“Ember,” Rhiannon said, her voice soft. “They’ll find me anywhere I go, harass me til I come back. I need quiet.”
For a long moment, Ember was still. I knew she was considering how hard the truth of the island’s involvement in all that had happened was on Rhiannon. We’d talked about it every night since the Gallery and Myrine’s awful revelations.
Finally, Ember sighed. “Did you talk to Briony?”
Rhiannon nodded. “She’s going to dig up some Cottage history for me. I gave her all my best Consulate hacks.”
Ember groaned. “Rhi... she is achild.”
Rhiannon shrugged. “She is a genius. Let her be a genius.”
Eryx carried the rest of Rhiannon’s luggage over the line of salt. They barely disturbed it, but I reinforced it all the same. Ember’s eyes were worried as she looked up at me, but I took her hand. “They will be all right together. If anyone can solve Oleander Cottage’s problem, it’s them.”
“We can still hear you,” Rhiannon said with a sigh.
“Yes,” I replied. I sketched a door into my salt barrier, using an old sigil my mother had once used. Both Ember and Rhiannon nodded, smiling at one another. “I know. This should allow you to take things like groceries in, but you’ll have to perform the ritual in reverse if you want out.”
Eryx reached across the barrier to hug me. “See you soon,” he murmured. “We’ll be okay.”
Again, I nodded. Theywouldbe okay. We’d all dealt with worse, after all.
“Call as much as you can,” Ember said.
Rhiannon agreed and then she and Eryx disappeared through the garden gate, and into the overgrown brush that was Oleander Cottage’s garden. Ember took my hand again and we whispered the arcane words that would bring the ward up. It got quieter and quieter in the garden.
And then there was nothing but the sound of the wind, howling through the trees. There was a distinct scent in the air, one that spoke of crisp blankets of snow. Ember shivered, picking up our coffee mugs.
“That’s that,” she said, holding her free hand out to me.
I could tell she was putting a brave face on, so I took her hand, pressing a kiss to her cold fingers. “Let’s get you warmed up.”
CHAPTER 46
EMBER
Inside the house,I found Max in the front hall, bags packed, by the front door. Sera sat hugging her knees on the staircase, looking for all the world like a lost little girl, she was so small. The two of them avoided each other’s eyes so carefully. So today was to be a day of goodbyes.
Ares smiled at me, then kissed my hand again, taking the mugs from me. I watched as he walked towards the kitchen where Briony and Calypso were making cookies with Avaline. I wasn’t ready to lose another friend to distance today. I hated that I thought that Oleander Cottage was a better solution for Rhi than a beach vacation, but I did actually believe her that it might be the only place she could avoid the Consulate.
But Max was another story altogether. I knew she had to go, but I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. It was too much to ask. I needed more time. But glancing up at Sera, I knew Max had to go. Neither of them could manage even another day in the same house. They needed space and time to heal. Someday they would be all right, friends again even. But now, both their hearts needed time.
“So.” It was the only word I could manage. There were toomany years between us. Too many things that should probably be said that would go unsaid.
Max nodded. “Yeah.”
We stood awkwardly for a moment, each of us waiting for the other to know just what to say. Max spoke first. “Thank you for understanding why I need to do this.”
On the stairs, Sera sniffed and took a shuddery breath, as though she suppressed a sob. I could feel her heart breaking from here. “Of course,” I said, opening the door. “Let me walk you out.”
Max glanced back up at Sera, her big brown eyes sad. “I?—”
I touched her arm and shook my head, sensing what she was about to say. “Don’t do that to her. You can’t say those words right now. It won’t help.”
Behind me, I heard Sera get up and run up the stairs, her footsteps light on the carpet. When I turned back to Max, she looked as though her insides had been pulled outside her body. I pushed her gently out the door. Her motorcycle sat in the driveway, washed and ready for her journey south to Aradios.
I watched as she packed her bag in. The sun broke through the clouds. Probably the last of the autumn sunshine. The leaves had all fallen and the tree branches that danced above us were barren fingers, scraping at the sky. Once, it would have given me a lonely feeling to watch them, to say another goodbye.
Now, I knew that some goodbyes were new beginnings. “You both need a fresh start,” I said, feeling careful with my words for once. “Give her some time to let her heart heal. To get over you.”
