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“Clearly,” Foxglove says with a sigh. “She’s probably out of her mind, but that doesn’t mean her intentions weren’t good. At least in the beginning.” She shakes her head, her lips turning down as she adds, “But surely, after seeing what my magic does to them… By now she must realize that the cure is worse than the disease.”
I can’t see that her magic is a “cure” in any sense of the word, but I understand what she’s saying.
And I hope she’s right.
If she is…
“Maybe you can convince her to let you stop?” I ask. “Maybe if you show her what’s happened to Adrina’s da, show her how your magic hurt their family…”
She flinches and I reach for her, this time without hesitation. “I didn’t mean it like that.” I slide an arm around her waist as my other hand cups her face. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I believe you and…I forgive you.”
She peers up at me through her dark lashes. “How? I don’t deserve forgiveness.”
“That’s the best thing about forgiveness.” I brush my thumb across her soft cheek. “You don’t have to deserve it. You just have to be strong enough to accept it.”
Her lips press together, and her eyes begin to shine. “It doesn’t feel strong. It feels…soft. Weak, to let myself accept a gift when I’ve done so much harm.”
I shake my head. “But it isn’t. I promise.”
Another tear glides down the trail left by the first, even as her lips tremble into a crooked grin. “You’re very, very good.”
“Not always,” I confess, swiping at my own wet eyes with the back of my hand. “I’m not happy about maybe being your brother or cousin or whatever we might be to each other.”
Her smile fades. “Because you think plantings are evil things?”
“Uh…no.” An uncomfortable laugh rattles from my lungs. “I just don’t feel that way about you. The way a brother would feel. I don’t want to hug you like a brother, for example.”
Understanding dawns in her eyes. “Oh. Right. Humans don’t kiss their sisters. At least not like…” She trails off, but the flush in her cheeks tells me exactly what she’s thinking.
“No, they don’t,” I say. “It’s forbidden. And dangerous.”
Her brows dip together. “In what way?”
“Well, they, uh…” I clear my throat, wishing I’d left this subject alone. “If there are, um, children, there might be…there’s more likely to be problems.”
“Children,” she echoes softly, her blush deepening. But she holds my gaze as she adds, “I don’t think I can have children. I’m not a human girl, Declan. Truly, I’m not.”
“You look like a human girl,” I say, my voice huskier than it was before. “You feel like a human girl.” I pull in a bracing breath. “And I’ve never kissed anyone else, so I can’t be sure, but I’m pretty sure you kiss like a human girl, too.”
She bites her bottom lip before she lets her smile out to play across her face. “I’ve never kissed anyone else, either. It…wasn’t too bad.”
I exhale a shaky laugh. “Not bad at all.”
“I liked it. Really liked it,” she says in a confidential whisper that makes me laugh again.
“Yeah. It was even better than I thought it would be.”
“Yes.” She flattens her palms on my chest, making my heart pump faster. “And if I only have a day left to live, it seems a shame…”
My smile drops away so fast I swear I hear it thud into the grass at our feet. “No. That’s not going to happen. We’ll find a boat. Leave today. If we sail through the night, we should be able to reach Amaria before sunset tomorrow.”
“But it’s dangerous to make the journey in a small boat,” she says, worry creeping into her eyes. “We barely survived the journey the first time. And passing through the wards levelled us both. What if we lose consciousness before we can make our way to shore? Or…something worse?”
I exhale. “I don’t know. I’ve crossed the wards before with no trouble, but Da was always with me.”
A knowing look tightens her features. “He’s powerful. More powerful than he lets on to the other men or boys on the island. And I bet he knows more about where you really came from, too.”
My heart thuds harder against my ribs. “We just have to get to him before your mother’s magic gets to you.”
She captures that same lock of hair, twirling it around her finger until a hint of purple begins to show through the dye. “There might be another way. Faster and safer. But I’ll have to talk to Wig and Poke. See if they’re willing to help.”
“Can we trust them?” I ask, then rush to clarify, “I mean, can I trust them. From what I overheard…. Well, the bird doesn’t like me much.”
Foxglove—Will I ever get used to calling her that? Or will she always be Clara to me?—waves a dismissive hand. “Don’t take it personally. Skritches don’t like anything. At least, not at first. It takes years to get on one’s good side. But he’s loyal, and a good friend. If he agrees to help, he’ll keep his promise.” With the air of someone resolving one question and turning to the next, she unwinds the curl from her finger and steps out of my arms. “Getting him to agree will be the hard part. And we can’t do it without him. I have no doubt I can count on Wig, but he’s too small for just the two of us to hold you up.”
