Page 3 of Once Upon a Curse for True Love
“If the wards were as standard as you claim, they wouldn’t have flared up like they sensed a demon when I tried to ring the bell.Not that it mattered—I got through just fine.”
“They’re sensitive to arrogance.You must’ve triggered a full-body reaction.”
“Anyway.”He ignored the jab.“The warrant isn’t for you, Callidora.I’m here to arrest an Andromeda Swan.”He peeked past Sarah Michelle.“I’m guessing the blonde hiding behind you on the couch?”
The room seemed to tilt sideways, and Andromeda’s stomach dropped as if she’d plunged off a broom at high altitude—something she’d unfortunately experienced in real life.He wanted to arrest her?
A moment ago, she wouldn’t have minded him slapping handcuffs on her—now she’d prefer to return that fantasy for a full refund.Thank you very much.
Chapter Two
Illegally Blonde
DONATELLO
In his career as a detective at Salem MPD, Donatello Malatesta had dealt with cursed artifacts, fire-breathing suspects, and once, a pissed-off mermaid with a mean grudge and a sharp harpoon.None of that had prepared him for kicking in a door and finding two witches in pajamas, high on ice cream and delusionally saccharine TV, flanked by familiars with more attitude than half the department.
The hedgehog finished his dramatic flailing and puffed up like a toy soldier.“This is preposterous!Ms.Swan is a law-abiding witch of impeccable character.I demand to see that warrant.”
Donatello blinked.Was the little guy serious?
“I don’t have time for uptight rodents,” he said flatly.
“I beg your pardon?”The pompous hedgehog rose to his full, rather unimpressive height.“I am not a rodent.And I am not uptight!”the familiar squawked, every quill on his back sticking up.“I am merely possessed of proper decorum, something sorely lacking in present company.”
Donatello resisted the impulse to flick his wrist andpolitelylaunch the thing into a shoebox.
“He means you,” the other familiar, a ferret, chimed in, climbing on Callidora, his fellow detective and one of Salem MPD’s most competent investigators.The little furball perched on her shoulder.“I kind of agree with the cop on this one, Quill.You make Victorian schoolmarms look chill.”
The power structure between the witches and their creatures was unclear—and frankly, unsettling—but Donatello was already exhausted by the dynamic.
“Enough,” Sarah Michelle snapped, eyes still scanning the warrant.Her frown deepened as she read on.He couldn’t blame her.Callidora’s roommate was neck-high in dragon droppings.“This can’t be right,” she said.
“It is, black on white,” Donatello replied, voice sharpening as he turned back to the blonde.“Andromeda Swan, you’re under arrest.You have the right to remain silent…”
Amidst the increasingly loud protests from everyone, Donatello eyed the witch.
Andromeda Swan.Blonde.Angel faced.Legs for miles.Dresses in a frayed pajama top with zero bra involvement and a pair of nude leggings that hardly counted as clothing.Definitely distracting.
Since she clearly wasn’t coming over, Donatello rounded the couch to shackle her wrists behind her back.He powered through the Miranda warning, eyes locked firmly on her nape to avoid letting his gaze wander somewhere it had no business going.
Donatello kept his voice steady, but his patience was circling the drain.He’d secured the blonde witch—now cuffed and simmering with rage—and yet Callidora was determined to argue every inch of due process like it was a personal vendetta.
As her rapid-fire questions continued, he fought the urge to remind her he outranked her in this investigation, that the warrant in her hands was legitimate, and that her friendship with the suspect didn’t override protocol.Instead, he exhaled through his nose and debated whether he could still fake a head injury and hand the whole mess off to Chief King.
“Nuh-uh.”Sarah Michelle planted herself between him and the door.“You can’t waltz in here, destroy my property, arrest my roommate, and then stonewall me.What’s the charge?”
“The warrant spells it out,” Donatello replied, keeping his voice level.“Murder in the first degree with malicious use of dark magic.”
“That’s absurd.”Sarah Michelle’s eyes flashed dangerously.“Andy couldn’t kill anyone.She cries when she has to swat a mosquito.”
“I don’t cry,” Andromeda protested.“I feel bad for like, a minute, and move on.”
Donatello ignored the blonde and kept his focus on Callidora.“The evidence says otherwise.”
“What evidence?”Sarah Michelle demanded.
“You know I can’t discuss an active investigation.”
