Chapter 17 #2
Thorne lifted her chin and followed my gaze up the tower. She didn’t tense. She simply sighed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Exhaustion practically weighed her down.
“Oh. Yeah,” she said, her voice completely flat. “I noticed it felt a little odd earlier today. I forgot about it when I spotted you here watching me.”
“I wasn’t watching you,” I argued weakly.
“If I was a deer, you would have been in full hunting mode,” she teased.
Honestly, I couldn’t deny that.
“If we weren’t about to break into the Ravenspell estate—which, note to us: we need to get on that asap—I’d talk to Selene about it.
” She paused and studied the clocktower.
“Maybe they’re doing some upgrades or something.
The gargoyles aren’t awake, the tower is still glowing a pleasant blue, and no one else seems concerned, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. ”
She tugged on my hand, and we resumed walking. But my thoughts didn’t leave the tower. I hadn’t lived here my whole life, not like Thorne, but I’d lived here long enough to know the runes never diminished.
Could it be Wren? Was she affecting them somehow?
Was this what she meant when she’d said she had her ways?
At the time, I’d taken it as a cryptic threat.
But now, staring at the hollowed-out glow of the Luminara, I had to wonder if this was how she’d slipped into Eternity Falls without her family noticing.
Maybe it was just coincidental timing. But something in my gut told me that wasn’t possible. Wren shouldn’t have been able to sneak into town. The clocktower shouldn’t be weakening. Those two things had to be connected.
Which meant the sooner I stole the artifact, the better. If one fae relic was all it took to get Evander, Wren, and Adrian out of my life, then that was what I’d do.
Thorne was right. We needed to finish this job.
But for tonight, I needed to take care of my wife.
It didn’t take long to reach the condo—walking anywhere in Eternity Falls rarely did.
But the moment we walked up the front steps, my chest tightened.
I’d stood inside the condo my first night back in town, but that night didn’t come with pleasant memories.
Thorne had been so upset, and her wolf so close to the edge.
Tonight was the complete opposite, but the anxiety still festered. Especially when I was overcome with the memory of the night I packed my bags and walked out this exact door, abandoning her.
I rubbed the phantom ache in my chest as Thorne reached into her pocket and pulled out her keys.
Over the years, I’d wondered if she’d ever moved.
To downsize, or to live in a place not haunted by my ghost. But she hadn’t.
She’d stayed right here, living in the shell of the life we’d built together.
She opened the door, reaching out to flip on the entryway light. When I didn’t immediately follow her inside, she glanced back and frowned. “Are you coming in or not?”
I let out a slow breath, stepping over the threshold and shutting the heavy door behind me. The deadbolt slid into place with a solid thud.
My first night back, I’d noticed she’d redecorated, but I hadn’t had a chance to really see the changes.
I’d been too concerned about seeing and talking to Thorne.
But now, I took the time to really look at it.
The layout hadn’t changed, but the small details had.
The framed photos that used to line the hallway were gone, replaced by absolutely nothing. Just stark, blank walls.
The walls weren’t the only places where photos were missing. The table by the shoe rack, the living room across from the entry, even the corridor leading to the bedroom. She’d stripped the interior bare. It felt almost cold. Militaristic. Someone lived here, but they didn’t call it home.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Thorne said, her voice pulling me out of my head. She kicked off her boots, lining them up neatly by the door. “I need to scrub the memory of him off me.”
I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze, if only to show her that I was here. “Take your time. I’ll just be out here.”
“You…,” she paused, then scraped her teeth across her bottom lip. “You can spend the night if you’d like.”
“I thought we talked about—”
“On the couch, I mean,” she blurted. “If you want to stay, I mean. I just, well, I mean…”
“I get it,” I said, smiling at her awkward bumbling. “And I’d love to.”
The couch would suit me just fine. I’d certainly slept in worse places.
She gave me a small, appreciative nod, then disappeared down the hall toward the master suite. A minute later, the familiar sound of pipes groaning and water running echoed through the quiet condo.
I stood in the entryway for a long moment, listening to the water hit the tile. I was back. I was actually standing in our home, my wife safely down the hall, the town quiet outside. It was everything I wanted.
But as I walked into the living room and stared out the window toward the center of town, my mind drifted right back to the muted feel of the clocktower.
Wren Ravenspell was up to something. The town’s wards were weaker, and Evander was still holding all the blackmail on Thorne’s family. We were all living on borrowed time.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, letting the sheer exhaustion of the day finally catch up to my muscles. I would let Thorne sleep tonight while I took the couch.
Then tomorrow, we’d rob the Ravenspells and secure Eternity Falls’ safety once and for all.