Nøtteknekkeren by Felicitas Ivey Read Free Book Online

could happen. That didn’t fit into their world view. We’d left that morning in a strained silence, since I was hurt that they couldn’t accept what I was telling them. And then there had been the accident.
    “I know you.”
    It wasn’t a declaration of love, but Zubar softened when I said it.
    “Isn’t that wonderful,” the Mouse King said sarcastically. “It’s almost like—”
    “I’m so glad,” Zubar said, speaking over him. “I… I mi… was worried about you.”
    I wished I could say the same, but until now, I hadn’t known what I had been missing. And now I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t think the Mouse King would let us walk off into the sunset together.
    “Why?”
    “Because you’re—” the Mouse King started.
    “But you’re here now,” Zubar said loudly.
    Even I had figured out there was a lot more to this than I knew, given the way Zubar kept cutting the king off.
    “I am.” And how much had Uncle Yvo had to do with that? The others who had been at the party?
    “You aren’t winning!” the Mouse King screamed. “Not after all this time.”
    With that, he sprung at me, his hands clawed to attack. I danced back, surprised by his attack and that his bulk hadn’t made him slow. Zubar tightened his grip on his sword, responding to my danger.
    “You aren’t touching him,” Zubar snarled, closing in on the mouse with his sword raised.
    I didn’t know where the others had gone. We were the only ones here, and I didn’t hear any fighting.
    “I kill him and the curse isn’t lifted,” the Mouse King laughed, taking a swipe at me. “You’ll—”
    “Curse?” I squeaked.
    “He just wants you to end his curse.” The king laughed. “He trusted someone he shouldn’t have to keep their word. And he paid a pretty price for it.”
    I winced at the bad pun about Zubar’s appearance. A curse made sense to me, even if it sounded outrageous. And yes, if Zubar was cursed, I would help him because that was the right thing to do. But he wasn’t faking his concern for me, and I thought he might like me… a lot.
    “There are worse ways to start a relationship,” I said, trying to find something to place between the two of us. If he got his hands on me, I’d be in trouble.
    The king looked at me as if I were insane. And I noticed all his heads really did resemble Rik when he was looking at me like that.
    “There was once a pretty princess—”
    “It doesn’t matter what happened,” I cut off the Mouse King. “What matters is now. Zubar needs my help.”
    “And you aren’t giving it to him!” screamed the Mouse King as he threw himself at me. “My people will be avenged!”
    Zubar would have to explain that to me someday, I thought, as I skittered away from the Mouse King. I was sort of trapped, and I didn’t know what I was going to do, but Zubar ran the Mouse King through with his sword.
    The Mouse King made an odd noise, a deep whine, before collapsing into a heap. Zubar shook the blood off of his sword and sheathed it. “I didn’t want to do that.”
    “I’m glad you did,” I said faintly.
    There had been real hatred in the mouse’s eyes as he was coming after me. I didn’t know—remember—what the curse was, but the king hadn’t wanted me to end it.
    “Come away with me,” Zubar coaxed, leading me away from the body. The place was quiet, everyone else having disappeared.
    “Come where?” I asked dumbly.
    Zubar smiled at me, and he was almost beautiful for a second. There was a hint of it, an overlay of a face that was almost his, proportioned normally. “I asked you this before. Don’t you remember?”
    I opened my mouth. “I’m… I’m not sure.”
    He wanted me, and I should hate that he had used me. But… I was lonely. And there were worse reasons for being with someone. Zubar liked me, maybe more than liked. But he wasn’t just using me, because I knew what that was like. I’d seen it all too often when I had ventured into the dating scene. We