Black Moon Draw(79)

“If you’re that strong, then do something amazing. Bring me a cup of coffee.” I wait. Nothing appears before me and my brittle hope starts to wane. Self-doubt returns. “No! I believe in me!” With a quick look around, I thrust out my arms the way televangelists do on the television, squeezing my eyes closed. I’d do anything for a cup of coffee, even suspend my self-consciousness and turn off my thoughts.

And then I smell it, the rich scent that wakes me each morning, compliments of the coffee pot with a timer my mom got me for my last birthday. Leaping to my feet, I frantically look around, ready to overturn everything in the tree for a chance at some coffee.

I find the mug near the fire at the center of the tree, tucked between two logs.

“Omigod!” I almost squeal and carefully pry the mug free. I breathe in the familiar dark scent, a small piece of heaven, and then venture to take a sip.

It tastes perfect. Completely, utterly perfect and fills my chest with warmth. Holding it up like Golem did the One Ring, I take a moment to worship my favorite drink.

“My precioussssssssssss!” I say in my best Golem voice.

“Witch?”

Realizing someone is watching me, I look towards the entrance of the tree. “Just . . . ah . . . coffee.” Embarrassed, I lower the mug and clutch it to my chest.

Westley is back, one eyebrow lifted in either curiosity or confusion, a hooded form beside him. “You are well?” he asks.

“I’m amazing,” I reply.

He doesn’t seem to know exactly how to take that either. “May we enter?”

“You’re the captor.” Clearing my throat, I sit down and breathe in the scent of coffee. For the first time since arriving here, I feel a little less out of place, though thoroughly humiliated right now, too.

But it worked. By either pretending to believe in - or at least not doubting – myself, I was able to use the medallion. The happy warmth inside me I attributed to coffee isn’t fading.

So this is what self-confidence feels like.

The tension of Westley’s face fades for a split second before he moves into the tree trunk. The person with him is a woman, judging by the gown she wears beneath a long cloak in the kingdom’s earthy brown.

“I wanted you to tell her what you told me,” Westley starts, the fleeting amusement gone. “About the curse.”

“Tell who?” I ask curiously.

“Me.” The woman with him pushes off her hood.

“Disney Princess!” I exclaim before I can stop myself.

She exchanges an uncertain look with Westley.

“They caught you, too?” I ask.

“Not exactly.” Pink floods her cheeks.

I wait for an explanation. Westley clears his throat, the same coloring creeping into his face.

Forbidden lovers. Her broken betrothal to Westley, who had been unable to try to win her back because he was a prisoner of the Red Knight. My first thought sends fire coursing through my blood.

The Shadow Knight isn’t engaged anymore.

Yet this is more than two lovers who have reunited after a year apart. In the awkward silence, I recall what Westley told me about how his father had assistance outsmarting the Shadow Knight.

“Tell me you didn’t betray him,” I say to the gorgeous woman, understanding settling into the base of my belly.

“He would not listen!” she replies instantly. “I told him to leave Brown Sun Lake be, to consider an alliance rather than war. He insisted and I could not bear the idea of losing someone I loved.”

“You’d rather jump on the bandwagon and kill the Shadow Knight?”

“‘Tis the last resort. I made the Desert Knight swear to spare him and those of his people not in his armies, in exchange for telling him how to end a thousand years of war.”

My coffee suddenly isn’t enough to keep my mood up.

“I did not understand the depth of their blood feud,” the princess adds. “My brother warned me, but I did not listen either. The Desert Knight has no intention of sparing him. ‘Twas foolish hope.”

“So you told the Desert Knight how to outmaneuver the Shadow Knight,” I murmur.

“We both did,” Westley says, taking her hand. “I learned much from the Red Knight about the defenses of his neighbor. With my love’s access to Black Moon Draw’s inner workings, we were able to piece together a plan for defeating the Shadow Knight and present it to my father.”

“The goal being to end up together again and stop the war.”

They both nod.

Young love is so stupid. As I look at them, I can almost see me, when I was head over heels for Jason. We met when I was nineteen and he was twenty-four, three years ago. From the beginning, I would’ve done anything for him, no matter what the cost ended up being to me. I liked the things he did and wore the clothes he said made me look good. I tried to be the person he wanted me to be without really thinking about who I wanted to be.

I can count the times he complimented me on my hands. I starved for a kind word from him and received mainly criticism, no matter how hard I tried.

These two are the same age I was, but I get the feeling they don’t have my hang-ups. Of course, they were na?ve idiots for thinking they could stop a war between the two feuding kingdoms without anyone getting hurt. Sometimes, situations can seem harmless, like letting Jason control how I felt about myself, but escalate quickly and lead to disastrous results.