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“I’ll show you,” Felix said.
“I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud.”
“You didn’t,” he said. “I can just tell.”
He stood, taking her hand, and they walked the rest of the way to the castle in silence. When they arrived, he led her up the stone steps to the house where his freedom and his childhood had been stolen away from him. Tabitha could feel the pain and sadness radiating off of Felix, and she stopped and turned to him.
“We don’t have to go inside,” she told him.
“It’s okay.”
“Really,” she shook her head. “We don’t.”
The castle, despite only being vacant for six months, was already in shambles. Even from the entryway, Tabitha could see that dust had taken over the castle. A few windows were broken. There were no insects crawling around, but as Ursula’s magic faded from the island, there would be.
“Felix, come with me,” Tabitha said on a whim.
“Come with you?”
“She’s dead. We’re both safe. We’re both free from the witch. Come with me. We can...”
Well, they could do anything.
Their search for freedom from the woman who had claimed their lives was over. They could go and leave. They could go search for Felix’s family. They could do whatever they wanted, but they should go, and they should do it together.
He was her mate, after all. She’d do anything for him.
“I can’t.”
“You can’t?”
Her heart fell as she realized what he was saying. They might be mates, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough for him. For this.
“It’s not what you think,” he reached for her chin and tilted her head up.
“Then tell me.”
“I want to be with you more than anything else,” he said, “but I can’t leave the island. Physically, I can’t leave. She put a spell on me, a hex, I suppose, and I’m stuck here.”
“I’ll help you find your freedom,” Tabitha said right away.
“Is that what you do, little witch? You complete one quest and start another?”
“Is that okay?” Tabitha whispered. “That’s what I want, Felix. I want to help you. Even if we never find your freedom, though, I’ll stay with you.”
“I can’t ask you to stay.”
“You aren’t asking me. I’m offering.”
She was offering him everything she had: her heart, her hope, her life. He was the one she was meant to be with. She could tell.
They may have only just met, but Felix was everything she had ever hoped for, and she knew that no matter what challenges they might face as they lived together, trying to survive, it was going to be worth it.
He was going to be worth it.
“I love you,” she said. “It may be crazy, but you are my mate, Felix. I’ll stay by your side no matter what.”
“I love you, too,” he whispered.
