She felt his smile as he kissed her ear. “It just so happens I know many stories. Did you ever hear about the Curse of the Black Thorn?”
“Never.” She yawned.
“Once upon a time, in a forest far away, there lived a young Death Elf. She was born Without, but that didn’t stop her from providing for her family. Her father was very ill, and…”
Flynn’s voice was a quiet murmur, gently lulling Octavia to sleep as he spoke. She listened intently, asking quiet questions, as he wove his tale. Their words weren’t barbed, and something shifted between them.
Slowly, she moved towards the realm of sleep.
“And they lived happily ever after,” Flynn concluded softly.
“What a beautiful story,” Octavia exhaled, so close to sleep that everything was heavy.
Several minutes passed in that quiet, comfortable calm.
Flynn’s lips met her forehead. “This was nice. I wish it could always be like this between us.”
The dragon shifter’s brows furrowed, but before she could ask questions, sleep claimed her.
That night, her dreams were filled with sharp brown eyes and handsome witches who kissed like they were gods.
CHAPTER 7
A Multitude of Bad Choices
The mattress beside Octavia was cold. She flung out her hand, wondering where Flynn had gone. He’d slept behind her all night, holding her tight against him.
She cracked her eyes open. It was still dark. Through the solitary window, she glimpsed the shifting sky. The sun was rising, pushing away the night with deep, scarlet tendrils of light. A shiver ran through the dragon shifter.
Red skies were never a good omen.
A rustling sound came from behind Octavia. That was strange. There wasn’t much in the cabin. Just the bed, them, and her bag…
She inhaled sharply, and her fist clenched at her side.
There was no way Flynn was doing what she suspected, right? No one would be so cold as to betray someone like that, especially after the night they’d shared.
It was one thing to go through a stranger’s bag, but after their kisses…
Her heart lodged in her throat as she slowly turned around. There had to be another explanation, right?
Like what?the dragon asked.
Anything.
Octavia needed her suspicions to be wrong. She needed to trust Flynn. She needed to…
Her eyes landed on the witch. A slew of vicious curses pulsed through her mind.
Right then and there, Octavia vowed to pry her heart out of her chest and never let anyone touch her again. Betrayal was bitter at the back of her mouth as she beheld the witch crouched over her bag, hurriedly searching through it.
Fucking bastard.
Fury was a blazing, burning inferno tearing through her veins. Red tinged everything in sight. Her nostrils flared. She flung herself out of bed so fast that she landed on her bad ankle. It rolled beneath her sudden weight, and she sucked in a sharp breath, alerting him to her presence.
The untrustworthy witch straightened. “Octavia?—”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Octavia asked through clenched teeth.