Thriving.
As if the cold was giving them life.
I reached for one in full bloom.The instant my fingers closed around the stem, a sensation shot up my arm—familiar enough to make my breath catch.Not unlike what I’d felt at the Crossroads the night before.
Similar.
But different.
Purer.Cleaner.
I glanced toward the front of the shop.Rylyn was busy rotating the window display, oblivious.
I closed the cooler door and studied the flower in my hand.
The petals were delicate—pale pink brushed with the faintest hint of blue, their edges translucent, curling upward instead of outward.They smelled faintly of rain and stone rather than pollen or sweetness.
And even as I watched, the bloom began to sag.
I opened the cooler and returned it to the bucket.
The petals lifted.
Color deepened.
Alive again.
I frowned.
As if being out of the cooler wasn’t what it wanted at all.
The door chime sounded and then the sound of a familiar voice drifted through the shop.My head snapped up.
There he was.Standing at the front of the counter, hands in jeans pockets, chatting easily with Rylyn.And Rylyn, leaning toward him… flirting?Twirling a lock of hair around her forefinger.Laughing at something he said while he smiled that smile he gave everyone.
And then he saw me.
His expression shifted.Recognition lit his eyes.The smile he gave me was different.As if he’d been waiting to see me, and now that he had everything else faded.
Rylyn straightened, cut a glance back over her shoulder and then drifted away from the counter.She busied herself at one of the displays keeping her head tipped enough to eavesdrop.
I made my way to the front, my heart doing a ridiculous dance in my chest.
“Hi,” I said.“What brings you here?”
“Thought I’d come by and pick up that thing,” he said.“Save you a trip after working all day.”
That thing.The Sun Disk.My gaze flicked to the antique store across the street.“It’s not like it’s out of the way.”
Owen shrugged like it was a great excuse to come by and see me.
“It’s in my trunk.”I was already reaching for my keys before my decision was made.“I’ll get it.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Like he sensed goth girl listening in and didn’t like it.
“I’ll be right back, Rylyn.”
