“Sleep? What kind of sleep?”
“The kind with nightmares and pajamas and you snoring with your feet in my face.”
“No kissing?”
He grinned sharply. “Absolutely not. That’s not one of my nightmares.”
“Don’t you think that we should wait until the marriage?”
“No. I woke up and you were gone. I checked Drake’s car then cut my wrist so I could feel you, know if you were safe. I followed the pull of the bond to his room. Do you know what I felt, knowing you were in there with him? Relief. I know that you’re going to have lapses with him. Viney can’t help herself and no other witch in her right mind could. Not that you’re in your right mind. The next time you wander off in the middle of the night, I want to know where you’re going. I’m taking responsibility for you. I’m giving you my name. Your safety, your health, your happiness is my duty.”
“What does a mage know about duty?”
He shrugged and looked terribly irresponsible. “No idea, but I’m working on it.” He squeezed my hand. “Will you sleep with me? I promise not to kiss you. I won’t even lick you. I’ll be your Poppy.”
I sighed and let him lead me back to Lilac Stories, stomach twisting and knotting. Poppy was the one who lit my hair on fire and betrayed me.
Chapter 23
Mage
Zach knocked on my door way too early on Sunday morning. I opened the door and he came in carrying piles of paper.
“Is it tax season already?”
“The wedding is on Friday. We’ll need military, spellwork, traps, barriers, and a million other things. Friday.” He shook his head and went to my couch, dumping his papers on the table. “She’s sewing a tea party outfit for today. Sure, let’s get married in a week and you definitely have time to sew a tea party dress and burn a million éclairs.”
I stood there staring at him. “You smell like her.”
“Sure. She slept with me after her nightmare, after you licked her. It’s so ridiculously fun to torture that girl. I’m going to really enjoy being married to her.”
I gritted my teeth. “Slept with you?”
“Her feet were in my face. She wore my pajamas. My mother sends a pair to me for Christmas every year. I’ve got quite an impressive collection. Are you jealous? I’ll send you a pair this year, if you’d like.”
He frowned and pulled out a pen.
I walked over to him, slow so I wouldn’t accidentally rip off his face. “How was it?”
“Sleeping with Penny’s feet? She hasn’t slapped me yet. I’m jealous about that. I want her streak of Pitch to rip me apart.”
“So you can put her back together?”
“She has a trial tomorrow with the TMD at the floating courthouse. It’s irritating. My dad will hate it if they call him in for it along with Friday’s ceremony. Tuesday you’re taking her to Community Service? What’s that about?”
I exhaled and sat down. “I need to figure out how to be with her. She’s so…”
“You mean without licking her.” He shot a hard grin at me. “I don’t understand why she doesn’t take advantage of that clause. Why don’t you?”
I shrugged. We’d already talked about that. “Do you need any help with the TMD? I can send over a slew of contract mages.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure we’ve got it covered as far as lawyers go, but I could use more security. Inside the courthouse won’t be in Rosewood’s jurisdiction. That makes it vulnerable to attack. She’s right to have the wedding soon, but putting her under Stoneburrow’s protection and Huntsman’s will take a lot of preparation and we have a week. A very busy week. What are you going to do for my Bachelor’s party? Penny has vetoed a stripper, at least a female, one and Pete’s going to be her stripper, so it would have to be Oscar.”
I poured myself a cup of tea and sat on the couch, rifling through the stacks of paper. They were well organized even if they looked haphazard. “I didn’t think you got along with Oscar, or anyone actually. Do you want me to throw you an actual party, sycophants and all?”
He wrinkled his nose. “What we should do is have a war council with all the mages with an interest in our pretty Penny.”
“Just a council, not an actual war?”
He shrugged and his eyes gleamed. “Do you have a war that needs fighting by dissolute baby Daysiders?”
I shrugged. Zach should meet Revere, but Revere wasn’t interested in allowing Zach to the house, not until he was good and married to Penny. Still, Revere might have an idea of what to do with her. “I’m sure I could come up with something worthy. Who do you consider on her list?”
“Your friends Ian and Prince aren’t going to take their claws out of her, are they?”
I shrugged.
“Lester.” His lips tightened. “She wants to have an alliance with him.”
I nodded. “He’s a solid mage.”
“Solid if you mean corpulent. Barry. He puts poetry on the door to Lilac Stories every morning ever since the rabbit suit incident. He takes after you in terrible spellcraft and excellent Chemistry. Lars. He seems to be watching her too closely even though he’s impossible to read.”
“Lars? I thought he kind of disappeared.”
“You didn’t find it suspicious that someone that big disappeared?”
I scratched my pen over the paper. Lists of supplies and armaments. “Oscar?”
“He’s Viney’s mage.”
“But I like him. He’s smart.”
“Is this Penny’s list or yours?” He glared at me for some reason.
I shrugged and ran my hand through my hair. “What about the Darksider?”
“Signore Ludi, her first crush? She’s been avoiding him. I really like that, but it’s impossible not to involve him in some way, at least at the wedding. We should probably deal with him before then. He’ll want to know what limits we’re going to put on his unofficial alliance with our witch.”
“Don’t call her that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to share.”
“You want me to call her mine? She begged you to carve into her skin. I took her while she was unconscious.”
I glared at him. “Don’t say that, either.”
He sighed and leaned back, arms behind his head. “I hope you figure it out soon.”
“She was smelling my door. How am I supposed to figure that out?”
“She had a nightmare her dad ripped out your heart. Apparently, she doesn’t like that idea.”
“It’s not an idea. Signore ripped out his brother’s heart in front of her. And ate it.”
He shuddered. “Before or after she kissed him? There’s something wrong with that guy.”
I laughed. “I’m worried about Mitch.”
“Why?”
“He hates her. Most mages would keep her because she’s so valuable. He’d just rip her apart. She’s delicate.”
He snorted. “That depends whether or not she’s channeling Pitch.”
“No, she’s always delicate. Even, especially when the darkness rips her apart from inside. How was it after the dragon?” I didn’t want to know. I’d specifically not asked him about it.
His eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat. “It took about four hours to heal her, for her to stop coming to pieces. Three hours after that to recover fully. It’s not a good lifestyle for her. Her scars don’t fade once they’re in her skin. Without magic…”
I nodded. “It wasn’t our fault. She was supposed to stay safe in the limo.”
He started working on the papers. Five minutes later, he pushed them aside. “I want to lock her up in a tower. It eats at me, the possibility of a knife in her throat at the wrong time. It would be so easy to kill her. She slept with me, completely vulnerable in spite of how well she knows me and my impulses.”
“You have murderous impulses? Interesting. I didn’t know that.”
He scowled at me. “I want to play with Pitch. Poppy used to light her hair on fire so Pitch wo
uld come out.”
“Ah. Light something else on fire, otherwise I’ll be forced to steal it. She might look odd bald.”
He snorted. “I know the price for Pitch is pain, her pain, but it’s so tempting.”
“You can heal her. Ian can heal her. Even I can heal her if we get desperate.”
“You’re encouraging me to hurt her?”
I grinned at him. “Can you blame me? If you hurt her, I’ll be forced to destroy you and tuck her into my bed. For her safety, of course.”
He laughed and slammed his fist against my knee. Ow. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear. How many spell casters can you get together to create a strong barrier around the church?”
After that fun, I went to see Revere. He was pacing out symbols in the dirt in front of the hideously ugly house. He should paint it or something.
“The wedding is on Friday. On Wednesday night, I’ll have Penny’s allied mages available.”
He looked up at me, muttering under his breath. He nodded then shook his head. “I don’t deal with undisciplined Daysiders.”
“Are you calling me disciplined? I take that as the deepest insult. Think about it. Otherwise I’ll just take them to Darkside and route our dissolute former mercenaries or something. It’s getting boring fighting all those Daysiders who are working with Sooth. And the Creagh. They were supposed to be on our side. My father’s mustache was a practical guarantee.”
“You gave them the wrong pinkie. They tried to cast a control spell on him and lost a lot of lives over it.”
I shrugged. “Half of it was his. If it would have worked with the full digit, it would have worked with half. Maybe I’m wrong. My understanding of spellcraft is not the greatest.”
He stared at me. “You’ve improved vastly in the last few weeks.”
“Don’t tell my father. Or Jasper. Have you heard anything from that cowardly wretch?”
“I stay away from mages who sell their souls to sorcerers like Sooth.”
“You’re so sensible, Revere. I’m supposed to be Penny’s Revere. I’ll never be a spellmaster or sensible.”
He smiled, sharp and vicious and then began the longest night of my life. Days? Weeks? Years? Spellcraft became my breath, my blood, which was a blessing and a curse because I was the one stretching out time in that bubble until I knew how to create the perfect wards and barriers to protect Penny.
When I stumbled into my room, dawn was rolling in and I fell into my bed, sleeping like the dead until Zach’s text woke me up. The TMD’s trial. I’d missed it.
His text read, The floating courtroom is no more. The TMD was dissolved after my father showed up. I forget sometimes how terrifying he is. Penny was impressed.
I snarled and shoved the phone under my pillow. Of course she was. She liked my father’s mustache as well. I pulled my phone out and texted her without thinking.
I heard you had an explosive trial.
It took three seconds for her to reply.
Drake, where were you? I was worried.
She was? It took me a little while to figure out what to say to that. Why would she worry about me? So was I, but luckily, worry didn’t keep me from falling asleep. Ever since you checked my door for splinters I’ve been paranoid about the rest of the doors I might encounter in my life. Who will check them for me?
As your ally, I nobly volunteer.
I grinned. I had so many doors. My smile slipped away. Ally. I texted briskly, I’ll be waiting tomorrow, 5:30 unless you have to make wedding plans or something.
I turned off my phone and didn’t see if she responded. Wedding plans with Zachary Stoneburrow. Was there anyone I needed to email? I should check in with my father, see how the business was doing. The Spring Showcase was coming. I should do something about that. I had an idea for a new compound to use in the tourney. I should…
I rolled over and pulled my pillow over my head. I was still tired, and I didn’t care about any of it. I wasn’t the lead in this play, not anymore.
I slept until the next morning, dragged through my classes and sat in the back of the theater watching Penny dance with Ian. It was infuriating how not terrible she was with someone else. Her long neck curved like a swan as she floated over the stage in Ian’s arms. Finally, practice ended. Ian held onto her for too long even though he knew I was there.
He frowned seriously and told her to watch her feet, keep turnout as well as keeping her shoulders down. After she’d left, Ian took his time coming down the steps and walking down the aisle, coming to sit next to me, well, two spaces away.
“She’s doing well,” he said, as though I couldn’t see that.
“Mm. When are you going to date?”
He laughed, sharp instead of golden. “I’m not. I have dated more females than any mage should.”
“We’re throwing a bachelor party for Zach tomorrow night. Eight p.m.”
“I don’t think I’d be much fun at a bachelor’s party.”
“It’s more of a war council. I’m inviting Teddy.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Does Stoneburrow know about that? He can’t stand us. He’s jealous that you have other friends.”
I shrugged. “This is about Penny’s mages, not mine. She has quite the collection.”
“Stoneburrow.” He scowled suddenly before his expression became passive. “He will be a terrible husband to her.”
“Really? Maybe I’ll get to rip him apart after all.”
He laughed. “One can hope. Do you want me to invite her mages or would you like to do the honors?”
I ran a hand through my hair. I had twenty minutes before I’d let myself wait for Penny at my car. Would she come? She’d told Zach she was coming. Funny that flying on a dragon didn’t bother her but riding in a car triggered her curse terribly. “You can tell Teddy. We’ll probably cause some havoc in Darkside.”
He smiled, a sharp, beautiful, terrible smile. “I do like being the bearer of good news.”
He stepped Throughside, leaving me alone in the theater. I sat there, counting the minutes until I could step Throughside, coming out beside my dark green SUV. I stopped abruptly when I saw Penny, sitting on the ground, her hair getting filthy against my tire and the pavement. I wanted to scoop her up or sit on her lap. Instead, I gave her a cocky smile.
“Am I late?”
She scrambled to her feet. “No. I didn’t want to miss you.” She blushed for mysterious reasons I couldn’t possibly fathom.
I curled my fingers instead of touching that blush and her sweet skin. I cleared my throat. “Shall we go early then?”
She nodded and got into the car as soon as I opened the door. We were five minutes down the road from Rosewood when she gripped my hand, pulling it into her lap.
I held my breath for a minute then exhaled. The world was right again. I didn’t talk, just listened to her breathe. I drove slowly, very slowly. It was a little rainy with banks of fog at the base of the hills. When we reached the hospital, I parked and sat there with Penny beside me, holding my hand tight enough it hurt. I covered her hand with mine and sat there, trying to breathe, trying to swallow, trying to get out of the car.
“You drive like an old lady.”
I grinned at her even though she let go of my hand, like she had the right to live disconnected from me. “Why thank you, Miss Lane. You say the sweetest things.”
“Are old ladies sweeter than young ones?”
I laughed and very nearly tasted her. I could preserve that taste for eighty years or so and taste her again. It would be an experiment, nothing to do with how much I wanted to taste a ninety-seven-year-old Penny Lane.
“You tempt me, Miss Lane.”
“Miss Lane? And you’re Mr. Huntsman? I should have brought a parasol.”
“And I could have brought a mustache.”
She laughed then fell over onto my neck, her breath on my skin. “I want to see you old.”
She read my mind. Before I could taste her hair, her ear, her
chin, she slid out of the car, landing on her bare knees on the pavement. She gripped the ground and inhaled and exhaled, trying not to throw up.
It was the curse. I started weaving a spell over her, feeding it to her as I got out of the car and went around. The spell was better, deeper, put together the right way even if I made it up. That was Revere’s doing. She lifted her eyes while I leaned against the fender, watching her, mumbling in Darksider until she got to her feet.
She put a hand at the base of her spine and flinched. “Such a strange curse.”
“Do you think it was an accident or him showing his paternal streak and fear that you’ll die in a car wreck?”
She shot me a look and started walking faster. “That’s right. He probably ripped me apart because he was concerned for my health and happiness. I feel like I haven’t been here for ages.”
It felt like another world the last time I’d taken her hand, thinking about how to kiss her without making her faint. Why was I resisting the call of her long legs, her throat, her soft lips? I couldn’t remember. No, I could. The base of her spine. The curse that controlled her. The family name I couldn’t protect her with. The monster in Darkside whose pinkie tip was in a very special place.
I exhaled and followed her into the hospital, keeping my hands at my sides. Inside the building, I left her at the door to her princess’s room. I walked faster once I’d left her, stalking through the halls like I owned them. Which I did. I’d made certain when I’d started my hospital that not even Jasper had control over it. I’d been worried his conscience would prevent me from doing something interesting with my humans, but it turned out I found positive outcomes more fascinating than furthering their torment. I should go into Darkside and hunt more humans to rehabilitate.
I’d walked through the white double doors, nodding at the guards and was standing in the room, glancing around at the inhabitants who seemed suspiciously quiet and well-behaved, particularly Missy on her couch.
The double doors burst open and in came Penny like a red-gold hurricane. She gripped my shirtfront and shook me. Her eyes were unfocused, flecks of black swirling in them, deep and dark, fascinating and terrible.
“How could you let her die?” Her wail pierced my ears and the sorrow she carried made me sick and weak.
Deadly Morsel: Rosewood Academy of Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 5) Page 21