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I would face Roarke tonight and relinquish his magic, but not before he knew how much I loved him and that what I was doing was for the good of us both.
I would make sure we could be together in the end. That was the truth of who I was. I knew what I wanted, and I would never stop until my dream came true.
Focused and ready, I crawled into bed, discarding my crystals and petting Jenks one more time. “I’ll be back soon, sweet boy, but stay close and get some rest.”
Jenks nuzzled into my side, curling up into a ball. With his rhythmic purring vibrating against me, it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.
“Milly, my god, are you all right?” Roarke’s panicked voice pulled me roughly into the dreamscape, waking me outside his cabin as he gripped my shoulders in strong, shaking hands. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
I stretched onto my tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips, then moved out of his embrace. “I’m fine. I just needed time to work some things out.” I veered off the path, walking toward the edge of the island instead. I didn’t want to be inside his cabin when I told him the truth in case I needed to force myself to leave.
“But the gate!” he exclaimed, causing my heart to race.
“Was there another attack?” I thought my spell had held Isabelle in place, but Roarke’s frantic eyes had me doubting my strength again.
“No. Thankfully not. But you said you wouldn’t leave me alone again, especially with the gate at risk.” He ran a hand through his hair, pulling the short tresses into a wild, spiky mess.
This wasn’t about the gate. His fear was about being alone.
I reached out and squeezed his hand, attempting to calm him in the smallest way. “Will you walk with me?”
We ventured to the familiar bank in silence, the serene landscape pulling at my soul. I needed to commit the snow peaks to memory, etching the hidden home of my beloved into my mind before breaking his heart.
“Can we sit?” I asked, waiting as he lowered himself to the ground.
I joined him, dipping my toes into the frigid water of the surrounding mountain lake. With a simple thought and a smile on my face, I used my Weaver magic one last time to bring the water up to a tolerable temperature. “There. That’s better.”
Roarke watched me closely, his eyes full of worry. “Milly, what’s going on? I can tell there’s something wrong.”
My chin quivered, my attempt to be brave threatening to collapse at his genuine concern. “There are so many things I need to tell you. Things I’ve recently learned that will affect us both.”
“Milly, please. Let me know what’s bothering you so I can make it right.”
The heartbreak in his voice told me he thought this was about him. And though he was right in a way, I quickly set his mind at ease.
“Roarke, you’ve done nothing wrong. But this isn’t something you can help me with.” I scooted closer, leaning my head against his shoulder. “In fact, it’s something I have to do to help you.”
He kissed the top of my head. “What do you mean? Are you talking about the gate?”
The water of the lake shimmered in the distance, and I allowed myself another moment to take it all in. Lifting my head, I kissed Roarke soundly on the lips, despair already knotting in my throat.
“I need you to listen, okay? The rules about your magic are all a lie. Your bloodline was cursed a long time ago, but I’m going to make things right.” I reached out, needing to feel him beneath my hands.
He pulled away.
“What are you talking about?” He pushed to his feet. “You don’t know anything about my bloodline.” He gestured to the water and the pristine snowcapped mountains surrounding us. “And how could any of this be a curse?”
He snapped his fingers, and a moment later, we were back in Greece. Then Venice at sunset. Another snap and my favorite English garden appeared.
“Milly, there’s no way my magic is a curse.”
I sighed, seeing this was going to be even harder than I thought.
“It’s not your magic that’s cursed, Roarke. It’s you and your entire family line.” I grabbed his arm as he turned to walk away. “A witch named Agitha cursed one of the original Weavers a long time ago because he didn’t choose her as his queen. Ever since then, the ‘rules’ of only interacting in the dreamscape have been a result of that curse. She damned your line to live a half life, but I promise, I’m going to make this right.”
Roarke stared at me, his eyes growing dark. “If the Weaver line is such a curse, I guess you no longer want to be my queen. Is that why you were gone last night? Is that what you needed to work out?”
He stomped out of the greenhouse, crushing a rose in his hand as he walked away.
