Page 119 of Wickedly Ever After
She turned to the door, open a crack the way Hector had left it. “Hari, will you come in now?”
Tinbit jerked around in the chair. “No, wait—don’t—”
Hari entered, holding his hat in his hands, but he stopped halfway across the room when Tinbit glared at him.
“Well?” he said. “Didn’t they warn you?”
“Hector did. He said you weren’t yourself,” Hari said, sitting beside Tinbit and folding his hands in his lap. “But you’re alive, and that’s what matters. How are you feeling?”
“I’mnotalive!” Tinbit yelled. “This is me—a dead man who has nothing to give you. I never should have written you that letter. I never should have loved you. I’m sorry.”
Hari glanced at Ida. “Okay, Tinbit. Maybe you shouldn’t have. And maybe I shouldn’t have done that, either, because if you knew what I really looked like, you’d have run.” He stiffened as Ida gently lifted the charm.
Hari’s handsome face slid away. The scars of his burning showed clearly—white, livid blazes and slashes across the pink-and-brown skin. His eyelids had no lashes, his brows grew no hair, and his head was covered with bald patches where his hair would no longer grow. His hands were equally horrible—fused skin between his fingers, missing nails. He took Tinbit’s hand. “This is me,” he said, “a man who lied to you with a spell, who thought he could hold you because you loved beautiful things. I was scared to death when you said ‘I love you’ because I wasn’t the man you fell in love with. That’s why I didn’t want to leave Ida. If I did, she couldn’t maintainthe illusion, and when the spell was lifted, you’d see. You’d know I wasn’t beautiful.”
Tinbit reached out and touched Hari’s face. “I didn’t love you because you were beautiful. I love you because you said you loved me.”
Hari cupped his hand around Tinbit’s slack jaw. “You said it first.”
“Pretty sure it was you.”
“No, I’d never say that on the first date. I’d save it for the second one.”
Tinbit laughed. It sounded as rough as his voice and almost as angry, but instead of pulling away, he raised Hari’s mishappen hands to his cracked lips and kissed them. “I do love you,” he said. “I love you so much. I can’t ask you to stay.”
“Not a chance,” Hari said. “I kissed you raw trying to wake you from the dead, and now you’re back, I can’t let you go again.”
“Kissed me?”
“Probably about a hundred times. It works in all the stories.”
Tinbit chuckled. “When will you ever stop believing in happily-ever-after?”
“Never,” Hari said, leaning forward. He brushed the hair out of Tinbit’s face. “After all, I work for a good witch.” He glanced at Ida again as if asking for her permission.
Ida smiled encouragingly, although Hector’s heart felt tight and pained in her chest. She’d miss him. Oh, she’d miss him so much.
Hari’s mouth firmed. He dropped down on one knee in front of Tinbit. “Marry me.”
“Wha—”
“You heard me,” Hari said. “Marry me. And I want Ida, andHector, and the dragons, and everyone to come to our wedding, because you are the most amazing man in the world, and I’m so lucky you love me.”
“Hari, I’m dead.”
“Well, we can hold the funeral and a wedding at the same time. Twice the food and twice the tears.”
Tinbit laughed so hard he cried. He hugged Hari, pressing his nose against Hari’s cheek. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, to eternity.”
55
Hector
My dearest detested Ida,
The black rose is dead. I killed it forever when I destroyed my own immortality. Happily-Ever-Ater is now effectively destroyed, and you won’t need to lift a finger.
One day, I hope you’ll understand why I didn’t tell you. First of all, I had to ensure you didn’t sabotage my plan, as I knew you would. You’re far too devious—it’s one of your most endearing character traits, by the way. Secondly, you are the best person to watch over Tinbit. I know you’re worried about maintaining him once I’m gone, but by sacrificing my immortality for him, I’ve made the necomancy permanent. He’ll live out his normal lifespan, just as I will live out mine. And I’m sure both Hari and Tinbit will prefer your castle to a rundown gingerbread house, although I hope all of you will come visit me.
