Wake Up, Witch

Chapter 17

My apostles spent the following day running around, pulling out stuff from their trunks, putting them back in, forcing more inside, and at one point, Tiff even tried to convince Miles that she could fit inside. The cat merely stared her down and walked away. Lexie tried to talk to me about Akira, and I also heard her talking to him to talk to me. We ignored her attempts. He was too busy to even bother, and I was too bothered about something else to even try.

Harald Evensen just told me we were lovers. While I could not imagine it, I could not also stop thinking about it. How in the bloody hell did I end up with that bastard?

"How did that even come about?" I asked aloud. Bellatrix simply stared. Even my familiar was perplexed. Having witnessed my chaotic relationship with Evensen, Bellatrix was among those who knew he would be the last man I'd consider for a lover.

I rolled on my bed and growled into the pillow.

"Five minutes to six," Celine announced.

"Shut up," I groaned, the pillow muffling my voice.

"I'm sorry. I did not catch that."

"Hibernate," I ordered, sitting up. Celine beeped into hibernation. I locked my door, grabbed my crux on my way to the bathroom. Bellatrix lay curled beside the empty tub while I stepped inside, fully clothed.

"I don't really want to do this," I murmured as I stared at the ceiling. "He could be lying. He'd do anything to make me uncomfortable, and he's successfully doing it." I gritted my teeth. "Even if it's true..."

Bellatrix moved her head, and I looked down at her with a scowl. "What do you mean? No, of course not. I don't care how we..." My voice faltered as my heart jumped inside my chest. And started racing for no bloody reason. "It doesn't matter. I can't picture it." My familiar stared at me the same way Tiff's cat did earlier. So much judgment in those foxy eyes. I swallowed, blinking a few times because suddenly, I could picture it. "I'm no innocent, Bella," I murmured, clearing my throat. "Of course, I can picture it. I've seen people do it in dreams. I just can't imagine him doing it with..." Bellatrix rested her head on her paws and closed her eyes when I growled out in frustration, sliding lower into the cold surface of the tub to find a comfortable spot. A whine escaped my lips. "Bloody hell. Calm down," I told myself. "Damn it. It's just Evensen. The man who bested you in anatomy. The bastard who chased away your suitors. The one who seduced your friends and took them away."

I moistened my lips as recalled memories calmed me down. And the more I picture the Harald Evensen I remembered—his irritating snicker, the condescending remarks, the calculative ways he manipulated the people around me, how I had to constantly fight my way through things because he made it very difficult—my heart slowed.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Let's dream."

I was back behind the dressing screen. Gingerly, I stepped out and breathed a sigh of relief when I found the room empty. I turned the door yellow and walked around aimlessly to control my restless legs. I still could change nothing but the door. The rest of the dream was as immovable as my pride for some reason.

The frame of the window was yellow from the fire below. I looked down as hot hair blew on my face. I had to live in this dream for two centuries. How in the hell did I do that?

"I don't have much time." I jumped at the sound of his voice. Turning away from the window, I followed him to the winged chair. His dress shirt was folded up on his forearm, but other than that, there was no sign that he had been busy thinking about last night. His hair was still perfect, his face clean. He seemed calmer, too.