When she looks up to answer, tears track down her cheeks.
“If they don’t find Baz before they wake up, he’ll be lost to the dream realm forever.”
Ten
KIRIN
“Kirin!Kirin!”
Stevie’s voice is so clear and rich, I’m almost afraid to hope it’s really her. Because if it’s some new trick of this terrible realm, I might just shatter.
“Kirin,” she tries again, softer this time. Her touch on my face is like pure sunshine.
I take a chance. Open my eyes.
My heart stutters, and I gasp and blink and finally find my breath again.
“Stevie?” I whisper, reaching for her face. She’s kneeling before me, blue eyes shining bright beneath a layer of dirt, frizzy curls and flowers slipping loose from her braid.
I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
“Oh, thank theGoddess.” She helps me to my knees and pulls me close, wrapping her arms around me and burying her face against my neck. Her tears soak my collar. All I want to do is collapse again, but somehow, I find the strength to return her embrace.
“You’re trembling,” I whisper. “Are you all right?”
“No, I’m not all right!” Stevie says, finding her fire. She pushes me away to look me over, only to yank me close again. “I thought you were dead, Kirin. I thought I’d have to bury you in this awful place. I thought I’d have to go back home and tell Doc and Ani I’d lost you. Don’t youever—”
“Youdidn’tlose me. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I saw him though. Saw that wand ignite, and I just… I really believed it was over. That the monster had finally won.”
“But he didn’t. You fought him off.” I touch her face again, staring at her in abject wonder. Each day, each hour, she becomes more of a mystery to me. A complicated, beautiful mystery I’d love to spend the rest of my life contemplating.
After several long moments, Stevie finally cracks another smile, letting out a shaky breath. “Wefought him off. So don’t get all hero-worshipy on me.” She presses an all-too-brief kiss to my mouth, then stands, pulling me up with her. “We need to move. And this time, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“I’m good with that plan.”
“You sure?” she teases. “As I recall, you have a thing about running away whenever things get too intense.”
I slide my hands into her hair, tilting her face up toward mine. “I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.”
Casting aside all my previous reservations and fears, I claim her in a possessive kiss, stopping only when we’ve both run out of air.
“Believe me now?” I nip her lower lip, enjoying the dark flush I put in her cheeks.
“Okay, so that was… pretty convincing.” Stevie grins, and I swear in that moment I’ll never feel pain again. But all too quickly, her smile falls away. “I don’t understand how you’re not a pile of ash.”
“Does it matter?”
“To me? Yes.” Gingerly, she runs her hands along my arms and chest, checking every square inch for injuries. My tuxedo jacket is in shreds, the once-crisp white shirt scorched beyond recognition, but my skin is unmarred.
“This fuckingplace,” she whispers, and a chilly, ominous breeze lifts the curls framing her face. “He was literally about to incinerate you.”
I nod, barely suppressing a shudder. I don’t tell her that despite appearances, my chest still aches with the ghost of that cruel burn, almost as if my flesh is still smoldering.
“Confession,” I say, trying for a bit of levity. “Sacrilege or not, I’m totally going to burn the Judgment cards from all my Tarot decks when we get back.”
“I’m on board with that plan.” Stevie runs her hand along my chest again, her light touch temporarily soothing my burning flesh. “I don’t know how this is possible, Kirin, but we should probably just count our blessings and move on. We still have a sword to find, and Baz…”
