30. Nelle An Unsuccessful Argument
Nelle: An Unsuccessful Argument
Nelle whirled as the bodies of the two minions hit the ground.
Her heart caught in her throat as a man with light, wavy hair and sun-bronzed skin approached her.
Though she was almost certain that she’d never seen him before, something about his warm, cerulean blue eyes was familiar.
She shook the thought away as she demanded, “What did you do to them?”
“It’s just a harmless sleeping spell. They’ll wake up on their own in about half an hour,” the man said, glaring down at his victims before meeting her eyes again. “Long enough for us to make our escape.”
“No. No, I can’t—” She frowned. Something about his mannerism…he was so familiar, yet she was certain she didn’t know him. Clasping her arms around her, she wondered, “I can’t go with you. I have a promise that I have to keep. If I don’t, the lives of people I love are in danger.”
The man cocked his head. “What are you talking about? How are they in danger?”
Nelle shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I don’t know you!”
“Snowdrop. It’s okay. It’s just me,” the man said, raising his hands as a sign of surrender.
Nelle’s eyes widened. “Kit?” The word came out as a gasp. “But your spell…how…why?”
“You tell me,” Kit said as he approached.
“The spell was already breaking when I awoke.” Quickly, he told her about waking up from his dream.
Nelle’s world spun, and she would have fallen if he hadn’t leaped forward and grabbed her by the waist, gently lowering her to the ground.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he whispered, raking his fingers through her hair.
“I don’t understand what happened,” Nelle whispered. “All I did was kiss your head.”
“And say you would love me until you died.” Kit met her gaze. “Or was that just in the dream?”
Slowly, Nelle shook her head. “No. No, that was real.”
“I thought so,” Kit murmured. “But I had little time to question it, since as soon as my transformation was complete, Kemma and Zunig burst into my room and told me you’d left the castle.”
Nelle tore her gaze away from his. “You don’t understand. I had to go. I had to.” Her eyes lingered on Guy and Will’s prone forms. Would the Snow Queen blame me for?—
“No. Don’t do that, snowdrop. Don’t hide from me,” Kit murmured, drawing her closer to his body. “Let me help you fight your battles.”
“I can’t,” Nelle hiccupped, hiding her face in his chest. “She said…she said if I stayed, she’d enslave you and Hansel and Gretyl, too. I couldn’t let that happen. I can’t?—”
Kit’s hold tightened on her, and for a moment, she let herself enjoy his warmth. Stroking her hair, he said, “I won’t let that happen. But I also won’t let her take you again. You deserve freedom, snowdrop. Let me help you take it.”
Nelle tried to break free of his hold. “But you can’t. She’s going to capture?—”
“Nelle.” There was absolutely no room for doubt in Kit’s voice. “I will not let Queen Snow White enslave you or me. Do you believe me?”
Slowly, she nodded. Yes, of course she believed he thought that. But his major defense against the queen was that her magic couldn’t touch him in his dragonish form. Now that he was human?—
Before she could finish that thought, a roar from their right startled both of them.
Nelle whipped around and saw a lone warg headed right for them.
She raised her hands, ready to use her magic to stop the creature.
But before she could, Kit let out an animalistic roar and leaped up, his skin transforming into scales right before her eyes.
He caught the warg by the throat and threw it against a nearby tree, so hard that it cracked in half and, with a horrendous groan, it fell backward, scattering a flock of birds from its branches.
The warg let out a weak moan, then went silent.
Nelle looked back at Kit, who was panting with exertion. After several seconds, his scales disappeared, and he was back in his human form. Her green eyes met his blue ones as she asked, “How did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just knew that I had to protect you. And then I thought about how I’d deal with it if I had my dragonish protection back and…it was there.”
“The spell must have changed you at your very core,” Nelle hypothesized. “So you can call on that type of power whenever you want.”
Kit nodded thoughtfully and closed his eyes. Immediately, he transformed back into a dragon. He smiled wolfishly as he let the form disappear. “Well. That will be handy for when we face your mother.”
Nelle frowned. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
“A good idea? Not particularly.” Kit’s head bowed.
“For the moment, I think we’re both free of her influence, since we broke both of our spells, and you destroyed the Cracked Mirror.
But we still need to find my brother and Kai and all the other missing heirs.
And this is most likely the safest way to do it.
” His eyes strayed to the prone figures at their feet.
“I’ll follow you at a distance and make sure that you’re safe. I’ll be with you the whole way.”
“Are you sure?” Nelle whispered, though her heart leaped at his suggestion.
Kit nodded. “I’m not leaving you, snowdrop. We’re in this fight together.”
Nelle stood frozen for a second, then leaped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He cupped the back of her head and slanted his lips across hers.
The moment their lips pressed, Nelle’s world ignited.
When his tongue demanded entrance, she let him in, their tongues dancing a waltz.
His lips held the warmth of cinnamon and an unfamiliar, intriguing spice, and the kiss was as sweet as honey dripping from the honeycomb.
So this is what all the fuss is about. It’s nice, Nelle thought distantly, pulling closer to Kit.
They might have stayed there all day, but a groan from the two unconscious men caused them to break apart. Kit gave an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
Nelle returned his smile shyly. “I don’t either. I’m not normally so…”
He winked at her. “I know.”
Nelle bit her lip. “Kit, if I don’t get a chance to say it?—”
“No.” His voice was firm as stone. “When we say those words, we’re not going to be standing over these miscreants, spoken because we think there might not be another chance.
We’re going to do it properly, once we’ve cleaned up this mess, and we’re both safe.
I meant it when I said I would not let you go, Nelle. ”
“I won’t let you go, either,” Nelle said fervently. “But?—”
Will groaned and shuffled a bit in his sleep. Kit cursed. “I need to get out of sight before they wake up, but I’ll be right behind you. If you need my help, just call for me, okay?”
Nelle nodded hesitantly. “Okay.”
Kit smiled down at her, joy in his dark eyes. “You’re beautiful in the early morning light, love. I can’t wait to see it again and again for the rest of my life.”
Nelle’s heart fluttered at his words, and she opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, a grunt from Guy distracted her. She glanced down at him, then back up to Kit, but he was already gone.
It’s okay, she reminded herself. He promised to stay close. He hasn’t abandoned you.
She had to remind herself of that again when Will shifted and sat up, grumpiness marring his usually attractive face. “What happened?”
“How should I know?” Nelle shrugged, trying to keep her expression blank. “You just collapsed.”
“And you just left us there?” Guy grunted.
“I’m a baker, not a healer,” Nelle snapped. “And you two haven’t exactly endeared yourselves to me, selling me off to live with a stranger without saying a word to me, then demanding that I come back to fix your mistake.”
Will rolled his eyes. “Yes, well, common decency dictates that you should at least check on someone when they’ve fallen in a heap unconscious.”
“I will not debate decency with you,” Nelle said, clenching her fists. “Are you going to do your job or not?”
Guy started toward her, and, for a second, Nelle feared she’d gone too far.
If either of the men put their hands on her, she couldn’t be sure that Kit wouldn’t take it upon himself to stop it.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to test out that theory, because Will put his hand on the broader man’s shoulder. “The queen wanted her unharmed.”
Guy scowled but nodded. “Fine. But I’m binding her hands. I don’t want to be turned into an ice sculpture.”
Will nodded. “Fair enough.” He handed his companion a length of rope from his pack. “But make it quick. We’ve wasted enough time here.”
Guy yanked her hands behind her back and made quick work of binding her wrists, jerking the rope hard, so that it cut into her hands.
“And don’t even think about trying to escape,” he hissed into her ear.
“The queen may have promised to leave your stupid dragon friend alone, but I wouldn’t mind paying him a visit on my own.
I can just picture his head hanging on the wall of the Big House. ”
Nelle shivered and resisted the urge to fight his grip on her. Somewhere in the woods, she fancied she heard Kit’s growl, and the sound calmed her slightly. It will be okay. I’m not alone. And even if I was, Kit’s more than a match for Guy of Gisborne. She smiled at the thought.
“What are you smiling about, ice witch?” Will asked, his blue eyes watching her closely.
She gave a sickly sweet smile as she said, “I’m just imagining what Guy would look like as an ice sculpture. He’s not particularly to my tastes, but I can make an exception just this once.”
Guy gave an undignified shriek and leaped away from her as if she was a snake. Will rolled his eyes. “She can’t do it, you idiot. You tied her hands. And besides, even if she wanted to, Queen Snow White would unfreeze you.”
“Yeah, if she can be bothered. I’d just as soon rather stay unfrozen, if it’s all the same to you,” Guy muttered. “Anyway, shouldn’t we get going? We have a bit of a journey ahead of us, and I want to be back at camp before breakfast. I heard Old Bertha’s making her special pancakes.”
“Finally,” Will muttered under his breath, taking Nelle’s elbow. “Come on, Lolienna.”
Nelle let him lead her through the forest, trying not to look behind her to look for Kit. He would be there for her, she was certain, and she couldn’t risk giving the game away to Will or Guy.
They walked for what seemed like hours, though the sun was still low in the sky when they came to a stop at the back of a cave hidden deep in the hill’s side.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary cave, but when she examined it closer, she realized the cave’s back wall was gone, replaced with a swirling vortex of black energy.
She studied it with abject interest. Something about the surrounding air seemed malevolent, the atmosphere crackling with unnatural power.
Guy patted her shoulder with more force than necessary, nearly sending her flying forward. “Here we are, ice witch. The doorway to the last home you will ever see.”
Nelle shivered, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. “It feels…wrong.”
Will laughed, rolling his eyes. “Well, you aren’t exactly about to enter a palace full of rainbows and unicorns. Come on, stop stalling. We’re almost there.” Without another word, he grabbed her shoulder and shoved her into the darkness.