Page 43 of Edge of Wonder

His thumb brushed across my cheek, then he dropped his hand into his lap. A heavy silence fell between us, and I studied the stars again. I startled when he pulled the blanket up to my shoulders and tucked in the edges. If I was smart, I’d move back to the bed, instead of continuing my misguided attempt at helping him sleep. But I lowered my head to his shoulder. His body stiffened, then relaxed, bit by bit.

“Get some sleep, Sebastian.”

He didn’t say anything, and we stayed that way for a long time until his breathing evened.

With his arm wrapped snugly around my waist, I closed my eyes and whispered, “Pleasant dreams.”

Chapter 15

Alice

“Rise and shine, sunshine!”

I peeled open my bleary eyes and found myself back in bed. Sebastian must have moved me in the night. But my strategy had been a success. He hadn’t woken up with one of his night terrors. I figured if he planned on helping me not die at the hands of an evil queen, the least I could do was help him sleep for the short time we were together. Especially since my task was easier and far more enjoyable.

“Shire?” I grumbled, hiding my face in the pillow. “Give me five more minutes.”

“Until what?” she asked, her voice booming right next to my ear.

I scowled and sat up. My hair tangled in front of my face, and I pushed it back, cursing as my fingers snagged in the snarls.

“Oh, Alice.” Shire made a tsking sound in her throat. “You have bed head, and it’s severe. You might want to take care of that before Sebastian gets back. There’s a hairbrush on the nightstand.”

“I never had to worry about this kind of stuff when I was a ghost,” I muttered, reaching for the brush and struggling to work it through my hair. I wasn’t used to a morning routine. Baths, changes of clothes, and primping were a distant concept. I hadn’t even used a mirror in a decade. Now I was supposed to make myself presentable, and it was a pain in the butt.

“I know, isn’t it great? I have it on good authority that my curls always have the perfect amount of bounce. I can float through a steamy jungle with no frizz.”

Tossing the brush back on the nightstand, I focused on getting dressed and sifted through the items Shire had selected. “You don’t mind being a ghost, do you?”

“No, I love it. I mean, it helps that I’m not tethered to anything specific, like so many other ghosts. Sebastian filled me in on what you went through while we were out last night, and I don’t know how you handled being stuck in that cottage for all those years. I’d be bored out of my mind and it would seriously limit the pranks I get to play.”

“Yeah. It was very isolating,” I said, lacing up the bodice of my dress. “What kind of pranks do you like to pull?”

“Gosh, so many things. I enjoy hiding people’s keys, so they have to crawl in through the windows. I make weird animal sounds. Once, I even meowed like a cat until some woman left me a plate of tuna on her windowsill. It’s so much fun. Didn’t you play pranks?”

I slipped on my boots while I considered her question. “Not at first, no. On rare occasions, Julian would have visitors, but I didn’t make myself known until the workers arrived after his death. I was always quiet and reserved. I liked to watch.”

Shire giggled somewhere near the pantry cupboards. Her voice dropped suggestively. “I like to watch too, hun. I bet you watched Sebastian for hours.”

A laugh burst from my throat, and I covered my mouth with my fingers. “Not like that! I mean…maybe a little, but—”

“I knew it! You look prim and proper, but there’s a naughty side to you, too. It is so nice to finally have a girlfriend that I can talk to about this kind of stuff. The lady spirits around town are such sticks in the mud. All wailing and no gossiping.”

My cheeks flushed from hearing her call me a friend, and I ducked my head to hide my reaction. “I’m glad to have you, too. This might be my home, but I don’t know anyone here.”

“You will. News of your return is already spreading. Plus, you’re the last hope of a generation. It’s kind of a big deal. Survive the three challenges and you’ll have more friends than you know what to do with—not to mention the men. You’ll be beating them off with a stick. I’d be jealous if I didn’t already have my eye on the smokeshow haunting the blacksmith’s forge.”

“Okay, I definitely want the details of that affair later… but do you really think so?”

“Girl, I know so. You can happily wave goodbye to Sebastian when he leaves because you’ll have options.”

“Options for what?” Sebastian asked as he climbed the staircase into the loft.

Shire fumbled for an answer, stuttering until she said, “Options for what to wear to today’s ceremony. Alice went with the blue, but I think the green is more her color. What’s your opinion?”

His gaze swept over me, and my mind flashed back to the night before when I learned I wasn’t the worst kisser that ever died and was brought back to life.

“Definitely the blue.” Sebastian removed a small wooden box from his bag. “It will match with what’s inside.”

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