“You haven’t yet,” I said, my tone quiet, calm, because I hadn’t realized until now that she’d been using humor to cope. To deal with the sand in the hourglass that she’d already guessed was, for her, quickly running out. Though I guess it could be said she was borrowing time now. We both were.
Did she deserve to know why? Yeah.
Did I want to tell her? Fuck no.
“Why did you save me, Grim?” she asked.
“Because Cedric was trying to collect your soul, and if he does—”
“The first time,” she said, cutting me off.
I went silent, snapping my mouth shut, my jaw hardening—ticking. “I don’t know.”
Those eyes, green as sunlit summer grass, flicked up to me. “You were going to take me home just now. Does that mean fate isnotcoming for me tonight?”
“I… don’t know,” I repeated before hurrying to add, “but I’ll feel it if it does.”
Like that was supposed to comfort her. But then… why did I want it to?
“Did you feelittonight?” she asked.
“No,” I admitted. “That’s why I was… late. Cedric was trying to murder you so he could hand deliver your soul himself. Something that would implicate me and… get me fired.”
“Sooo,” Helena ventured, her words inflecting down, “you’ve been saving me to keep from getting fired.”
“Essentially,” I admitted, my eyes cutting away, toward the street and the switching stoplights, the lazy traffic that eased by. “Yes.”
“I see.”
I scowled at this response, that rush of guilt that had assailed me in the alley returning to flog me again.
“When fateis… activated and you do feel it,” she said, “then what? You’ll just come save me again?”
“Depends.”
“Depends,” she echoed, the softest catch in her voice. “On what exactly?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer her.
Because just then, Cedric walked in.
17GRIM
“Get down,”I ordered, sliding out of the booth and rising, summoning my scythe to my grip in the same motion. When I glanced back at the table, I found Helena already hunkered beneath it, one hand scrounging for her jack-o’-lantern bucket, which she snagged and dragged after her.
I didn’t have time to question why. Not with Cedric conjuring a vortex of green magic into one palm.
He blasted the sizzling energy my way, but I deflected the hex easily—too easily—with a spin of my scythe while the elderly couple, ducking and huddling together, hurried out the door behind the wizard.
Bryce bolted into the back, his visor toppling off.
Which thankfully left me with only one human to protect.
Except… where did she go?
Behind me, Helena yelped, and I whirled.
Cedric stood before the other door, too, the one Helena had tried to slip out without either of us noticing, the pumpkin bucket dangling from one fist.
