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"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Because if things are going to work between us - really work - then you need to understand this about me," I said. "I will do whatever I have to in order to protect the people I love - even if they don't like my actions. Even if they hate me for them. "
He sat there and studied me, his gaze tracing over the smooth set of my shoulders, the determination in my face, and finally, the certainty blazing in my eyes.
"And what if you're wrong about something?" he asked. "What then?"
"Then I'll be wrong. And I'll live with that -
and all the consequences of my actions. "
He studied me a moment longer. "I think I understand what you're trying to say. "
"So where do we go from here?"
Instead of answering me, he tapped his fingers on the table for several seconds before abruptly stopping. He hesitated a moment longer before answering me. "I don't know. I just don't know yet. "
I didn't say anything else. I didn't know what was left to say. We weren't back together, but maybe we weren't as far apart as we'd been. And for the first time, that spark of hope in my heart didn't snuff itself out. Oh, it flickered and sputtered, but it kept right on burning, and I knew that it would until things were finally settled between us - one way or the other.
After a moment, Owen smiled at me. "I actually had another reason for coming by today. I wanted to give you something. "
"What?"
He reached inside his jacket and drew out a long, rectangular black velvet box, the sort of box you'd think would contain expensive jewelry. I wasn't much for jewelry, other than my spider rune ring, so the box probably held something else. Perhaps a knife or some other small weapon that Owen might have crafted. Although I had no idea why he would hand me a weapon now, given that I'd killed Salina with one of the knives he'd made for me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Just something I thought you should have. "
I wondered at his mysterious words, but before I could ask him what he meant, Owen slid out of his side of the booth and got to his feet.
"Anyway," he said, "I'm headed over to the riverboat to check on Phillip and Eva. "
"How is Phillip?"
Owen shook his head. "Complaining like usual, even though Jo-Jo fully healed him at the museum. Eva's been on the boat all week, staying right by his side. "
I arched an eyebrow. "And what are you going to do about that?"
He sighed. "I haven't decided yet. Got any ideas?"
"Is Eva too old to send to a convent?"
Owen laughed - the first genuine laugh I'd heard from him in weeks. He grinned at me, and for a moment, everything was perfect, and I felt like we were the Gin and Owen of old.
His laughter and his smile slowly faded away, the way these things always do. But the warmth lingered in his eyes, and there wasn't as much tension between us as there had been before.
He nodded at me once, then turned and left the restaurant.
I stayed where I was, reached out, and picked up the box. I hefted it, and it felt surprisingly light in my hand. Probably not a weapon after all.
I put the box back down on the table and slowly cracked open the top. A surprised gasp escaped my lips.
My mother's and sister's rune necklaces lay inside the box, Eira's snowflake and Annabella's curling ivy vine.
Sunlight slanted across the table, making the silverstone runes gleam. Both necklaces looked absolutely perfect, as though they'd just been made a moment before. Even the chains looked brand-new, as though they and the runes had never even been touched, even though my mother and my sister had worn them every single day, just like Bria did her primrose necklace and I did my spider rune ring. All the black, ashy, sooty remains of Mab's elemental Fire had been scrubbed off the runes, making them bright, shiny, and clean.
"How - when - " Words failed me, even though I was only sputtering to myself.
