Seeing Rook now… Fuck.
No. I can’t even allow myself tothinkwe won’t find a way to fix this. To get Rook back. I know we may not have much time left before the curse ends us all, but even if it’s just a few months or days… I don’t want Rook’s final moments to be locked in stone.
“Thing is, witchling,” I say, “we’renothelpless. We can’t be—I refuse to accept it. You and I, Drae and Jude, the witches… All of us are still here, still drawing breath against all the odds. Even Rook is still here. Trapped, but alive. So yeah. We’ll find those solutions you mentioned. I know we will.”
She nods, drifting into that space of quiet contemplation once more, and I rest my cheek on top of her head and close my eyes, anchoring myself by the familiar scent of her hair.
Home.
A little while later, voices outside the door tell me that Jude and Drae are back from watch, and I need to head out—I promised Drae I’d help him search the nearby dwellings, see if we might turn up some more food and weapons, maybe some maps.
“Try to get some rest,” I say, gently extracting myself and helping her stretch out on the couch.
When I turn to add a fresh log to the fire, she says, “I’m afraid to sleep, Auggie.”
And my heart breaks all over again, because I know it’s not just fears of an attack keeping her up.
It’s Rook.
“Right now,” she continues, “as long as I can see him, I can stillfeelhim. I’m still connected to him. But I’m terrified if I close my eyes, that thread will snap and he’ll just—”
“He won’t.” I turn back to her, running a hand over her head. “But I get it. You don’t have to go upstairs. Stay here. Stay with him for as long as you need to. He knows you’re here, West. He can feel you, too. I’m sure of it.”
A tiny smile. A glimmer of hope. A balm on my fucking soul if ever there was one.
West takes my hands in hers, trailing light fingertips over my charcoal-smudged skin. “Thank you for drawing me,” she says softly. “It’s an honor. I mean it.”
“I always want to draw you.”
Another smile. “You do?”
I nod. “The first time I saw you in that cathedral, walking down the aisle in your black dress, I swear my heart stopped. And every night I’ve spent with you since, my fingers itch to reveal you on the page. But I could never do it justice, witchling.”
“Personally, I think you did a pretty damn fine job tonight. But once we get back home, we’ll have lots of time to practice.”
Her newfound hope is downright infectious, and I can’t help my answering smile. “Yeah?”
“I can feel it.”
“Good. Then it must be true.” I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I need to head out with Drae for a bit, but I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours.”
“Where are you going?”
“Not far.” I tell her about the scouting mission.
She tries to protest, but I press a kiss to her mouth, silencing her. When I finally force myself to break away, she smiles up at me again, hopeful and bright, and whispers, “Just… just promise you’ll both come back to me. Okay?”
I lean down and steal one more kiss for the road. “I promise, my witchling. We willalwayscome back to you.” Then, brushing my fingertips over Rook’s wing as I head out, “Allof us.”
Chapter Seventeen
JUDE
After conferring with Augs and Drae and sending them off on their little scavenger hunt, I head back into the common room to check on my girl, unsurprised to find her on the couch next to Rook’s towering form, a tattered blanket pulled tight around her shoulders.
She’s doing her best to stay awake, but her lids are heavy, dark circles forming beneath her eyes, her gaze lost in the flames of the fire.
Not waiting for an engraved invitation, I sit down next to her and wrap a hand around her neck, soft and warm underneath all that dark, gorgeous hair. “Can’t sleep, darling?”
