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“Liam!” Cora rushed into his bedroom, holding up her cell phone. “I got a text from Finn.”
He jerked upright. It was a sign. It had to be. “What does it say?”
Scooping up Angel, Cora sat beside him on the edge of the bed and read the text aloud. “‘Apologies for not responding sooner. Had to take care of some personal business out of town. Be back in a week or so.’”
As Cora read the text, Liam’s heart began to thud against his rib cage until her voice faded to a low buzzing in his ears.Be back in a week or so.His stomach churned and his head began to pound as he stared at the text message, trying to breathe through the dread now coursing through his veins.
“I mean, I’m glad he’s not hurt or anything,” Cora was saying as she smoothed the fur on Angel’s back. “But it’s unlike him not to give us more details.”
“Tell him to get back here right now,” Liam said harshly. “We need him.”
“I just tried calling, but he didn’t answer.”
“Keep trying. Text him; maybe he’ll respond to that.”
Liam reached for his own phone and dialed Finn’s number. As expected, it went to voice mail. He squeezed the rectangular glass-and-metal device, barely refraining from throwing it against the wall.
“He’s not answering,” Cora said, shaking her head. “It’s kind of rude, don’t you think? Which, when you get right down to it, doesn’t sound like Finn at all. He could’ve at least sent us a text before he took off. Whatever he had to do must’ve been pretty important to just disappear on us like that. And he didn’t mention anything about Magnus’s meeting at the park, either, so he must not have made it out there. It sounds like whatever he had to deal with was an emergency.” She sighed and nuzzled her face into Angel’s fur. “I guess we can at least rest easy knowing Finn’s okay.”
“Aye, rest easy,” Liam said bitterly. There’d be no rest for him ever again, now that Finn was officially out of the picture. He stared at his phone screen, the date and time glowing back at him like a digital harbinger of doom. Taunting him.Be back in a week or so.Liam squeezed his eyes shut, tossing the phone on the nightstand. Even if he wanted to go track Finn down, he wouldn’t even know where to begin. He’d said he was out of town. In this world of cars and freeways and high-speed trains and commercial airplanes, “out of town” could mean the next city over or the other side of the planet.
“Don’t lose hope,” Cora said, nudging him with her shoulder. “We’ll still solve the cases.”
“You don’t understand,” Liam said, dropping his head into his hands. “Weneededhim.”
“Yes, he was a great help, but we still have each other.” Cora leaned her face close to his and gently pulled one of his hands away so she could see him. She gave him a sweet smile that reminded him so much of the first time he’d met her, in another century when she was the young and impressionable squire’s daughter. He suddenly yearned for that simpler time, before everything went to hell, when they were so desperately in love and full of shared dreams and hope for their future. He wished so badly that he could confide in her and tell her the truth. “We’ve still got time to figure things out,” Cora said softly. “Right?”
“That’s just it.” Liam stared bleakly into the bluest, truest eyes he’d ever known. He wanted to lay his head in her lap and weep. “I’m out of time.”
Her forehead creased in confusion. “What do you mean?”
He opened his mouth to tell her, but he’d been so careful to keep all his secrets he couldn’t bring himself to utter a word of it. “It’s...nothing.”
For long minutes, they didn’t speak, but Liam’s head was filled with the growing noise of regret and despair.
“I have an idea,” she finally said, dragging the quilted comforter off his bed. “Come with me.”
He followed her down the hall, out the back door, and around the side of the house to the metal ladder leading up to the roof. Within minutes, they’d climbed to the same flat section above the garage where they’d once watched fireworks. Cora laid out the comforter and sat, drawing her knees up and linking her arms around them.
Liam settled beside her, then tipped his face to the night sky. The full moon glowed against the backdrop of stars, a clear reminder that some things never changed. There was a small comfort in that. If not for the jasmine-and-magnolia-scented breeze, and the occasional whoosh of a car driving by, Liam could almost pretend he was back in Ireland all those lifetimes ago. He had Cora beside him, just like before, back when life was so much harder in some ways, yet so much simpler in others.
“I sometimes come up here just to clear my head, or when I feel overwhelmed,” Cora said, staring up at the glowing moon. She waited a few moments, then stole a glance at him. “Liam, I hope you know you can trust me. Whatever you’re going through—whatever burden you’re carrying—I want to help.”
“I know,macushla, but there’s nothing anyone can do,” he said wearily. He was falling from grace, every passing hour just a slow descent into eternal darkness, and even the angels had abandoned him. His soul ached with the burden of knowledge that he’d failed. Finn and Cora would never embrace their destiny now, and the rest... Images of the future the angels had shown him—the energy crisis, the senseless wars and ravaged landscapes and political upheaval—all flashed through his mind in a painful kaleidoscope that stole his breath. The future chaos might not happen in this lifetime, but the trajectory was set in motion now. Liam swallowed past the jagged lump in his throat. “Some things are beyond fixing, and they just must be endured.”
“But you don’t have to endure it alone. I’m here with you, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” She turned to face him and reached for his hand. “All I want is to ease your burden.”
He stared at their linked fingers, her small, pale hand such a stark contrast against his rough, calloused skin. The delicate lines of her bones looked fragile in comparison, like finely sculpted porcelain. But she was so much stronger than she appeared. Even back in his old life, he’d been amazed at her bravery and capacity for kindness. She’d been a motherless child raised by an overprotective father in a drafty, aging house with nothing but a sour old nursemaid for company. Cora’s only joy had been the books from her father’s library, where she could live vicariously through the characters’ adventures and dream of a life outside of Kinsley, Ireland. There’d been no warmth and laughter to lighten her days, nothing but the monotonous confines of her small world, yet she’d never wilted as so many in her place would have. She’d been bright and hopeful and quick to laugh and, like now, a brilliant light in Liam’s otherwise dreary life.
“Liam,” she said, leaning closer. “Please tell me what’s wrong.” A lock of her hair caught in the breeze, brushing across his cheek like the gentlest caress.
In spite of everything, he smiled. It was getting harder and harder to push her away, and with his imminent failure on the horizon, he was beginning to wonder why he should. In this whole messed-up world the angels had dropped him into, Cora McLeod was the only thing that always felt right. If his future was going to be fire and brimstone, he’d be a fool not to embrace the last few days of heaven he had left. Before he could allow himself to change his mind, he dived in.
“Cora, I’m going to tell you a story,” Liam began, taking her other hand. He shifted to sit in front of her, staring into her eyes. “And it’s going to sound unbelievable. You will think I’m crazy, and I won’t blame you. But when I’m done, there’s one truth you must know above all else. I need you to believe it, no matter what.”
She was looking at him with so much compassion that he almost leaned forward and kissed her, but he forced himself to continue. “I love you.”
Her eyes grew round with surprise and a tremulous smile played at the corners of her mouth.
