Chapter 24
Gideon pretended he hadn’t heard the sprite, but he felt a warmth for the irksome creature he hadn’t before.
Sabrina laughed, the color in her cheeks brightening. “You’re supposed to use your wish for yourself, Korrie. Also, you’re not supposed to say what it was.”
He shrugged, tucked the little mirror beside his leg, and held out his hands for the next present. “It’s my wish. I can use it for anything I want. And I can share it, too.”
She glanced at Gideon, but he only caught her movement in his peripheral vision. He couldn’t bring himself to look back.
He’d be fine if that wish came true. He knew he shouldn’t want her to kiss him again, but he did.
He wanted a lot of things he wasn’t supposed to since she’d come into his life.
Sabrina quickly handed the sprite Julia’s present. “There you go. That’s from Julia.”
He tore into it with same amount of gusto. Gideon had to give the sprite credit. He might be small, but he lived life in a big way. Maybe part of that was because he’d been stuck in the music box. Or maybe because he knew they all wanted him to go back in.
Or maybe that was just who he was.
Gideon loathed to even have the thought, but it made him a little jealous. He didn’t have the luxury of living that way. His curse made sure of that.
Korrin opened the box. “More clothes! I love them!” He pulled out a small pair of red pants and a red sweater with a dinosaur on it. They looked like kids’ clothes, but Gideon suspected that wouldn’t bother the sprite.
He immediately stood up and started taking off his sweater.
Sabrina picked up a scrap of wrapping paper from the floor. “Korrie, what are you doing?”
Julia laughed. “Pretty sure he’s trying on his new clothes.”
“Not in front of everyone,” Sabrina said.
But the sprite was already down to his underwear, which thankfully he kept on. Gideon had to laugh.
With the twitch of Korrin’s fingers, the clothes shrank down until they looked his size. He pulled them on and did his best to see himself with his new mirror. He nodded. “I look good in everything.”
Gideon could only shake his head. Had he ever had that kind of confidence?
Sabrina handed him a long, flat present next. “This is from me.”
Was she saving Gideon’s for last because she wasn’t sure what was in it? Or because—actually, it didn’t matter. This was her house. She could do things however she liked. And he really needed to stop overthinking everything.
Hard to do when it had become his norm.
The sprite ripped through the paper. “Candyland!” Smiling, he looked at Sabrina. “What is it?”
“It’s a board game. If you like, we can play it tonight.”
He got the rest of the wrapping paper off, nodding. “I definitely want to play it. Is it played with real candy? I love candy.”
She snorted. “No, but I still think you’ll enjoy it.”
Gideon was happy he’d chosen the gift he had. He pushed it closer to the sprite. “Last one is from me.”
Korrin gave him a curious look, as if surprised that Gideon had gotten him something but also slightly cautious. Like the gift might be something bad.
“Go on,” Gideon said. “I think you’ll like it.”
Carefully, Korrin pulled the tissue paper out of the bag. He peered in. The top of the dragon’s egg box was visible but in no way indicated what was inside.
He took hold of the sides of the box. “It’s heavy.”
“I’ll help you,” Sabrina said. She lifted the wooden crate out. A wide length of ribbon wrapped it, ending in a large bow.
The sprite untied the bow and opened the wooden crate, revealing the iridescent blue scales of the egg inside. His mouth fell open. “It’s an egg.” He inhaled. “And it smells like chocolate.”
Julia let out a little squeal. “Because it is! It’s a dragon’s egg from The Chocolate Dragon. Holy moly, Gideon. That’s the best gift ever.”
The sprite looked up. “It’s a dragon’s egg? From a real dragon?”
“Sort of,” Gideon said. “It’s a chocolate egg made by a real dragon shifter.”
“Get out of here,” Sabrina said. “Is that true?”
He nodded. “To the best of my knowledge it is.”
The sprite pulled out a small wooden mallet and chisel. “Are these to open the egg?”
“Yes,” Gideon answered. “Inside the egg are more chocolates.”
“It’s all chocolate?” Korrin asked.
“That’s my understanding,” Gideon said.
The sprite looked like he was about to cry. “All of this is for me?”
“It is,” Gideon confirmed.
The sprite jumped up and flew straight to Gideon, hugging him around the neck. “Thank you.”
Gingerly, Gideon patted him on the back. “You’re welcome.”
Korrin let go and flew back to his chair. He picked up the wooden mallet. “Let’s get into this thing.”
He gave it a solid whack that cracked the egg nearly in two. He lifted out a piece of the chocolate shell and took a bite. “Wow, this is good.” He ate some more, smearing chocolate onto the side of his mouth. “Let’s play the game now.”
“There’s another game we can play,” Sabrina said. “It’s called Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Do you want to do that first?”
Korrin stood up and looked around. “You have a donkey in the house?”
“No, it’s just what the game is—you know what? Candyland sounds perfect. How about we play that on the kitchen table?” Sabrina asked. “I think that will be easier for everyone. You can bring your chocolate in there.”
Julia got to her feet. “I’ll help get everything set up.”
Gideon stood, still pleased his gift had been such a hit. “I’ll help, too.”
They played Candyland three times, but they didn’t quite finish the third game since the sprite fell asleep. Probably crashed from all the sugar he’d had, Gideon figured.
Sabrina carried him to the couch. Gideon collected the game pieces. Julia got a sponge to wipe all the chocolate off the table.
She looked at Gideon. “Pretty impressive gift.”
“It was the only thing I could think of that I thought he’d like.”
“For future reference, if you come to my birthday party, I’m good with a chocolate egg too.”
He laughed. “I’ll make a mental note of that.”
They could hear Sabrina singing softly, a lullaby.
Julia looked in the direction of the living room. “He must have woken up.” Sponge in hand, she drew closer to Gideon. “Do you like her?”
He stared at her, unprepared for such a direct question. “I think she’s a very good person.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, obviously. I mean do you like her as more than that.”
He gathered the game cards together, tapping them on the table to even them out. “I am not in a position to be in a relationship, so how I feel about her doesn’t matter.”
She frowned. “Why not?” Suddenly, her eyes rounded. “Is there a Mrs. Locke?”
“There’s—”
Sabrina walked in before Gideon could finish his answer. She looked at both of them. “Don’t stop on my account.”
He put the cards and the playing pieces back in the box. “It’s all right. I should go.”
“You want to take some cake home? I’ll wrap up a piece for you.” She went straight to the cake, still on the counter, not giving him a chance to say no. She put a slice on a paper plate and covered it with foil. “There you go.”
“Thank you. It was a very entertaining evening. I appreciate the invite. Even if it was basically mandatory.”
She grinned. “Thanks for being a good sport about it. And for bringing Korrie that great gift. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes.” He nodded to Julia. “Night.”
“Hey, um, are you walking home?” Sabrina asked. “I can drive you.”
“No, it’s fine. The walk will do me good after all that cake and ice cream.” He gave them a wave and left. The sprite and the cat were both asleep on the couch.
He was about a block away from Sabrina’s when he glanced down at the foil-covered plate in his hand. His gut told him the curse wasn’t going to like having that cake in the house. Cake that Sabrina had given him. Cake from a party where he’d had fun.
He’d probably wake up to find it moldy. Or covered in ants.
He passed a trash bin, rolled to the curb for tomorrow’s pickup. He slowed, hesitated, then pulled the foil off and tossed it in.
Then he picked up the cake with his fingers and ate it as he walked. It was probably what the sprite would have done.