Page 65 of Traitor Witch

Of course, the moment I take a step toward it, the door slams shut.

“It’s yours if you fix my hair.” Val walks through the wall beside me, almost making me jump out of my skin.

His hair doesn’t look to have faded, in fact, somehow it’s more luminous than before. Highlights of magenta and baby pink have turned a solid pink mass into a spectrum.

“You’ve accepted that I’m staying then?”

His eyes narrow. “For now,” he pauses. “I expect you’ll show your gratitude by making those freshness charms you talked about and continuing to feed the crew.”

I glare at him. “It’s a pity they didn’t buy any poisonous plants.”

“Immortal, remember?”

“Puking your guts up for hours still sucks.”

“Do we have a deal, witch?”

My glower doesn’t die, but I give him a curt nod, anyway.

The captain frowns, and the door opens once again. The plants disappear from the table, sinking through the flash of an inky purple transmutation circle. It takes a second before they reappear, rising through a matching, glowing circle on the wooden floor inside.

Even though controlling theDeadwoodhas to be a mammoth task, somehow, Val still has enough energy to teleport that much stuff.

That amount of power should make me wary, but Valorean's not that kind of asshole that I have to worry about a sneaky mage attack. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and if he was going to attack me, he'd do it head on with plenty of cursing.

“How long until you fix my hair?” he demands.

“Next moonset,” I admit as I stare into his eyes, trying to figure out his motivation.

Is he so vain that his hair is all he really cares about? Or is the captain warming to me?

No. There’s no warmth in those eyes. Just challenge.

“I’ll help you move things,” Rysen interrupts whatever either of us might have said next, his huge bulk cutting between us and breaking the staring contest. “Just tell me where you want them.”

I smile softly at him. “That would be great.”

“Here—” Nos holds out an apple in my direction— “I know you were hungry.”

Rysen frowns. “She needs more than an apple.”

“I’ll make myself something later,” I promise, wandering through the door and into the space beyond. “I just want to get started…”

Truthfully, the idea of a workroom of my own is just too much. Even at the Lunar temple, I had to share a space half this size with Danika and Ophelia.

If I didn’t despise Valorean so much, I’d be thanking him for the best gift of my life. There are no windows, so I don’t have to see the ocean, but there is a huge skylight that lets in natural sunlight for the plants, and three crystal lamps hanging from the ceiling. Shelves cover two of the walls, empty for now, but large enough to hold some of my smaller herbs.

It’s a blank slate; a perfect place to make my own.

“Where do you want stuff?”

I turn, surprised to find it’s not just Rysen waiting for me. Cas and Kier are hovering in the doorway, and Nos is sitting on the bench in the room beyond, clearly content to stay close for the company.

I bite my lip. “Can someone get the desk from my cabin? I’d rather have it in here.”

Rysen grunts and leaves, which I assume means he’s taken on the task. “That bay tree there,” I say, pointing to one of the largest plants. “Can go in that corner…”

It feels surreal to be ordering three huge pirates around like this, but they don’t complain. Rysen doesn’t take long to reappear with the desk in one hand and a chair in the other, he glares at me until I sit down.