Page 12 of This Witch Is Not Wicked

I should’ve been terrified, but I was struck by her charming, lyrical accent. I’d rarely heard her speak, and I’d forgotten she even had an accent. It was one I’d never heard from anyone else. Light and musical and so utterly adorable. Basically the opposite of everything I knew about Enid. I wanted to hear her speak again, but then reality crashed back down as the vine continued to pull me across the room.

“Wait,” I said as it yanked me toward the back of the cottage.

I gaped in horror when I realized there was no back wall. The entire back side of her cottage was open to the bog behind it, the green channel calm, the view of the marsh breathtaking. So many possibilities out there. Plants and magic that could be used in wondrous ways. Too bad I’d never gotten to explore any of it, not when it would likely kill me if I tried.

“Wait, please. We can help each other,” I shouted, still clawing at the floorboards.

Enid scoffed and flipped her long, shiny black hair over her shoulder. “You have nothing I want.”

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “I can keep you from getting exiled!”

Fuck. I could’ve at least eased into the proposal. There would be no going back after that declaration. Now I had to tell her my idea, and the thought that she might actually accept, that I might have to fake date her, made my stomach flip.

Even without my spectacles, I could tell I’d surprised her as her thick dark brows shot up. The vine stopped abruptly, and for a moment, I was relieved. Maybe I wouldn’t die today.

Then, the vine slithered up the side of the wall and lifted me by the ankle so I was dangling above the green water.

I hung precariously over the bog, smoke curling into my face, partially obscuring my view.

A bubble popped below my head, water splashing onto my hair. If the vine let go, I would drown.

I was thirty-seven years old and had never learned to swim. I’d always been too busy reading books and tinkering with potions to join my brothers when they snuck out of Fairwitch to take a dip in the ocean.

I swallowed thickly, sweat beading my brow as I sent a nervous glance below me.

The vine dipped me down, my head plunging under the icy water, murky and impossible to see through. Oh, godwitches, I should’ve thought this through. How in the world had I ever thought Enid would agree to fake date me? Everything I knew about her—which, admittedly, wasn’t much—was about how dangerous and destructive she was. She had no scruples from what I could tell, and she loved terrorizing people.

She’d have no problem torturing me for daring to come to her cottage.

My lungs squeezed tight, fire shooting through my throat and burning as I swished in the water.

“Wait!” I heard her muffled voice call.

Just like that, I was yanked up. I gasped for air, drawing in deep lungfuls, swearing to myself I’d never take breathing for granted again. The vine dropped me onto the cottage floor, and I lay there for a moment, gathering my breath and my wits as water pooled around me.

Finally, I pushed myself to my hands and knees, breathing still ragged, not sure what was going on.

“What do you mean you can keep me from getting exiled?” Enid took a few steps forward, her tall black boots clacking against the floor.

She held out my spectacles, and I took them as I stood, perching them on my nose, the entire space becoming clear once again, Enid becoming clear in her long-sleeved black dress.

I needed a moment to gather my thoughts, to come up with a good response. I turned, pretending I was taking in the view of her home.

It was actually rather beautiful.

I’d never been inside Enid’s cottage before. I wasn’t sure anyone in Fairwitch had, and despite how terrifying she was . . . her home was amazing. Like it had sprouted from the earth.

Green moss covered the walls, dotted by all kinds of flowers. The counters and cabinets were made from wood, but it wasn’t polished. It looked like a tree had walked in here, split itself apart, and created all of this. My gaze trailed to the stairs that led to a loft area with a bed pushed against the wall. From down here I could see that the frame and headboard were made from vines and other plants. It was like a nature sanctuary in here.

“Wow,” I breathed. “This is beautiful.”

“I asked you a question,” Enid said, her arms crossed as I turned to face her. “How can you keep me from getting exiled?”

Right. I was supposed to be crafting a good response, but I’d gotten distracted. She stared at me expectantly. Okay, here went nothing. I only hoped I didn’t get thrown back into the bog. I took a deep breath and said, “I want you to be my girlfriend.”

CHAPTER 5

Enid