Chapter 16 Chelsea
Chelsea
Eryx fixes the books. All the books. Every single one.
I watch him do it. His magic wraps around each tome like invisible hands, guiding them back through windows and doors—not forcing. Coaxing them. Like he understands the bookstore's pain.
It takes him less than five minutes to do what we couldn't have done in an hour.
After that, my parents invite him over to the house—for breakfast—like it’s an everyday event to have the Nightmare King show up for pancakes.
Get this—he eats every last one my mom puts on his plate.
And my sisters—Emory, Dallas, Finn, and Georgia—don’t say much, but they watch him quietly, their eyes big with questions.
And as for me, I barely touch my pancakes. I sit with my shoulders tightly rounded, my eyes on my plate.
“That manor of yours,” Dad says, “how many square feet is it?”
What a dad question. But Eryx doesn’t miss a beat. He puts down his fork and replies, “One hundred thousand.”
“You don’t say. And does it heat well? Stay cool in the summer?”
“For the most part. Every home has that one room, doesn’t it?”
Dad chuckles. “It sure does.”
He glances over at me, sees me glowering and quickly schools his face. “Well, um. I’m finished here. I imagine you two have some things to discuss.”
He nods to my sisters and they rise. My mom, too. As they start to march from the kitchen like a line of ducks, I lift my hand. “Wait. Y’all don’t have to go.”
But the only trace of them that’s left is the swinging door quietly swishing back and forth.
I turn to Eryx, who smiles grimly. Well he’s the only one who’s smiling about this. But I’ve always been told when you give bad news to someone, frame it between two good things, so that’s what I do.
“Thank you for saving us.” I lift my eyes to meet his. “Now explain why you told my entire village we’re getting married.”
His smile vanishes. “I was wrong.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“We barely know each other.”
“Which is why I’m wondering how it ever came up in the first place.”
“You mentioned that you have to get married, remember?”
My breath stills. “That was a secret.”
“I didn’t tell anyone. All I said was that—”
“I know what you said!” I slam a hand onto the table. “And you’ll take it back. I’m not marrying you.”
He swallows, and his Adam’s apple dips. “Fair enough. It was worth a shot.”
Eryx rises and starts to walk to the back door. What? Is he giving up? This quickly? He’s not even going to try to change my mind?
Somehow this feels more like a defeat than a victory.
I should let him leave. Let him walk out that door and deal with his uncontrollable magic on his own. But the bookstore this morning…that was just the beginning. If our magic keeps failing, we'll lose everything. The shop. Our home. Everything my family has built.
He reaches the door and places a hand on the knob. “For what it’s worth, I won’t be able to stop what happened last night if you say no.”
A tingle cartwheels down my spine. I know exactly what he’s talking about—the roses, the magic, the tug.
That’s what it felt like—his magic pulling at mine.
“Why won’t you be able to stop it?” I ask.
“Secrets.”
I laugh bitterly. “Are you serious?”
He shrugs. “Some things are on a need-to-know basis.”
“Why can’t you control it?”
He turns around, and those icy eyes of his overflow with an emotion I can’t place—worry, maybe.
“Marry me and find out.” Before I can reply, he keeps on.
“I’m not asking you to do this because you like me or even want me.
Hell, both of our towns will probably be in upheaval over this.
But you need this as much as I do. If what happened today is any indication of the future, your family’s magic will be gone by the end of the week, if it even lasts that long. ”
“How do you know our magic will be gone that quickly?”
“Because I pay attention, Chelsea.”
When he says my name, his voice rumbles deep, the sound thrumming in my chest. It’s impossible to ignore.
My name has never sounded like that before. Like a promise. Like a threat. Like something precious.
I want him to say it again.
God, what is wrong with me? I should be focused on terms and conditions, not the way his mouth shapes my name.
Focus, Chelsea.
“If you marry me today, you’ll have saved them.”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Today?”
He lifts one shoulder. “Or you can wait.”
The consequence of waiting hangs in the air. Waiting means risking my family’s magic. Waiting means I could be the reason everything they’ve built collapses.
“Why me?” I ask.
He hesitates and it’s the first chink I’ve seen in his armor. “Why not you?” he says quietly.
“No. I need a real reason before I…decide.”
His jaw tightens. “Roses.”
And that’s all he says. But I feel his power, that cold undercurrent of magic unwinding from him and buzzing around me.
What’s so weird is that he doesn’t have to say more. I know what Eryx means—two powers colliding shouldn’t do what ours have done.
But they do.
And that almost makes me feel safe.
Almost.
What if marrying him means the shop survives? Thrives. Gives Dallas and Emory more time before they’re forced down the aisle?
I would give anything to have more time. This man could wind up being worse than my uncle Charlie.
“What are your terms?”
One corner of his lips turns up. He senses victory, so I do my best to keep my expression neutral.
“What terms would make you happy?” he asks.
His question makes me hold my breath. It’s a moment before I’m able to exhale and reply. “How real will this marriage be?”
“As real as you want.”
Our gazes lock and I’m looking for something in his eyes—anything that suggests he’s lying, but I’ve got nothing. “How long will it last?”
“How long will it take for your family’s magic to survive?”
Good question. I nibble my bottom lip a moment, thinking this through. “I want a separate bedroom.”
“Done.” He folds his arms. “In my manor.”
My pulse jumps. The Nightmare District with all its darkness and cold, misty air. He eyes me like he’s waiting for me to balk. I lift my chin.
“Done.”
“How long would you like to be married?” he asks slowly as if he’s having to fight every single word.
“One year. After that, maybe one of my sisters will be married and we can end it.”
His eyes tighten, but he says, “It’s enough time to see.”
“See what?”
He shrugs. “What else our magic can do.”
A shiver works its way down my spine. “And what about…the other thing.”
“I’m taking your lead on that.”
Which means, if I want him, he won’t stop me. “Is there someone else you’ve got dangling on a string? I won’t be publicly humiliated.”
“There’s no one else.” He folds his arms. “Do you have someone else?”
“No! Would I be discussing this with you if there was?”
“I hardly know you.”
Roses, he said. He knows me well enough to know we make roses.
One year. Separate bedrooms. My terms, my timeline. This isn’t romance. It’s strategy. I can do this. I can choose this.
I offer my hand. “Then it’s settled. Let’s shake on it.”
“Should you discuss this with your parents first?”
I scoff. “Compared to what happened with Addison, my oldest sister, when she was magically joined to a fae king who hated my family, this agreement is a piece of cake.”
Eryx eyes my hand briefly before sliding his palm over mine. Prickles of magic wash up my arm and flood my chest. There’s something almost sentient about his power.
It’s unnerving.
A small smile flickers on his lips. “Then let’s get married.”