Page 14 of This Witch Is Not Wicked

He peered at me, the intensity of his gaze making me take a step back. “I see you sometimes, you know. In the early mornings when no one else is awake. I’m usually in my lab, and that’s when I spot you from the window.”

I stared at him, wondering what exactly he saw. I loved waking up early before the sun came up, before anyone was awake, when I could explore my bog and enjoy the peace and quiet. When I could pretend that an entire city had never dropped from the sky and landed here.

“I see you tending to all your plants.” He gestured behind my cottage to the patches of land where my gardens grew. “I see how tender you are, how much you love them. Everyone else might think you’re coldhearted and uncaring, but I know the truth. You love your home so much that it would kill you to have to leave.”

I stepped back, hating how close to the truth he was. “Get out.” I pointed a long black nail at the door. “Get out before I throw you into the bog, and next time, I won’t ask Vine to bring you back up.”

His eyes widened, and he took a step toward me. “Enid,” he started, but I held up a hand.

“Out,” I instructed.

Vine shook its head behind me, and I ignored it. I’d deal with it later. But first I needed to rid myself of this man and his assessing gaze, far too sharp for my liking.

He stared at me for a beat longer before walking toward the door. He opened it, then turned. “I can’t imagine how lonely it is, being in a city full of people but not knowing a single one. You could use an ally, but more than that, you could use a friend. You’d be surprised what a difference it can make, having someone on your side.”

With that, he walked out and closed the door behind him.

CHAPTER 6

Nevan

The sun shone through the tall pink and purple stained-glass windows that lined the back wall of the library, splashing the wooden floors with an array of colors. I loved many things about this castle, but the stained-glass windows might have been my favorite feature. Every window in this castle was lined with glass panes of all different colors and designs, giving each room its own unique feel.

I shifted in my stuffed armchair, flipping through a book about plants native to bogs across the continent of Aubergn. I wanted to use more of these plants to create new potions. The problem was none of the plants in this bog were in the book. I couldn’t find any documentation of them, and that was yet another mystery. The earth godwitch had left many texts and tomes about plants they created and their uses and functions.

I wondered if the bog had somehow been created by mistake. After all, these plants weren’t exactly normal for the earth godwitch. Their creations tended to be beautiful, useful, safe. Maybe it was one of their children who created this. All the godwitches had many children, the demi-godwitches. Demi-godwitches were responsible for some of the magic left behind as well, so that could be a possibility.

All I knew was that this bog could potentially be full of plants that could create new types of potions never seen before.

Enid could tell me. Except she hated me after that fiasco of a proposal.

A book fluttered over my head and landed on my armchair. Maps were plastered across the cover, and I picked it up to flip through it.

“Find what you’re looking for?”

Morton slithered across the wooden floor, his pink body inching along. The bookwyrm hinged open his mouth. “I can eat the book if you’d like. Tell you anything you want to know.”

I snapped the book closed, eyes feeling tired. “Sure. Thank you, Morton.”

He tilted his head, which resembled a dragon’s head, with his long snout and perked ears. He was an odd creature to behold, and his magic was definitely unique.

I set the book down, and his jaw opened wide, his wings spreading out. He devoured the book, crunching it as bits and pieces of paper flew up into the air. “Very dense,” he said through a mouthful.

“Uh-huh.”

He finished eating the book, belly distended, and let out a loud belch. “Excuse me,” he said.

Then came the disgusting part. Actually, all of this was a little disgusting to witness. He regurgitated the book, wisps of pink and purple magic dancing in the air as all the pieces came back out, flying in a dizzying whirlwind. The pieces connected, the book putting itself back together like a puzzle until it was complete again and Morton had eaten all its knowledge.

I leaned back in my chair. “Did you learn anything good?”

Morton tapped his jaw with his scaled tail. “There are a lot of bogs in Aubergn. I never knew how many bogs this continent has. So many bogs! Enough that we could spend an entire month visiting every one and still not see them all. I saw a map of every single bog. Truly amazing.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Okay, what about the Cragh?” I asked. “Anything about it?”

He blinked, his eyes glassy and black. “No. Oddly enough, this bog wasn’t mentioned at all. No maps of it.”

“So you learned nothing helpful?”