Queen of The Hill (Knight Games) Read Free

alley.
    “Nein! You khen not go out of dooers, Miss Knight,” Gertrude shrieked, but I was already in the alley, the mid-January cold biting into my skin. I doubled over and heaved toward the pavement. Nothing came out. I hadn’t eaten anything all day.
    An arm slipped around my shoulders, and Michelle’s dark head and concerned face appeared next to mine. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Grateful. I was angry at you, but I didn’t mean to make you ill.”
    “No. I deserved it. I should have told you everything. I just didn’t want to burden you. My life is so—”
    “Crazy?”
    “You have no idea.”
    “It’s okay, all right? You don’t have to tell me about what happened with Bathory, and you certainly don’t have to decide all that stuff I threw at you today. It’s not worth getting sick over.”
    “You are not the reason I feel sick.”
    Michelle blinked at me curiously. “Then why are we out here?”
    For a long time, I didn’t say anything. Thoughts swirled loose and disorganized inside my skull. I leaned my back against the wall near the door, the sound of Soleil arguing with Gertrude reminding me I was on borrowed time. “You know how I told you Rick asked me to marry him at Christmas?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I may have omitted part of the story.”
    She raised eyebrows at me.
    “He actually asked me when he was about to die.”
    “What?” Michelle wrinkled her nose.
    I took a deep breath. How could I explain this to her in a way she would understand? “Before our engagement, before I understood our history, I pushed Rick away. I took him for granted. He’d thought I didn’t want him anymore and sought out another witch, like me, for help. She gave him a magic candle that could have broken our connection permanently by making him human. While the candle was burning, Rick sustained injuries that would have resulted in his death. I stopped the candle before it burned all the way down, halting the magic spell and allowing Rick to recover from his temporary humanity. I agreed to marry him on the floor of his stone cottage, amid a broken ring of skulls and magic. My answer in the affirmative was the only way to end the spell and make him immortal again. My ‘yes’ saved his life.”
    Michelle’s mouth dropped open and a small disgusted sound came from the back of her throat. “Are you saying he extorted marriage out of you?”
    I shook my head. “No. Well … Not exactly.”
    She narrowed her eyes and tipped her head, her arms crossed defensively across her ample chest.
    “I love Rick.” I met her eyes and made sure she knew I was serious. “I really love Rick. To my core. And I want to marry him. I’m happy about the way things are going.”
    “But?”
    “Have you ever heard the expression, ‘I’m not afraid of flying; I’m afraid of crashing’?”
    “I love that one. Who’s not afraid of crashing?”
    “I’m not afraid of marrying Rick. I’m afraid it won’t work out. We can’t even live in the same house, Michelle. How are we going to build a life together?” I stared hopelessly at the snow-covered pavement, the cold seeping through my skin like a poison.
    Michelle pondered my words for a minute, then squatted down next to me so her shoulder grazed mine. She nudged me slightly to get my attention. “You’ll figure it out. One day at a time, together.”
    “Did you read that on an embroidered pillow?”
    “I’m serious. If you are in love and committed, you will figure it out. People work out all sorts of arrangements. There’s a nurse in ICU who works opposite shifts as her husband and only sees him on weekends. They have two kids. They’re making it work.”
    “What if it doesn’t?”
    “No one promised you easy. Every couple has challenges.”
    I widened my eyes at her, my jaw dropping.
    “I know your challenges are a bit more … unconventional, but you are blessed to be loved, Grateful. Rick’s love for you has straddled lifetimes. Never forget that.”
    With an