you, you can’t keep it a secret.”
Thatch frowned. “Josie will be vexed. She’ll tell Khaba, and those gits will interfere. They’ll try to convince you not to marry me.”
“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” My face flushed with heat. “How am I supposed to have a wedding without telling my friends?”
“You won’t. We needn’t resort to such public displays. It will be a quiet ceremony with a minimum of witnesses. You will not provoke Vega’s wrath, nor anyone else’s. Everything you do to draw attention to yourself publicly will infuriate the Fae, particularly the Raven Queen. Our marriage is between us, and it isn’t any of their concern. The fewer people we tell, the greater chances we have of succeeding in our marriage.” Worry crinkled up his eyes. That’s when I truly understood he wasn’t just being obstinate and picky.
He was afraid he would die before we were married. Between the prophecy and the bargain I’d made with the queen, I could see why he would want to get married before June.
“Do you think the Raven Queen will try to stop you from marrying me?” I asked.
“No. I think she’ll invite herself to the wedding and gift us with one of those Fae
presents they’re notorious for. ‘Please allow me to bless this bride to be happy with her groom for as long as they both live,’ which turns out to be a day because she kills them both on the morrow. Or how about the indignant Fae curse? This is what the Fae do when they pretend to be offended you haven’t invited them to your wedding. You’ve already experienced a Sleeping Beauty Curse, let’s not invite another one. My fairy godmother is more malicious than yours.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Felix, I understand you don’t want your fairy godmother to storm down uninvited. I don’t want that either. But my closest friends and family aren’t going to accidentally send an announcement to the Raven Queen.”
He lifted his long nose up into the air. “Mark my words, you’ll regret telling them.”
“Are you using your Celestor powers of prophecy for this?” I asked. “Or Professor Grumpsalot’s powers of pessimism?”
He wasn’t actually a Celestor, and we both knew it, but I was used to his ruse of possessing an affinity other than our own for the necessity of keeping the Red affinity secret.
He brought my fingers to his lips. “I do love you Clarissa Lawrence, but I pray your optimism and faith in other human beings will not be our undoing.”
Thus, Felix Thatch planted the seed of worry in my mind.
When I returned to the school, I was filled with a mixture of joy and trepidation, the two emotions battling inside me. Thatch was just being a worrywart, I told myself. No one was going to curse us or give us unwelcome blessings. He was going to make his art and find out he was going to have a long and happy life with me. No Fae even knew besides Elric.
Yet worry gnawed at me all the same.
I checked my teacher mailbox for announcements. My box was empty of papers, aside from a sky-blue envelope. I opened it, finding a card inside. The flowers were so beautifully drawn and colored, and on professional-grade cardstock, it took me a moment to realize it wasn’t a printed card but something someone had drawn themselves.
