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I was so caught up in my spiraling thoughts that I didn’t feel the pendant growing warm in my hand or notice the faint glow slipping out from between our intertwined fingers.
“We’re going to get him back.”
My head snapped around at the sound of Hook’s raspy voice, relief and joy and fear all warring for dominance in my battered chest. He squeezed my hand gently but didn’t give me that trademark smile I was longing to see.
Was he thinking the same thing? Were all the what ifs threatening to drive him mad, too?
18
HOOK
Never’s emotions were all over the place. I could see it in her face and the wildness in her eyes. It was also bleeding into me where we touched, like her body couldn’t possibly contain all the uncertainty churning inside her.
“One thing at a time, love,” I said quietly. “We’ll figure this out.”
She let out a bitter laugh that did nothing to calm the energy pulsing from her, but beneath the bitterness and fatigue was affection. Warm and inviting.
If my head had felt even a fraction better, I would have lifted it from where it rested, cupped her face in my hands, and kissed her until she stopped thinking about everything that was poisoning her mind.
Instead, I squeezed her hand again, feeling the pendant anchored between our palms. “Are you trying to help me heal?”
She rolled her eyes. “Just shut up and let your body do its thing.”
I chuckled at her attitude. I would rather have her fiery and feisty than unsteady and unsure any day of the week.
“How are you feeling?” she whispered, casting a quick glance to her right.
I twisted just far enough to see she’d been checking on Leo, who was fast asleep in the chair just a few short feet away.
“I’ve been better,” I admitted. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Even as I spoke, I could feel my body working to repair the damage. Clever girl that she was, Never had been right to use the pendant. My body tapped into the magic of that piece of me, aiding the process.
“Good.” She shifted around, trying to get comfortable, before she settled with her head resting on her arm.
When she closed her eyes, I figured it would just be for a moment, but as minute after minute passed, her breathing became slow and steady.
“You’re a damn lucky pirate. I hope you know that,” Lily whispered, her words barely audible even with my enhanced hearing.
I knew. Never was like no one I’d ever met. She was everything I never knew I wanted.
“She thinks she’s cursed.”
That got my attention. I pulled my gaze away from her peaceful face and found Lily perched on a stool at the kitchen counter. “Why would she think that?”
“Because everything she touches falls apart. At least, that’s the way she sees it.”
With my free hand, I reached out and ever-so-gently brushed Never’s hair away from her face. “She’s wrong.”
“Are you sure?”
No. Not about the curse, but she was wrong about everything falling apart, because the only time I felt whole was when I was with her.
I didn’t answer Lily, and she didn’t ask again.
I laid there for a long time just watching Never sleep. Her suspicion that she might be cursed lingered in my mind, mingling with other thoughts and notions. It was certainly a possibility. It was also possible that her entire family line might bear the weight of a hex.
There were ways to check for that kind of magic, but they required the help of a powerful witch.
