I shrugged, suddenly feeling guilty for jumping to that conclusion.
“Calm down,” Ivy said. “Trent swore a blood oath to change you, and he’s a man of his word, yes?” She pinned him with a hard stare.
“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth.
“So, what did you tell my father?” Isach asked. He’d taken Abby’s hand, and she appeared to be a little less freaked out now.
“I pointed out that breaking the curse now was, in fact, a very selfish act on his part because the only reason he offered was so he could get his soul back,” Ivy said with a satisfied smile.
“Is that why you wanted to see us?” Trent asked, arms crossed. “To tell us nothing’s changed?”
“Yes. Keene Valley is a small town. Rumors spread quickly. I wanted to ensure you two knew that our deal still stands, that I’m still very much on your side, and I will continue to make sure Chloe is safe from the Zoya.” Ivy straightened.
What a total waste of time. Then again, now that we knew she wasn’t working a deal behind our backs, I could stop worrying and enjoy my honeymoon. And now, Isach, Colt, and Jax wouldn’t have to handle the situation.
“Well, thanks for clearing things up,” Isach said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
Did he not believe Ivy, or was this just lingering distrust and anger because they were from competing covens? Of course, if everything went exactly as we planned, Isach might very well be joining Ivy’s coven. At least for a little while anyway.
“C’mon, Abby.” He tugged on her hand, and they turned to leave.
Trent hadn’t budged, though. “For everyone’s sake, I hope you’re telling us the truth, Ivy,” he said.
“I have no reason to lie to either of you,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her.
Trent gave a curt nod, then glanced at me. I turned and headed for the door. We stepped out onto the front porch when Trent turned back toward the house. Ivy stood in the doorway.
“Except, you did lie to us,” Trent said. “About the little added boost you included in the potion.”
A slow grin spread across Ivy’s face. “Are you thanking me or scolding me?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Trent said.
“Well, do let me know once you’ve figured it out.” She lifted a single brow. “Enjoy your honeymoon.” And then she swung the door shut in our faces.
I blinked, trying to wrap my mind around what just happened. Trent was already off the porch by the time I got my bearings, and I rushed to catch up to him. Abby and Isach were already back in the car.
“Trent,” I called after him. “I’m sorry. I—”
He whirled around on me, his eyes dark and stormy. “Don’t you dare, for one second, ever think I’ve changed my mind about changing you. That will never happen, Chloe. Never,” he said, the muscle in his jaw ticking with anger.
I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I just… when you asked about Rector lifting the curse, you sounded… relieved, and that scared me,” I admitted.
“Chloe, baby,” he said, his tone sweet yet regretful. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.” He cradled my face in his hands and peered into my eyes. “I swear to you that we will have an eternity together. Please don’t doubt that, okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded.
He brushed his lips across mine, and whatever momentary anger and fear I felt vanished, replaced with instantaneous desire. I wound my arms around his neck, and he deepened the kiss. Isach blared the horn, and I jumped back with a gasp.
Trent wasn’t fazed at all, though. “I love you,” he said.
“Love you, too,” I said with a smile, thankful things were back to normal between us. I hated when we fought.
“C’mon.” He laced his fingers with mine. “We have a honeymoon to go on.”
CHAPTER FORTY:
Quarantine
“WHOA,” I WHISPERED, EYES WIDE.
Trent pulled the rental truck to a stop in front of a cozy log cabin. It was too dark to see many details, but the warm glow of an interior light allowed me to see that the cabin, like everything else around us, was covered in fresh snow. It reminded me of that motel we’d gotten stranded at on our way home from Malibu right after New Year’s, though this place was a lot nicer. Hundreds of identical cabins were scattered in every direction.
There was a porch that ran the length of the front of the A-frame cabin. Icicles hung from the roof, and smoke billowed from the chimney. The place looked like something out of a fairytale, and it was gorgeous. I couldn’t wait to see what the inside looked like.
Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the snow, Trent was, and this was his honeymoon, too. Not to mention, it was easier for him to be outside in this type of weather. Personally, I really hoped we’d be going somewhere warm, like a beach. I had not been expecting a cabin resort in the Swiss Alps. I wasn’t complaining, though, because I was with Trent, and that was all that mattered.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded, grinning. I climbed out of the truck, and by the time I made it around to the front, Trent had our luggage in hand.
“After you, Mrs. Halstead,” he said, winking.
A thrill shot through me. I would never get tired of hearing him call me that. Smiling, I headed for the cabin. Someone had shoveled the path leading to the porch.
I climbed the steps, noticing that someone had also scraped the snow from the steps and cleared a walkway straight to the door. A gust of wind whipped around us, and I pulled my coat tighter around me. Now I remembered why I didn’t like the snow—it meant cold winds.
Trent set down our luggage, dug the key from his pocket, and unlocked the door.
The inside of the cabin was even more magnificent than the outside. A hunter green sectional sofa wrapped around two entire walls
