“I hear love is blind,” Chloe said softly, her gaze no longer on his face, but on the candle flame.
Arch-wizard or not, until this moment, it had never occurred to him that love had, indeed, blinded him. That the truth might have been right there in front of his eyes from the moment he met her. All he saw was the future he wanted to have with her. The memories they would create together.
Despite his sudden clarity and the myriad of emotions it invoked, his attention was caught by the sadness in Chloe’s eyes. A heartache he recognized all too well.
“Who was he?” he said softly, curious despite himself.
Her startled gaze flickered to him, then returned to the flame. “No one important. Not like Maeve.”
Though he knew better than to continue because it might draw them closer, he couldn’t help himself. He had to know.
“Hewasimportant enough,” he said. “Tell me, Chloe...tell me about who hurt you.”
“His name doesn’t matter anymore,” she said on a sigh and took a sip of whisky. “All that matters is that he left me for another woman.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Now, I'm more than a little gun shy.”
That caught him off guard in more ways than one. What were the odds of them having such similar experiences? More than that, why would any man in his right mind want another when he had her? While tempted to say as much, he bit his tongue.
He nearly said they should get some rest but realized he wasn’t tired. Rather for the first time in a long time, especially with a lass, he wanted to keep talking. So he urged her to tell him more about herself. Not about the men from her past but who she really was. What she wanted from life. Things beyond the thoughts he caught.
“Honestly, I’m sort of at a crossroads.” The shadows lingering on her face vanished, and her gaze returned to him. “I’ve been a freelance journalist most of my adult life, but lately, I’ve just felt, I dunno, bored, I guess.” She narrowed her eyes, giving it some thought. “You know, now that I think about it, I started losing my zest for it right around the time I met Julie and the girls in the online Broun forum.”
An odd sensation swept over him. Half his magic, half hers if he didn’t know better. His heart leapt a little without him truly understanding why. He ignored the sudden surge of hope he felt.
“What do you wish to do with your life now?” he asked, more curious than he let on. He couldn’t help a small smile. “Because ‘tis clear you have a verra curious nature which suited your occupation, aye?”
“It did.” She chuckled, her eyes sparkling in that charming way they did. “I’m not sure it’ll ever go away, either.”
“I would hope not,” he said, again speaking before thinking.
In all honesty, he liked it. He had found speaking with her as they rode earlier entertaining. He enjoyed her inquisitive mind. How she found things intriguing that he rarely gave notice. In a strange way, she allowed him to see through her eyes, which was surprisingly freeing. It made him realize that perhaps his worldhadgrown smaller in the wake of Maeve's death. That mayhap on some level he wasn’t quite ready to admit to, hehadstopped living.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Chloe blushed at his compliment about her curiosity. “That’s not usually the response I get.” She took another sip of whisky, her gaze on the flame again. “As to what I want to do with my life now? I still haven’t figured that out other than I want to continue writing. I want to...” she seemed to think about it, “write something truly meaningful. Not just the latest scoop.”
He tried not to admire how the candlelight made the strawberry tones in her hair shimmer. How it made them jump and dance around, almost giving her hair a life of its own. “What do you consider meaningful?”
“Memoires of some sort, I think,” she whispered, clearly startled that she’d said that. Her eyes rose to his, their sparkle drawing him in. Sudden surprise lit her face. “I want to keep something alive with words.” She cocked her head in contemplation. “I want to make sure nobody forgets.”
“Forgets what?” He leaned forward a little, wondering what she meant, feeling like he might know but couldn’t quite grasp it. Like a firefly flittering about, staying just beyond his reach. “What do you want to keep alive with words?”
Though it might have been his imagination, he swore the gem in her ring flashed with color, and the sparkle in her eyes flared brighter.
“I don’t quite know,” she murmured.
She blinked several times as though struggling to see clearer.
Suddenly her eyes snapped to his, her voice a little off. “But you will, wizard. You will know precisely what I should write when the time comes. What needs to be remembered.” Her tone grew grave. “First, though, you will give up who you are.” This time, there was no missing the flare of her sparkling eyes. “You will forfeit everything, your very soul, or all you love will be lost...most of all, who you love the most.”
