Chapter 5
Enid
Istepped back like Nevan had slapped me. “Your girlfriend?” I asked, gaping at this man standing in front of me.
He was tall like the prince and lean, but his features weren’t as sharp as Cillian’s—his nose slightly longer, his face longer, his eyes not a striking blue, but more gray.
Suspenders stretched over his broad, muscled shoulders.
His hair was shorter than Cillian’s, neat and parted on the side but curling slightly at the ends, and his round spectacles added this annoying charm to his angular face.
He cleared his throat. “Shit. That came out wrong. I want to fake date you, is what I meant. You’d be my fake girlfriend.”
“That doesn’t make any more sense than your last statement.”
Maybe I’d addled the man’s brain when I’d had Vine dip him in the bog. I’d just wanted to rough him up a bit, scare him from ever coming to my cottage again. But if I’d somehow scrambled his brain, I’d most definitely be exiled. Prince Cillian wouldn’t stand for me harming his own brother.
And I had to have scrambled his brain for him to be blathering on like this. Wanting to fake court me, whatever that meant.
Nevan had started pacing, muttering to himself. “Idiot. Complete idiot. So much for the speech you prepared.”
Vine raised in the air behind him, lifting the end of its tail as if to shrug.
This was it, then. I’d surely be exiled now.
I’d have nowhere to go, unless . . . I looked down at my amulet, at the green swishing in the bottom, so dangerously low.
No. I couldn’t go there. I wasn’t ready for that. Was I?
“Okay.” Nevan stopped and faced me. “Here’s the thing. My mother wants me to settle down, and she’s sort of”—he flailed his arms by his sides—“announced to all the eligible women of Fairwitch that I’m looking to get married.”
I’d broken him. I really had broken the man.
He pushed his spectacles up his nose. “And the thing is, I don’t want to disappoint my mother. So I told her I was already courting someone.”
This was the most confusing conversation I’d ever had. What in the world was he going on about?
“The problem is that I’m not actually courting anyone. I lied. And I need someone to pretend to be my girlfriend, someone who has no interest in marriage. Someone I know won’t fall in love with me.”
Vine stiffened, and the meaning behind Nevan’s words finally hit me. “Me?” I pointed at myself. “You want me to be that person?” A harsh laugh escaped my mouth. “Absolutely not. You’re off your rocker.”
Unbelievable. He wanted me to pretend to be his girlfriend because I was the only woman in Fairwitch who wouldn’t fall for him. Well, he was right about that at least. I’d never fall for such a stupid man. Or any man, for that matter.
“I’m off my what?” He shot me a confused look. “Never mind. The thing is, this won’t just benefit me.”
I set my steely gaze on him. “How could pretending to court you possibly help me?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t a cocky smile like the ones his brother gave. It was shy, dimples pecking his cheeks, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m well liked in this community.”
I snorted. Of course he was. All I’d ever heard about Nevan Wolfgang was how smart he was. How kind he was. How hardworking he was. It was annoying how much people liked him in comparison to how much they disliked me.
I was all those things, too, but of course everyone took one look at my green skin and my affinity for dangerous plants and assumed the worst.
Maybe I’d done a few things to add to my bad reputation, but I didn’t deserve all this vitriol.
He took a step toward me. “If you court me, I can improve your reputation. I can sway this vote in your favor. Keep you from getting exiled.”
I stared at him for a moment. Vine rose up behind him, nodding enthusiastically, and I made a cut it out face. Vine pointed at Nevan and formed into the shape of a heart.
I turned my attention back to Nevan, refusing to look at Vine. “I thought you just said all these eligible women want to court you. If you announce you’re courting me, won’t it just make them jealous and more likely to vote against me?”
“Maybe.” He gave a small shrug. “But there are far more people in Fairwitch than just women who want to marry me. A lot of people who will be voting and who might have a change of heart if they know how important you are to me. My brother being one of them.”
I swallowed thickly, the idea that I could stay in my home so very tempting. I didn’t want to leave the Cragh, but I also didn’t want to be exiled. If I had to leave, I’d do so on my own terms. In my own way.
“No,” I said, and Vine slumped behind Nevan.
I couldn’t believe it actually wanted me to court him. It made no sense.
Nevan’s shoulders slumped, disappointment lining his features. “I know you don’t want to leave this place,” he said. “You might not like Fairwitch Isle, but you love this bog.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I snapped.
He peered at me, the intensity of his gaze making me take a step back. “I see you sometimes, you know. In the early mornings when no one else is awake. I’m usually in my lab, and that’s when I spot you from the window.”
I stared at him, wondering what exactly he saw. I loved waking up early before the sun came up, before anyone was awake, when I could explore my bog and enjoy the peace and quiet. When I could pretend that an entire city had never dropped from the sky and landed here.
“I see you tending to all your plants.” He gestured behind my cottage to the patches of land where my gardens grew.
“I see how tender you are, how much you love them. Everyone else might think you’re coldhearted and uncaring, but I know the truth.
You love your home so much that it would kill you to have to leave. ”
I stepped back, hating how close to the truth he was. “Get out.” I pointed a long black nail at the door. “Get out before I throw you into the bog, and next time, I won’t ask Vine to bring you back up.”
His eyes widened, and he took a step toward me. “Enid,” he started, but I held up a hand.
“Out,” I instructed.
Vine shook its head behind me, and I ignored it. I’d deal with it later. But first I needed to rid myself of this man and his assessing gaze, far too sharp for my liking.
He stared at me for a beat longer before walking toward the door.
He opened it, then turned. “I can’t imagine how lonely it is, being in a city full of people but not knowing a single one.
You could use an ally, but more than that, you could use a friend.
You’d be surprised what a difference it can make, having someone on your side. ”
With that, he walked out and closed the door behind him.