Haley laughed. “That was… oddly specific. Very creepy. But also kind of sweet? In your own special gargoyle way, I suppose.”
“As it was meant,” I said with a wink that had her shaking her head and laughing. I set her on a flat part of the barrier and took a seat next to her. “Speaking of shit-for-brains… Where are the boys? They usually beat me back home.”
Her eyes dimmed, the smile dropping from her face. With a deep sigh, she said, “As far as I know, they’re still at the facility. I haven’t seen them at all these last two nights. I’m pretty sure they’re avoiding me.”
“What? Why?”
“Keradoc took me to the market. I saw the facility. Things got… heated.”
She told me the story—all the crazy shit she’d seen, the bullshit with Gem, her fears about Saint, her fight with Jax.
“I’m so worried about them, Gargs,” she said softly. “And when I saw all that, it just hit me really hard, and I just opened my big, fat mouth and steppedrightin it. I tried to wait up for them last night so I could smooth things over, but I passed out before they got back. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to stop talking to me altogether.”
“No. No fuckin’ way.”
I saw the way they looked at her—Jax like he was always ready to step in front of a flaming arrow to keep her safe, Saint like he wanted to turn himself inside out just to erase the sadness from her eyes.
Sadness I was pretty damn sure he’d put there in the first place.
So what, they’d argued. Didn’t make a damn bit of difference. Nothing she could do or say would send either one of them packing, and I told her as much.
“I hope you’re right.” She curled up against my chest, and I tucked her in close, just holding her. Breathing her in.
We sat like that for a long time, me and Haley.
Silence had never been a problem for us. Lots of people thought silence was awkward—they couldn’t deal with it. But with Haley, it’d always felt like a respite—a little place we could retreat to together and just… just breathe.
Just be.
After a while, she pulled back and smiled up at me again. “I’m glad you stopped by. I needed a break from all this summoning business.”
“Yeah. I suppose I should leave you to it.” I stood up, and she followed, already shaking her head.
“Confession? I don’t want you to leave.”
“Confession?” I blew out a relieved sigh. “I wasn’t planning to leave. I was just gonna go sit in the dark where you couldn’t see me and keep right on watching anyway.”
“Seriously?”
“Couldn’t leave you if I tried, babygirl. Not really.”
“Can I tell you something crazy? I mean, you’re used to that from me, right?”
I grinned and took her hand. Brought it to my mouth and kissed her palm. “Lay it on me.”
“When I’m with you, I feel this… this intense connection. It started that first day in the garden at Elian’s place, even before I’d met you. When I touched you? There was this weird spark and Isworeyou felt it too. Even through the stone.”
I squeezed her hand and nodded. “I thought I was going crazy too. But that wasn’t it. We do have a connection, Haley. Runs deep.”
“I feel connected to all of you. Elian and I… well, we have history, obviously. Jax came out of nowhere, but my feelings for him came on fast and furious. And you… I can’t even explain it. I just know that when I’m with you, I feel like nothing bad could ever touch me.”
“None of that sounds crazy to me.”
“There’s more. It’s… it’s this whole place, Hudson.” She looked out across the city and sighed. “I feel connected to Midnight too. The magick, the air, the stones, the stars and moons. God, even Keradoc is—well, I won’t say I’ve got any love for the creep. But I’m starting to understand him a little. I don’t think he’s evil, Gargs. A complete douche, yes. But not anevildouche, which feels like an important distinction. Anyway, the longer I’m here, the more I feel like I was always supposed to end up here. Like maybe I just got lucky all these years—somehow, I stayed off the radar, and the Midnight fae never came looking for me.”
When she looked up at me again, her eyes were glassy, and I swore I saw all the red-and-gold stars in the sky reflecting right back at me.
“Do you remember the roses?” she asked.
