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And finally, my own key. “And the one who does.”
When I insert the new key in the locket, I’m not breathing at all. Just like all the other ones, it fits inside. But unlike the twenty-nine before it, once in the hole something clicks, and the key twists. The locket bursts open with a bright, blinding light. I instinctively shield my eyes, dropping the trinket, but instead of hitting the rug, it floats midair. Slowly, the other trinkets begin to float, too. One by one, they get sucked into the locket. The jewelry box is last, until only the locket is left. I pick it up and stand from the rug, walking over to Tei. He looks even more like a statue, for how still he’s standing.
“Give me your hand,” I ask.
Without taking his eyes off mine, he obeys. I drop the locket in his palm and wrap his fingers around it. “Your heart, princeling. I think you can have this back, now.”
The moment the trinket hits Tei’s hand, the black bands across his wrists sizzle away, dissipating in the air like dust.
I let out my breath in a hysterical laugh. “It’s done.”
Tei’s arms wrap around my waist, spinning me in circles. “No, Esme, you did it. It couldn’t have been anyone else.”
When my feet hit the ground again, I cup his face in my hands. “I had help. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead.”
“I’d give you every last bit of myself — or anyone, for that matter — if it meant keeping you safe, little gem.” He presses his lips to the top of my head and kisses me hard. “And on that note…” he flips his palm open again and drops the locket into my hand. “The real thing’s yours, so you should keep the trinket version of it, too. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it.”
I curl my fingers around the object, which looks like little more than an innocuous piece of jewelry, now, and lift myself on my tiptoes to swipe a light kiss on his lips. “I’ll guard it with my life.”
He smiles, but it’s not one of his wicked ones, and it’s not one of the bright ones, either. It’s a sad smile, one I want to wipe from his face immediately. “Good. I’ll be back for it soon. For both of you.”
My heart sinks all the way to my stomach. In fact, it stops beating altogether. “What do you — where are you going?”
“I have a bargain to keep, remember?” He strokes a finger down my cheek. “I can’t keep my end of the deal from here.”
My mother. I bargained for my mother back. But that feels like such a lifetime ago. Right now, the thought of losing Tei is far more painful than the joy of seeing my mother again. So I shake my head, fisting my hands in his shirt. “I don’t want that bargain anymore. I just want you to stay.”
His expression darkens. “I can’t, little witch. I made you a promise, and I’m bound to it. It was a part of our bargain.”
“Can’t we renegotiate the terms? Can I just release you from your end of it?”
I must sound desperate, on the edge of madness. Even to myself, my own voice feels distant, too quiet compared to the ringing in my ears.
“That’s not how this works, Esme.”
I growl. “Then let’s rewrite the rules. We did this,” I say, swiping my arms to the room. “We broke a centuries-old curse. And you’re saying we can’t rework some stupid bargain?”
“It’s not goodbye forever. You own every important piece of me, remember?”
I can’t control the way my eyes sting. “What am I supposed to do without you?”
“What you were always meant to do. Thrive. You don’t need me to be incredible, Esmeralda.”
No, I know he’s right. But to be happy? That’s a whole different story.
Before I can rebut, he silences me with a kiss. This one is all urgency; it’s brandishing, it’s fingers-in-hair and teeth and tongues clashing. It’s a kiss that feels like a last one, and I want to keep it going forever, so he won’t be able to leave.
But at some point, he still pulls away, pressing a finger to my chest.
“I’m yours. Wherever I go, however far, that could never change now.”
The mark on my breastbone feels achy and tender, and for one endless moment, I’m tempted to use it in the one way I promised I never would. It would be so easy to command him to stay. Just a few simple words, and he’d have no choice.
It should be easy. Except the words just won’t come. Because I can’t do that to him. I can’t chain him to me against his will.
I need to be a choice. We need to be a choice, to survive.
And so I stay quiet as he slips out of my grasp.
