“Ahem. Excuse the interruption, lovebirds,” someone said, tapping Jon on the shoulder.
They broke free of one another in guilt, Toni falling back against Oliver’s side and Jon jamming his hands behind his back and clearing his throat.
Marty sighed a dreamy sigh. “Aren’t you two the cutest ever-ever? We were just discussing the merits of holding you both down and forcing you to kiss and make up, but I see love conquers all. I love love. It makes me happy. Now, make yourselves presentable for public consumption because we got trouble, right here in Fairytale Central.”
“Have the henchmen returned, milady?” Jon asked, his hand instantly going to the sword at his side.
“Nope. Not that kind of trouble. This kind of trouble involves a dry well and a crack in that tub in the cottage. So finish making up and get to the cottage pronto. Oh, and,” she brushed her hand down Toni’s skirt, yanking it from her pantaloons, “lemme get that for you,” she said on a light chuckle before turning and skipping back toward the cottage.
“Milady, my—”
“Don’t you apologize. It ruins the moment,” she teased, looking up into his beautiful eyes.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to plant another kiss on her lips. “This conversation isn’t over. We shall continue this later,” he murmured, taking his leave as he adjusted the front of his breeches.
Toni took a moment to catch her breath, breathing in as much of the freezing air as her lungs would allow before she followed him inside to see what was happening now.
But not before she secretly smiled again.
Wow, he could suck face.
“We have no choice but to take her to the ocean, Flawless. This shit can’t wait. If I let Ariel die on my watch, my kid would kill me,” Nina said, glaring at Jon.
“Muriel, darling. It’s Mure-ee-ull. Sound it out,” the mermaid croaked, her face growing paler by the second.
Nina frowned down at Muriel. “Can it, fish. Let the adults work this out.”
The well to the Wharf’s cottage had finally run dry, and worse, the heavy weight of Muriel’s tail had cracked the chipped porcelain—no amount of heated snow would stay in the bathtub now, and as a result, the beautiful mermaid was suffering, gasping for air.
“If we do this,” Jon warned, his face tight, “we must be prepared to face Pricilla the Sea Bitch and we’ll need all of our resources to battle her, but we must also prepare for the possibility of a delay in our effort to get to the castle—and that puts you in harms way, Nina. I will leave the choice up to you, but as you know, I am reluctant to risk your health.”
Nina shrugged as Wanda and Marty squeezed each of her hands. “There’s no choice, dude. She’s suffocating. Can’t happen on my watch.”
Jon began unwinding a long piece of rope, holding it up to show them. “A blizzard is brewing; we must stay together at all costs. Tether yourselves to this and hang on tight. We’ll walk single file until we make it to the shoreline.”
Tears stung Toni’s eyes as she rolled up her puffy sleeves in order to help. God, Nina had more courage in her pinky finger than she’d have in a lifetime. “So tell me what we have to do. I’m in.”
Jon pointed to Dannan, who peeked in the window. “Will you carry her?”
“Aye, lad,” he said, giving them a big blue thumbs up.
“Good deal,” Nina said as she picked the tub up and carried Muriel out the front door with the Wharfs hot on her heels, murmuring their goodbyes.
Toni had to fight to keep her jaw from unhinging. Nina’s strength was something that took getting used to—even if she claimed it was weakened by the realm, but she was right behind her anyway.
Gripping her arm as Dannan carefully lifted Muriel, she asked, “Are you sure about this, Nina? We need to get you home and the faster we get to the castle, the faster you get the blood you need.”
Nina turned to her, pulling the hood of Toni’s pelt over her head and tucking her hair into it as more snow began to fall. Then she tightened the tether on her waist. “Don’t you worry about me, kiddo. I got this. But make sure you hang on to the rope tied to my waist, okay? If we lose somebody in this snow we got brewing, can’t promise even me, with all the vampire shit I have, will be able to find you. You’d freeze to death out here if you stopped moving. The cold doesn’t affect me. Got it?”
Toni gulped. “Okay,” she whispered before she looped her fingers around Nina’s and squeezed.
The vampire squeezed back before scooting around the tub and yanking Toni along with her.
As they set out into the night, a line of road-weary travelers with Dannan in the lead, she fought the ominous shiver creeping along her spine. And when the snow began to blow and the wind began to howl, she sent up another silent prayer to the realm to keep them all safe.