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“Why not?” I wonder.
My father and her trade a look.
“Because it’s not safe,” she says, hugging me against her.
I want to cry.
I want to scream.
I want to hug her back now.
I miss her.
The scene fades away all too soon as other fragments of memories overflow my mind. Of me fighting. Of me laughing. Of me holding hands with a small boy with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.
Jules.
The pain swells as my memory expands, filling up with stuff I long forgot. Then, just as rapidly as the heat in my brain developed, it vaporizes.
I blink up through the tears back to reality. Jules is leaning over me and wiping tears from my cheeks, a depiction of agonizing worry. I don’t want him to worry. I want him to be happy. That’s what I’ve always wanted for him.
My chest heaves as I struggle to catch my breath. “I remember you.”
His eyes widen. “You remember?”
“A little bit.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He rests forehead against mine, inhaling tremulously. “Thank the wolf gods. I was worried I might have lost you forever, Elora.”
“I still want to be called Lake,” I whisper. “But, yeah, I think Elora might be slowly coming back.”
And maybe, just maybe, in time, she’ll fully return.
CHAPTER27
At the break of dawn, Jules wakes me up to pack my stuff and get ready to head to the city. He leaves Legend, Rune, and me at his house while he sets out to update Liberty on our plans and to see if she’s on board with accompanying us to the city.
“I’m glad we’re going into the city.” Legend lounges on the bed, flipping through the book we stole from Ava. “It’s closer to my lair. Plus, no offense, but I’d really like to spend more time in my own territory.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been stuck here with me.” I stuff some clothes into my backpack. “And after you just got back from the Common Realm. I shouldn’t have asked you to stay with me.”
“I stay here because I want to, not because I feel like I have to.” He turns a page then slants his head to the side, his blond hair sweeping his crinkled forehead. “Besides, what kind of a friend would I be if I just dropped you off here after dropping the news on you that you were a werewolf?”
“A pretty shitty one,” I joke, zipping up my bag.
“Indeed.” He trades a lighthearted smile with me then tosses the book onto the nightstand before elegantly rising to his feet. “Is there any particular reason why Jules has a witch’s book about plants? Because witches are awfully finicky when it comes to sharing their belongings with other paranormals.”
My lips long to tell him about my gift, my best friend in all the realms, mytrustworthybest friend. “I’ll tell you, but only if you can keep it a secret.”
“You know I will if you ask me to.”
“Consider this me asking you, then.”
He drags his fingers across his lips. “Consider your secret locked in here.”
