And what if she’s right? What if one of us did something unforgivable?
“Tell me.” Ellie glanced at her wife. “I don’t want to force you, but… I can make you talk. I could force Walt, too. I think you are underestimating me.”
Prospero shot her a look of frustration. “I am not. I know you’re capable of hurting me. You’ve done so already.”
“How?” Ellie had been listening to Prospero castigate herself, but this was new.I was the one who hurther?“Why? When? How?”
Prospero stayed silent.
“Is that what I have to do to get answers? I could force you. Just tell me,” Ellie begged. Her whisper was overly loud, but everyone gave them a wide berth so it wasn’t as if their conversation would be repeated. Still Ellie stepped a little closer, holding Prospero’s arm securely enough that her own knuckles grazed the fabric of Prospero’s vest with every step.
“Things happened that I may not tell you.” Prospero glanced her way before she resumed looking at every witch they passed as if there were monsters hidden in plain sight. More than half of the witches squirmed under her scrutiny, and the fear in their expressions was undeniable.
“Youwantto tell me, don’t you? If I forced you, it wouldn’t even be your fault.…”
“You aren’t even supposed to know there’s something you forgot!” Prospero snapped.
Ellie released Prospero and pivoted to return to the cabin they’d left. “I’ll simply go back and ask Walter. I bet I can convince him to be reasonable—or maybe you can. Is that the answer, Prospero? Do I need you to slip into his mind and make him see reason?”
“Ellie!” Prospero grabbed her arm. “No!”
Turning back to face Prospero, Ellie folded her arms and leveled a stare at her wife. “I’ll give you a choice. You eitherdateme like we just metorI’m going to make you or him answer me. It’s either start over, interrogation, or we split up. I’m done with being pushed away by the woman I am spendingmy very long witchy lifemarried to.”
All around them people were surreptitiously glancing their way.
“Ellie, you don’t know what you’re asking and—”
“Already established, dear.” Ellie tilted her head to look up at her wife. “You cannot tell me, but I cannot live this way. So we can start over, end this, or I can force—”
“Fine.” Prospero held out her hand and awkwardly said, “Hello. I’m Prospero.”
“Elleanor Brandeau. You should call me Ellie, though.” She took theextended hand in her own, not commenting on the way Prospero trembled. “I’d really like to have you under me, Prospero, so maybe we ought to go on a date.”
For a moment, Prospero’s mouth opened slightly, but no words escaped. Finally, she muttered, “You are absurd, Miss Brandeau.”
“Walk me to my room, Prospero.” Ellie started to walk toward the castle. “I’d be happy to come to your place and seduce you there, if you prefer. I need to plan a date and your seduction… things to do.”
“Youneed to plan?”
Ellie gave her a look. “You may be older than me, so let me catch you up. In the modern world, both partners can lead. Dancing, seductions, dates.”
“I do recall you being rather assertive in the bedroom,” Prospero murmured.
“Plus I think you have a complicated task you have to address.” Ellie’s worry crept into her voice audibly. “If you die and miss our date hunting witches, I’ll be very,verydisappointed in you.”
“Ellie…”
Ellie held up a hand before Prospero could explain anything. “I know you have responsibilities, but I want you to recall that you also have a reason to be careful.”
“Noted.” Prospero swallowed as if she was struggling to speak and then added, “I want you to know that I was at the edge of falling in love with you when… the things happened that you cannot recall.”
Ellie could not fathom how they had fought to the point that the Congress of Magic was involved. After a moment she smiled, a bit artificially, and asked, “Are we actually married?”
Prospero cleared her throat and said, “More or less.”
“So no.” Ellie shot her a look.
“Iwouldmarry you if you could forgive me,” Prospero confessed. “I offered.”
