He smiled back. ‘Of course, darling Bisma. What will you have?’
‘Hmm.’ She pretended to think. ‘A dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, exorbitant amounts of raspberry jam, and a pot of your very best tea. Please.’ She added the last word as an afterthought.
‘Only because you asked so sweetly.’ He tapped her nose, then got up, stretching. She was about to get up as well but stopped to languidly watch the muscles in his back and shoulders shift.
He was so …
There were no adequate words.
He disappeared to the main house to get breakfast, and she freshened up, checking on her sisters. She whispered a secret to each of them, smiling to herself as she shared the impossible news, even though they were not conscious to hear it.
Just saying the words aloud made her heart pound.
Xander returned in a fresh outfit with his hair tidied and a large tray of breakfast. They ate together, and he was so lovely and kind and caring and sweet, she wondered how she had ever thought of him as anything else.
After eating, they got straight to work, just as they had all those days before, and steadily kept up at it until halfway through the day, when Xander realized they needed more empty bottles for their sample potions.
Bisma accompanied him to town, needing a break. Like the night they went for dinner together, she was aware of people watching, but this time, instead of worrying that Xander was flaunting her, she was more concerned about how out of place she felt.
Bisma was so used to spending time alone with him in the greenhouse, away from watchful eyes, that she felt exposed to be walking across the square with him. She wanted to hide in hisshadow, but Xander matched his steps to hers, never leaving her side.
She was no longer worried people would laugh, but that they would judge her, or, worse, feel sorry for Xander. She could see it on their faces; they were wondering what he was doing with her. The Unwanted Witch with the town’s golden boy. They didn’t fit together. He was as bright as sunshine, and she was dark as midnight rain.
‘You go in,’ Bisma said, when they arrived at the pottery store that sold the glass bottles they needed.
‘I’ll just be a sec,’ Xander said.
After he left, she sighed. She did not know what to do. She didn’t know what was right or best in this moment that would determine her future. If she pushed Xander away—to protect herself—would she regret it? Or if she allowed him in, opening herself up to heartbreak, would she regretthat?
Bisma was so lost in thought that she did not see Xander exiting the shop, just as an angry woman was approaching Bisma.
In slow motion, she saw the woman upend a vial of liquid into the air; she smelled the sharp scent of acid.
All Bisma could do was brace for the attack.
But it never came.
‘Xander!’ she cried, horrified.
Her heart dropped as she took in his injury. He had blocked the attack. His skin hissed from the acid, and he groaned with pain. The woman ran off, but Bisma didn’t have time to chase after her. She held Xander up. He was shaking.
‘Come on,’ she said, half carrying him. She didn’t think—if she was thinking clearly, she might have led him to the greenhouse, which was closer—but her brain wasn’t working. Her feet moved on their own accord, leading her to the Enchanted Forest.
She could fix this; she knew she could.
‘Just hold on,’ she said.
Xander was gripping her tightly, and she didn’t stop to assess the damage—it would only slow her down, and she needed to get him to the Forest as fast as she could so she could heal him.
When they got to the border of the Enchanted Forest, a foreboding wind whistled. The Forest was not happy at the prospect of a stranger entering.
‘Please!’ Bisma cried. ‘I need to heal him!’
The wind calmed, the Forest acquiescing to her request. Holding Xander up, she walked into the Forest. The fog was thin, hardly there, and provided no resistance.
‘Help me,’ Bisma said.
The Forest was slow to react—she wondered if it was discontentment or something else—but then finally a branch reached out from a tree, carrying half Xander’s weight as she brought him to her treehouse. There, the branches carried him all the way up to her room as she caught her breath. Xander groaned, and her heart squeezed.
