Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters - Bella Forrest Page 0,26
me a novelty apron to go with my menagerie of novelty mugs, but I’d sensed she found the idea endearing rather than lame.
Genie smiled and drew her hand back. “At least they’re safe now. You clearly love what you do, and I know Tobe will take good care of them when they go on to the Bestiary.” She lowered her gaze, leaving me longing for more. “I’ll have to ask him if he bakes treats for the Purge beasts. I doubt it, or he’d never leave the kitchen.”
That was the moment, genius, and you well and truly fluffed it! I cursed inwardly. Her hand had been right there, an olive branch that I only had to reach out and take hold of. It was the surest sign I’d had so far that she liked me in return. It was a hypothesis rather than a concrete conclusion, but there’d definitely been something in the curve of her smile, the glint of her eyes, the faint flush in her cheeks, and the slight tremble in her fingertips. And I’d gone and let the moment whizz by me.
I mustered a strangled laugh. “Tell him I’d be happy to give him the recipe.”
If only there were a monster that could rewind time. I had dated before, with varying degrees of success, but I’d never found anyone who made me more focused on her than my work—which tended to keep the relationships brief. This was unknown territory for me. Moreover, there was also the matter of me being a scholar’s assistant and her being a trainee hunter. There was no explicit rule against it, but Victoria would likely frown upon fraternization. Or, perhaps I was merely looking for an excuse not to proceed with my affections. If I didn’t get involved, I couldn’t get hurt. If I didn’t get involved, I wouldn’t hurt her by falling into previous relationship patterns. And I was fairly sure the sight of her in any kind of pain would end me.
But she was beside me, having chosen to spend time in my company. She had lifted her hand like she was going to wipe that tear away for me. She had listened to my awkward babblings about the scent gland of a swamp devil, even when I’d gone into olfactory detail about the rotten fish stench they emitted. Sure, there’d been some amused remarks, but they’d been framed as questions so she could learn more about my work. Such as: “How fishy are we talking? Mackerel fishy, salmon fishy, or whitebait fishy? Would I know it was a swamp devil just by smell alone?” All of that pointed to one distinct possibility—that, yes, she did like me.
“I wish we could take them for a walk,” Genie said, her voice thick with emotion. “I don’t know what you and Persie have done to me. I never used to mind seeing them behind glass. Now, you’ve both made things all… squiffy.”
I laughed quietly. “Is that another new word you learned?”
“Sure is.” She sniffed, wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. “Can I ask you something?”
I took a quick breath, ready to say yes if she asked me out on a date. I’d wanted to make the first move, but I could make up for that later if the first date went well. Hoping I looked casual, I nodded.
“What started all of this for you? What made you want to work with monsters?” she asked, and my chest deflated a little. It wasn’t the question I’d hoped for, but it was still a question that made me smile. Another hint that suggested she liked me. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be so interested in getting to know more about me. Unfortunately, there was only so much I could tell her, personally speaking.
I gestured around at the shining forest of orbs that brimmed with life. “Them.” I struggled with how to proceed with my story, realizing I hadn’t told it to anyone in years. “I was young, maybe fourteen. My mum had just given me my dad’s Grimoire, and I decided it’d be a great idea to run a tracking spell on my dad with it. I knew he didn’t want to be found, but… I was stupid, I guess. Anyway, I followed the spell to this volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific, and the tracking spark led me up a sheer rockface. After I climbed it, I came to a ledge, where the spark disappeared.”