Page 6 of Witch's Bells and Mistletoe

I smirk at him—because where else does he think I’ve been for the last few years—but then I chuckle quietly to myself as I realize that he never cared to ask where I’ve been living or any other personal details.

“Please,” Katherine scoffs. “He’s hardly in any danger with me. If I’ve suffered having him under my roof for months on end, I think he will be fine for a week in a hotel full of guests and staff.”

Ah. There’s the look of horror I expected. This time I do chuckle aloud at the expression on Elis’s face.

“Do not worry, cousin. No one is asking you to risk your safety around the bad witch,” I tease, and to my delight my dear Katherine wiggles her fingers in his direction. My laughter rolls louder in my chest when he winces at Katherine’s fingers and stiffens with a stony expression as if he genuinely believes that she’s attempting to cast on him. “Oh enough,” I laugh. “This is far too amusing, but get on with your rest and have a good flight home.”

His mouth tightens, and he shakes his head. “I can’t possibly go home now. Not when there is possible enchantment at work here on you.” His throat works as he eyes Katherine. “Once this… female… has left, then I will go to my rooms and will not only remain by your side but accompany you back to the coven house.”

“Who says you’re invited?” Katherine demands. “That’s my house, and I’ll have you know that right now I’m on vacation!”

I murmur softly to my female as I gently scoot her out the door, soothing her temper. I have no doubt that my female can protect herself, but I also don’t want to see her get into a full-on confrontation with my cousin. Elis has a nasty temper that I don’t wish to see unleashed upon her—because then I would have to kill him.

Perhaps not a huge loss, and I would certainly not regret protecting my female in the least, but there would be the inconvenience of being dragged in front of the clan for murdering kin. That can be a bit of a headache, and a human’s life is too short to waste on such mockery.

So with a promise that I will see her in the morning—which she accepts with a grumble and a displeased scowl—I reluctantly see my dear Katherine down the hall to her room and sweetly bid her goodnight.

I’m far less sweet when I return to my room and bare my teeth at the idiot still standing there expectantly.

“Now get out,” I growl.

He opens his mouth as if he’s actually going to play a game of chance with his life but thinks better of it and snaps it shut again with a nod.

“Very well. I will leave as it’s clear that you’ve been compromised and can’t be reasoned with,” he hisses and turns to stalk toward the door. He stops and gives me one last hard look as his hand settles on the knob. “Fair warning, cousin. I will be your shadow for as long as you play the lapdog for this witch. She may have bewitched you into forgetting about finding a dragoness to mate with, but she won’t have any such success with me.”

My hands are fisted at my sides to keep me from strangling him as he sails out of my room with an obstinate expression curdling on his face. He can pout and insult me all he likes, but if he ruins my Katherine’s vacation, I will murder him and hide the body. With some luck, the clan won’t find out until another fifty or hundred years slip by.

Chapter 5

KATHERINE

It should be at least a little concerning that I wake up in a rare mood. Is the prospect of spending the day with Adeon so appealing that it brings a smile to my face? I try to think of another occasion where I greeted the morning with a smile and come up empty.

Typically there’s usually too much occupying my mind for me to wake up feeling excited to greet the new day, but I can’t even fairly blame it on being busy. Yesterday I had nothing demanding my attention and still shuffled over to the courtesy coffee pot with a grimace. I should be worried more than anything else considering that Adeon’s cousin clearly has it out for me. He would probably be pleased as punch to barbecue me the moment my dragon’s back is turned. Instead, I’m here humming to myself as I look at my clothing neatly hung in the wardrobe and try to decide what to wear.

The husky sound of Adeon’s voice in my ear wishing me good night still makes me shiver whenever I replay it in my mind.

I pull the note from the pocket of my robe for the third time and feel my smile widen at the elegant scroll that I found tucked under my door this morning. The beautiful penmanship charms me more than I will ever admit to another living soul. No one bothers with such things anymore. True that there are enough things more important to worry about, but I appreciate it, perhaps even more so when it is inviting me to spend the day down at the village with him. And Elis, of course, because I’m not naïve and don’t believe for even a second that we will be able to lose him. At least strolling around a snowy village will be a little less awkward than sitting half-naked in the hot springs together.

Though I mourn that lost opportunity, I’m glad that I became acquainted with him—and his rather unpleasant personality—fully dressed.

An invitation to explore a charming little village and shop for solstice gifts for my daughter as well as for my younger siblings and their horde of children sounds delightful. Normally this would be just another exhausting day to accomplish as quickly as possible. But shopping in the village… I’m imagining a leisurely day strolling together as we sip cocoa, admiring the decorations and enjoying the quaint atmosphere while we shop.

It’s all very picturesque in my mind except for one glaring bit of gloom ruining it—Elis.

I briefly—briefly—entertain the idea of trying to get away with a minor hex so that he came down with the flu for the rest of my vacation, but I don’t even know if dragons are susceptible to human illnesses. And if they are, I would likely get the blame. Sure, in that case it would be justified, but it’s all really unfair all the witch hatred when I don’t even know where it’s coming from.

We’re both magical beings, for fuck’s sake. Just how much enmity can there realistically be between our kind? It certainly hasn’t put Adeon off at all.

I bite back my laugh, holding back my laugh because just that quickly my mood lightens again. I wonder if he will tuck me under his arm as we walk like in those dreadful Hallmark movies I’ve always loved to make fun of. Is it hypocritical that I want that? Probably so.

I don’t let that tiny detail bother me as I pull on my favorite pair of dark red wool trousers. With their bootcut legs and their perfect fit around my hips and waist, I can’t help but to smile at myself in the mirror just a little. The cream-colored aran sweater will look divine, I think. I pull it from the closet and set it on the bed, abandoning it just for a moment to pluck the gold medallion from my jewelry tray on my dresser and loop it over my head. The heirloom medallion of the coven head is a familiar weight as it settles between my breasts as I pull on the sweater over it. I run the brush through my hair one last time to smooth it and consider sweeping the length into my usual updo but pause with my fingers in my hair.

Oh, what the hell. I’m on vacation. If nothing else, it calls for a little departure from the norm, I think.

I twist the length into a neat plait. I’m out of practice, and it takes me a few tries to braid the length properly at the top of my head, but by the time I’m done the result is startling. I… don’t quite recognize myself. There is a shine in my eyes that I haven’t seen in a long time and a faint blush pinkening my cheeks. I won’t say that I look younger, but I look relaxed and happy. It reminds me a little of my reflection before I took over the coven and the weight of its burden settling on me at such a young age.

“Goodness, all of this without catching a bit of dragon dick,” I murmur, biting back another laugh as I apply the light touches of makeup that I brought with me.

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