He huffed, grabbing my elbow and drawing me near to him. I tried not to jump at the way the heat of his hand rushed through my skin. “Listen, Sunshine. I will make you a promise.”
A promise. One of the few things I had been taught was that making promises and vows was never something to take lightly. They held weight in Ithenmyr. There was magic behind promises. They could hold weight and be binding.
No one in their right mind made promises to someone they had just met.
That he would suggest making one for me…
I raised my brow. “I’m listening.”
“I promise you will not die inside this cottage,” he said gruffly. “You have my word. Nonna doesn’t bite.”
Something about his words made me stop. No one had ever sworn a promise to me before. Xander’s tone of voice was so sincere that it almost sounded like he was pleading with me to go along with him.
This day had been so long, and suddenly, all I wanted to do was sit down. Chances were fairly decent there would be some sort of furniture in the cottage. At least, I hoped that would be the case.
“Fine.” I ground out through clenched teeth. “I’ll come. But if I die in this murder cottage, I promise you, I will come back from the seven circles of hell and haunt you.”
“It’s a deal,” Xander chuckled, tugging on my elbow. “Come on.”
I sighed, praying to anyone who would listen to keep me safe.
* * *
The inside of the cottage was nothing like I expected. On the outside, the building had appeared as though it was at risk of collapsing on itself at any moment.
But once Xander pulled me across the threshold, I found myself unable to move. All the manners that had been drilled into me evaporated as I slowly turned on my feet. My jaw fell open and I had trouble comprehending what I was seeing.
“Ana,” Xander whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck, “come on.” He tugged on my elbow, breaking my reverie.
“I… How is this possible?”
He blinked, those damn golden eyes large as he looked around. “Do you mean the shack?”
“Xander.” Nonna’s voice was chiding as it lilted out from behind a closed door. “You know better than to misuse your words. This isn’t a shack. It’s my home.”
I gestured towards the door, stomping my foot on the wood. “Thatis what I mean. This dinky little cottage shouldn’t have a second room, let alone look as… as… as palatial as it does!”
And it did look palatial. The interior of the cottage was filled with cream-colored walls, beautiful furniture, and artistic renderings of streams and mountains hanging on the walls.
There was even a mural of a giant green dragon flying over a high mountain range painted over the fireplace. The artist had painted a female riding on the back of the dragon, her long red hair flying behind her like a river. It was…. incredible. Completely unlike anything I had ever seen before.
Xander opened his mouth, then closed it as he took a step back. “Nonna is… special,” he said after a moment.
I crossed my arms. “Explain.”
He stared at me, blinking several times. He had a maddening look of incomprehension on his face. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” I waved a hand in the air. “Explain what you mean. How isthispossible?”
“Well… she…” Xander cleared his throat, his feet shifting on the floor as he avoided my gaze.
“I’m a witch,” Nonna said, as a door slammed shut behind her.
I blinked once, then twice, as I tried to understand what I just heard. My mind was racing. I knew the word, but I had thought that witches were nothing more than tales. “I’m sorry, a what?”
Nonna appeared at my elbow, looking up at me. “A witch.”
“A witch,” I repeated.