Nøtteknekkeren by Felicitas Ivey Read Free Book Online Page B

into a braid. I had a sudden desire to loosen the queue and run my fingers through it.
    “Do you remember what I asked you before?” Zubar asked, looking intensely at me.
    I frowned, trying to remember. I had heard whispers in my dreams, things I didn’t want to mention to my psychiatrist because I didn’t trust the man. Soft questions, from a deep voice, almost gravelly. Questions I didn’t remember when I woke up, but I had known they were important. Hazy images of snow, of a fairy-tale land no one else believed in when I told them about it. But I had also learned that if I told the man who was supposed to help me about anything strange or magical, he would drug me to the gills so I couldn’t hear the voice anymore. And as confusing as those dreams had been, I had wanted to keep hearing the questions. I knew someday they would make sense to me. And this might be the day it happened.
    “No,” I said reluctantly. “I know I should, but… I don’t remember a lot of my life before I was eighteen.”
    Zubar looked at me, his eyes flat and hard. “I should have known,” he growled. “You would not have stayed away otherwise.”
    I stared at him, confused, and wondered why I wasn’t doing the sensible thing and going back to bed. This was crazy, the whole thing, and I wondered if I was having some sort of breakdown because of being here after so long. But I didn’t want to do the sensible thing, the smart thing. I wanted to be crazy, like Rik called me, and take a leap into the unknown and stop playing safe.
    “What was the question?” I prompted. “You’re being a jerk if you’re not going to ask it now, since you mentioned it.”
    Zubar hesitated and then smiled. “The question is and was, do you want to go with me?”
    “With you where?” I asked slowly, wondering why butterflies had suddenly taken up residence in my stomach.
    “You don’t even remember that?” Zubar asked softly, moving closer.
    He was close enough to reach out and hug me, but letting me have the option of moving away if I wanted. I was tempted to move closer to him just by the heat he was throwing off. It would be cock teasing, in a way, and I had been accused of that enough that I didn’t want to do it to this man. Zubar was a man and not a doll—not if he felt this warm. What had happened? How did a two-foot-tall figurine turn into a six-foot-plus man? But not a handsome prince, as if this were a fairy tale.
    Zubar could still be considered ugly by many. His jaw was oversized and heavy, with a neat curly beard. His skin was dark, the color of mahogany, but his eyes were the deepest green I had ever seen. Zubar was also heavily built, his body wide and muscular, balancing his wide face. The clothing hadn’t changed from what the nutcracker had been wearing, and I wondered why he wasn’t cold with his open jacket and bare chest. Not a hint of body hair could I see on those nummy abs. And it was as bright as daylight out here even without a light source, not even the moon. Was this more of the weird magic that seemed to inhabit this place?
    “There was a car accident with my parents,” I told him. “It wasn’t some grand scheme or anything.”
    “That you know of,” Zubar said grimly. “Come with me and you will be safe.”
    I hesitated. “I have a life,” I pointed out to him. “I can’t just run away with you.”
    “If I promise you can return if you wish?” Zubar asked me, raking my form with his eyes.
    “I….”
    “You are cold,” Zubar said brusquely. “You’ve been in battle and are tired. I know that now isn’t the time to make these decisions.” Zubar’s voice softened and held a coaxing note. “I can promise you warmth and good cheer. A celebration for the battle you have won.”
    “I didn’t do anything,” I protested. “In fact, I had to be rescued by one of the dolls.”
    Zubar smiled. “You must point out the lady later, so I may properly reward her.”
    I nodded, wondering how he was going