If I Know You

Chapter 14

My eyes creaked open to see the colors of the sunrise, but this time, I didn't think they were gross. Waking up in the tower was much less mortifying than the time that I got knocked out with a mushroom pot. Now, I was wearing a shirt.

Now, I wasn't alone.

There was a pile of hair suffocating my face this time. In the best way. If this is how I was supposed to die, I'd take it and be content forever.

I peeked one eye open to see a boring ceiling, then turned to see that Pippa's body had somehow moved from her old bed into the big squishy one that Jo had summoned for me. She was curled up in a tiny ball next to me, one hand intertwined with mine and the other arm flopped over my stomach. It only took a second for her pretty-mud eyes to open and turn my heart into a puddle of goo like they always managed to do.

She was really, really beautiful. I just wanted to grow muscles and wrap her in a soft blanket and carry her around forever.

"Are we awake?" she asked in a serene tone. "Are we home?"

I didn't answer because it sounded like she already knew. We were in the real world. The curse had been broken, and we were finally home.

She was free. And for some reason, the thought actually made me less gooey. Even terrified.

There was a very real possibility that she would realize that she now had more options than the lump prince of Ki. There were a lot of handsome men in this world, and I knew already that several of them were going to set their stupid eyes on her. How could they not? They'd be challenging me to duels by the time the day was over.

I needed to keep wooing her. I needed to say something romantic so she would keep loving me. That's what happened in the stories.

"Uh," I said. "Hello."

Oh gods. That was the best flirtation my tired brain could manage. She didn't start running away from me. So that was nice.

I didn't know how in the world she wasn't a shaky bowl of jelly like I was. She was acting like we'd been together for years. Like it was normal to not be afraid of touching another human being. However, the lack of fear was totally new to me, and almost as terrifying as actually being afraid.

"Hello," she sighed back, totally content.

"Hi," I said.

"Are you all right?" she mumbled when she saw my face.

If I wanted to stay with her, I'd have to keep listening to the words of the great Terran deity Weekeehow. Don't be afraid to show your emotions.

"You still like me, right?" I blurted nervously. I begged my palms to stop sweating like little waterfalls. "You still want to be my lady and fulfill our magic destiny and stuff? You don't have to, but it would be really nice if you did."

"Of course," she giggled. "I haven't changed my mind in the last minute."

"You might change your mind," I responded sheepishly. "There's a lot of other people in the world."

Humming softly, she nuzzled my shoulder with her nose. "None of them are you."

A high-pitched squeal broke the air. "Awwww!"

Pippa and I both jumped. "AH!"

Jo stood at the foot of the bed, clutching their hands over their heart, watching us like a little fairy gargoyle. They didn't look even the tiniest bit ashamed that they were wearing Pippa's pink dress, a fact that had sent me into a panic spiral where I was ready to go live in a cave and eat nothing but eggs.