Page 99 of The Unknown Birds

The climax snuck up on her all at once, and she buried her face against his neck to keep from crying out. He soon followed, holding her even tighter against his chest, and they stayed cuddled up like that until Ashley fell asleep.

She was loathe to part from him at Euston Station, or ever again, and he must have been just as disinclined, because without even discussing it, he joined her on the Underground.

They took the Northern Line past Moorgate, changing trains at Bank to use the escalator instead of climbing spiral stairs, then on to Aldgate East. Rook walked her nearly all the way to her flat before he was finally willing to kiss her goodbye right there in the street.

As he faded into the darkness, the world’s color faded too, and Ash felt cold and empty when she let herself inside, like once again she was being ripped in half.

“Darling! Did you have a nice trip?” her mother asked, setting aside her mending.

“It was lovely,” she told both women, pausing to make herself an over-strong cup of tea.

“The seaside looks good on you,” her mother said.

“Does it? I suppose I got a lot of sleep.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“You look healthy and relaxed,” Frau Wintter agreed.

“You’re glowing!”

“I’m not glowing,” she protested, sitting down at the table with her tea. “Worms glow.”

“Worms? What an odd thing to say.”

“Beetles then. I saw them. A whole field of glowing beetles putting on a show.”

“A field?”

“Along the cliffs.”

“Did they feed you at the seaside, Spatzi?” Frau Wintter changed the subject.

“Yes, Oma. They fed me so much I can barely fit into my clothes.”

“Hmph.”

“Did you meet anyone interesting?” her mother asked.

Ash stirred and stirred her tea, though the sugar had long since dissolved. “Only the ghost of someone.”

Her mother crossed herself. “More ghosts, Charley?”

“A man I knew in the war. Captain of my regiment. Though I suppose he’s a major now.”

“Was he visiting the sea with his family?”

“He doesn’t have a family. He came back as broken as the rest of us.”

“You’re not broken.”

“He was recruiting for the Home Office.”

“In Brighton?”

Ashley shrugged. “Good a place as any with war coming.”

“You mean in case it comes?”

“I mean it’s coming. Just as surely as it will never be the last.”