Witchy Sour(34)
“This Forest Fairy is tired. It takes a lot of work to transmit a signal, plus Gus swatted at the poor thing,” Glinda said. “If you want another, I can send one. But if you want my advice, I’d say let Gus have his date tonight, and in the morning you can talk to him when he’s fresh and happy.”
“Gus is never happy,” I said. “Or fresh.”
“Well...less crabby,” she said. “Who knows? Maybe if his night goes well enough with Mimsey, he’ll actually be happy.”
I closed my eyes. “Ew. I prefer not to have the imagery.”
Glinda laughed. “I’m off, unless you two need anything else?”
X shook his head. “Gus is almost to The Twist. Once he’s there, he’ll be fine.”
The Twist, an enchanted labyrinth, was the master plan and life’s work of my grandmother. Nobody was allowed in, and nobody was allowed out. The only way through the maze was with a person who had West Isle Witch blood. If Mimsey led Gus through The Twist, nobody else would be able to follow without getting so irreparably lost, they’d be stuck there until they were set free by one of my aunts.
“The Twist. That Hettie is a genius,” Glinda said. “I always did like her. Us weirdos gotta stick together. You, me, and your Gran. Well, I’m off. It’s been fun. Toodles.”
With a flap of her skirt, she disappeared from the room. I turned to Ranger X. “I’m not that weird, am I?”
He didn’t answer.
I poked him in the shoulder. “You consider me to be in the same league of weird as my grandmother and Glinda?”
His stony expression spoke volumes.
I fought a smile. “Do you need anything else from me? Speaking of my grandmother, I should really find my family and herd them home.”
“Do you have plans tonight?” Ranger X blurted. “For dinner. Just dinner, I mean.”
My hands twisted in front of my body. “X…”
“Never mind.” He waved a hand. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s not that. It’s just… I am busy. I have plans tonight.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “With your cousins?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of plans?”
“I’m meeting with someone later.”
“Is it a date?”
“No.” I answered quickly, but Ranger X’s suspicious gaze had me doubting that he believed me. “It’s not a date. I just have to return something. Maybe a different night?”
“Of course.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I think that’s everything, then.”
I debated telling him about Liam. Explaining that I was returning his money, end of story. I turned around, finding X watching me as I rested a hand on the doorknob, and began to explain. He beat me to it.
“I shouldn’t have pried into your business,” he said, the words soft. “I hope you’ll understand that I was just finishing up here for the day, and I was going to grab a bite to eat at Sea Salt.” He shrugged. “I like your company is all. I wasn’t trying to dredge up old...things.”
There had never really been a “thing” between us. Attraction, sure. In spades, even. But that was the end of it. He could never get married or start a family, and I was not only the Mixologist, but a brand new witch. I had enough to focus on without worrying about men and dating and all of the other things people did for fun.
“It’s fine,” I said. “You didn’t dredge anything up. There’s hardly anything to dredge up.”
My light laugh sounded a bit hollow even to my own ears, and Ranger X only cracked a sad sort of half smile. “I suppose.”
A long beat passed, the tension thick enough to eat with a spoon.
“Have a nice evening,” X said, reaching out and resting a hand on my shoulder. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll find your spellbook, okay? And Gus will be fine.”
I met his gaze, those dark eyes of his lacking the spark I’d gotten so used to seeing. It’d been replaced by a gritty determination. An expression that told me he wouldn’t stop until he’d solved every piece of this puzzle. “I have one more question.”
His eyebrows shot up as if he’d forgotten we were still talking. Withdrawing his hand from my shoulder, he crossed his arms. “What’s up?”
“Talk to me about Zin. What are her chances?”
“For?”
“I heard about the trials. Both you and I know that she wants to become a Ranger more than anything. What are her chances?”
“I can’t possibly say.”
“What do you mean?” I blinked. “You’re the leader. The top dog. The head honcho. Surely you have a say?”