Page 49 of Witch Queens: Tales from Oz

Steele poured Scarecrow a shot, and he threw it back.

“I’ll take another,” he rasped. Turning to me, he continued the conversation, “Look, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you taking it the wrong way.”

“How could I take it the wrong way?” panic raced through me. “You deliberately lied to me.”

Scarecrow arched a brow, “I did not lie, I omitted her name. It was a long time ago, and I don’t see why it’s a big deal that El helped me with something.”

Steele’s hand, which had been rubbing down the bar with a cloth, stopped, “Tell her the truth.”

“Stay the fuck out of it, Steele!”

My heart had dropped to my toes. What truth? Did they have a relationship?

“I need to sit down,” I choked out, grabbing the bar, and sliding onto one of the stools.

I took a big swig of my drink, but it wasn’t enough. Images of the two of them together kept washing over my brain.

“Indy,” Scarecrow sounded distant, “It was nothing, a few kisses and she stayed with me one night, but there was no sex.”

“I need to get out of here,” I pushed away from the bar, knocking my stool to the ground in the process. “I’m sorry, Steele, it was nice meeting you.”

I couldn’t take the pity in his expression. Tears were starting to cloud my vision, but I stumbled to the door.

“You can’t just leave, Indy,” Scarecrow sounded panicked. “There is nothing around here for miles.”

I paused outside and welcomed the cool breeze across my hot cheeks.

I was such a fool. Why would anyone want me? I was just a stand-in for my sister.

I began walking down the gravel pathway.

“Dammit, Indy, stop being so fucking stubborn. It wasn’t like we were together then anyway!”

The anger in his voice lit a fuse somewhere inside of me. How dare he be mad at me!

I whipped around, “It was nothing?”

He nodded.

“So, when you kissed me, did you think of her or me?”

He looked like I had slapped him, “How could you ask that?”

But I was on a roll, “And when she spent the night, was it with clothes or without?”

“Shit, we were in separate rooms! I don’t know what the hell she wore. El had been drinking too much and I didn’t want her driving.”

I angrily pushed the tears from my face, “Considerate of you.”

And it was considerate, that was Scarecrow all over again. But it was like the little bubble of happiness that I had created between the two of us had popped. And I was staring at the raw truth.

“Did she not want you?” I straightened my shoulders to prepare for the answer.

“Fuck this!” he turned on his heel to leave me there, but at the last moment, turned back and marched up as close as he could get without touching me. “I don’t do relationships for a reason, Indy. El didn’t expect one, and I certainly wasn’t offering one. We didn’t fuck because she felt more like a friend than a lover. And just so you know, I broke all ties between El and I the day I met you.”

His mouth crashed down against mine. His kiss was punishing and angry. I fought to break away, still mad at him for keeping things from me.

All of my life I had felt inferior to El, she was smarter, better at magic, and got all the boys. But I had thought that Scarecrow was the one thing that was mine.

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