“Let me just put the baby down first,” Zani said, tucking the stone safely back into the hidden pocket in her satchel.
They readjusted their positions so that Zani was lying on her back with her feet on Will’s lap.
“Oh, William, you’ve been holding out on me.” Zani sighed in pleasure, then giggled a bit.
Nobody else ever called him William. Not since he was a child, always getting in trouble. He loved the way Zani said it. His full name, on her lips, sounded like praise. Like the shorter version wasn’t quite enough to hold her full esteem.
Zani giggled again.
“You’re ticklish!” Will grinned.
“I’ll never admit it.” She stoically bit back a laugh.
“You know,” Will said while kneading the ball of her foot, “that stone really is a bit like a child. Think about it.”
Zani propped herself up on her elbows again. “How so?”
“A single child can change the world. They move through time.” He drew an infinity symbol with his index finger against the arch of her foot. “Every moment of their lives is fraught with potential, for both good and bad. Sometimes we think we can see the possibilities that exist for them as clear as day, like items on a menu. Sometimes it’s so complicated we can’t even fathom what the choices are.”
“How does anyone become a parent?” Zani vented. “It’s such a huge responsibility! I keep thinking of Ondalune’s parents, finding her on the beach like that and taking her in, without any hesitation. Weren’t they scared?”
“Terrified, I’d imagine,” Will said. He lowered himself to lie beside Zani on the couch.
“I’m glad I’m not Amrita Berman.” Zani yawned again, speaking sleepily. “I’d hate to have to save the world sixteen times before breakfast.”
“I think that’s the actual definition of being a parent.” Will pulled a cushion under his head and curled up against her. “You know what they say—save a life and you’ve saved the world.”
“Maybe I could be a parent someday, Will,” Zani murmured, already drifting off to sleep in his embrace. “But given the number of orphans out there, I think I’d want to adopt. Do you think you’d be okay with that?”
Will drew her closer against his chest and kissed the back of her head. He thought his heart might explode.
“I would love that, Zani,” he whispered. “I would love that a lot.” He thought for a second. “But we might want to start with a cat.”
“Perfect.” She sighed contentedly. “We’ll figure out how to save the world tomorrow. So long as we do it together.”
Chapter33
Tomorrow Will Come
Goldie had sensed Cosimo in the shadows of her garden, waiting for Burnside to leave. He’d been waiting for quite some time. But she still didn’t go outside right away once her uncle left. She had a lot on her mind and she was still angry. Burnside had provided her with a lot more context for her recovered memories, but there were still plenty of questions that only Cosimo could answer.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She threw open the back door and stormed out.
He was waiting on the bench.
“The last time we talked before you erased my memory, you told me you were going to immolate yourself in the sunshine. So why aren’t you dead, Cosimo?” She didn’t even bother greeting him properly. “And why are you here now? What do you want from me?”
She wasn’t merely angry now. She was incandescent. How dare he erase her memory like that? How dare heleaveher? And why was he back? Did he intend to try it again?
“I tried to do it,” he admitted, emerging from the shadows and into the moonlight. “The morning after the premiere, I traveled to the far side of the island. I stripped naked and walked out into the sun, prepared to meet my fate.”
“And yet, you’re still here,” Goldie bit out. Even as she said the bitter, sarcastic words, her own heart betrayed her. She didn’t mean it like that. She wasgladhe was still here. The relief she felt over the fact that he had been unsuccessful in his attempt to harm himself made her throat feel tight and her eyeballs itch. She shut her eyes and swallowed.
“It didn’t work,” he said.
“Obviously,” she said, her tone less caustic this time.
“It wasn’t the right time.” Cosimo perched on the edge of the fountain. “I failed to consider that my curse was eclipse-born. So I can only be released from it during another eclipse.”
