Poor Belle. I snort as the Beast gazes at the vast library. “It’s the largest in the land.”
“Doubtful,” Nash murmurs in my ear. His body is flush to my back, and the evidence of his largeness presses against my butt.
Belle’s gaze lands on us, and she stamps her foot. “I want my very own library. This one is full of stinky Burghers.”
Oh wow, like her shit doesn’t stink. If I had the chance to remake this world, I would make sure everyone was on equal footing.
Beast wraps his arms around her waist. “This is all that is on offer until we marry. After that, you can have your own.”
She huffs and pries his hands from around her waist. “I cannot commit to ifs, buts, and maybes. Get me my library, or get out of my life.” She turns and waltzes out of the door with a defeated Beast trailing behind her.
“And you think I’m problematic,” I mutter as I turn to Nash, keeping my arms out to the sides to avoid touching him with my weapons.
He drops a heated kiss onto my lips. “No, I think you are perfect.” With that life-changing comment, he leads us to our waiting group.
Malachi glances between us with an arched brow, but doesn’t comment, while the mirror man studies us from the large mirror against the wall.
“That cheat would never be the fairest,” the mirror man declares. “She is only after the largest. Unlike you, her beauty doesn’t shine from within. Being fair isn’t about beauty on the outside. It exists in every molecule of your being. From your pretty eyes to the goodness in your soul.”
I smile at him as I lay the trident and sword down on the table. “Thanks, dude.”
“Why the sword?” Theo asks as he glares at the weapon fated to cause his death.
“I have an idea how to get Mr. Tick back where he belongs,” I declare.
Nash settles against the table with his arms folded in a show of silent support. He didn’t question when I grabbed both weapons, and his quiet confidence in me is everything I need.
“Actually, I have two ideas. But since one involves an Idol, I would prefer that be the backup plan.”
“We are listening, Daphne,” Gwyneth reassures me with a nod from the armchair she’s curled up on, while Mr. Ticks waits on the floor to hear my plan.
I point at the sword. “I can send Excalibur anywhere my heart desires. Since Mr. Tick can touch it without enacting the knights’ legend or blowing himself up, I think he should hold it while I send the sword back to my house in the ocean.”
“Have you moved a living person before?” Mr. Tick asks.
I shake my head. “But I also have never tried, so I wouldn’t call it a failure.”
“And the trident?” Hart asks. “What’s your grand backup plan?”
I grimace. “Well, I think I can call Poseidon to it, and then hopefully he will take Mr. Tick with him.”
“Poseidon is bound to the ocean,” Mr. Tick says. “Otherwise, he would have been here already.”
“Oh, then I guess we risk the sword plan.”
“Fine,” Mr. Tick says, shuffling forward. “Let’s get this over with. I can’t stand it here a tempo longer.”
“Wait, how will you get the sword back?” Gwyneth asks, leaning forward.
“I’ll just call it.” I’m fairly certain this plan will work—which likely means it won’t. “Ready?” I ask.
Mr. Tick rears up and leans his short forearms on the table. “Ready.”
He wraps his claws around the handle, and I close my eyes. I picture the stand in my bedroom and take a deep breath. The weight of the power pushes on my chest, like the sword is protesting my choices. I reason with it that once Mr. Tick is delivered back into the ocean, I will bring it right back here to me. I am negotiating with a sword. Idols help me.
“It worked,” Malachi mutters.
My eyes flick open to the empty space before me. “How do we know?” Nash asks. “They could be anywhere.”
