Chapter 36 #2
“Do you remember when you were a child? Your best friend?”
“No.” I frowned, and Yeun’s flame dimmed. “But I’ll have all the time in the world to hear his story, won’t I? Provided, of course, you stop addressing me so formally.”
Yeun brightened, shifting into a frantic pink. “With pleasure, Mas—Arawn.”
I twined a strand of Lempicka’s hair around my finger, tracing the edges of her face. I leaned in close. “Sugarplum… come back to me.”
Her eyelids fluttered, then opened.
“I did it,” she breathed, clinging to my neck.
“You are the strongest person I know, Sugarplum. Of course you did. Looks like you’ve finally grasped the concept of positive affirmations,” I teased, though my tone was softer than usual. “What you did was insane. You could have… I could have hurt you.”
“You could just say thank you, you ungrateful sorcerer.”
I raised a brow. “Ungrateful, really?”
“Completely.”
But her smile betrayed her. A brief laugh escaped me. I held her tighter. I could have said a thousand things, found some sharp retort, but when I opened my mouth, only the truth came out.
“Thank you for freeing me.”
Having a human heart was… heavy. Overwhelming. Every emotion burrowed under my skin, clung to my nerves, carved its way into my soul. Nothing dulled. I drew back just enough to look at her. What I felt for her, it was stronger than anything I had ever known.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to do for far too long. I tried to smother it, bury it. But now, I don’t think I can.”
“You were exceptionally good at hiding it,” she teased.
“I don’t want to be anymore.”
If there was one thing I wanted to fail at, it was this. I no longer wanted to hide how deeply I had fallen for her.
So I kissed her.
I tasted her with the promise that she would be mine forever. Just as I was hers, hearts and soul. My hands roamed every part of her, hungry to discover, to mark, to savor. I was under a new curse this time: luck. The luck that she loved me.
I kissed her with the silent vow that I would never break her heart. That I would hold it in my hands as the most precious treasure, not as a weapon. I, who had always been so good at destroying, would do something else this time.
Instead of setting the world aflame for her (which, admittedly, would be far easier), I would create a world filled with beauty and sweets, with sunrises and sunsets, for her.
Chouquette, visibly scandalized by such indecency, covered éclair’s eyes with her fluffy tails, while Yeun, crimson now, turned his flame away.
The kiss broke, leaving me as frustrated as I was irritated. My thoughts veered instantly down less honorable paths. I cleared my throat, turning my gaze aside as well. This was neither the time nor the place.
“Where is Aignan?” I asked.
My eyes scanned the faces around me, seeking the one that was missing. That damned lamb who had always watched over Lempicka, where was he? I wanted to speak with him, ask if he would tolerate my presence at her side. And if bribery was required—riches, or a throne of silk—I was prepared.
But Lempicka didn’t answer. Her face shut, and it was louder than words.
Chouquette stepped forward, tails tucked close, and placed a black sphere delicately in Lempicka’s trembling hands. A sob broke her throat, and tears fell onto the stone.
“He saved us,” she whispered. “But the curse… He’s gone. He’s with Nyla now.”
A knot closed in my throat. My fingers clenched. I had so many mistakes to mend. éclair laid a foamy hand on my shoulder, and Chouquette wrapped her tail around my wrist in comfort. They didn’t blame me. Yet if they were all here, it was because of me.
I had always believed that with my magic, I was untouchable.
But that power was never absolute. It never had been.
Today, I could not undo what I had broken.
I could not bring Aignan back. But I could ensure he would never be forgotten.
I was determined to prove to him that not all sorcerers were evil.
“I cannot bring back the dead,” I said, my voice grave. “But I can at least grant his wish.”
Lempicka wiped her tears with the back of her hand, nodding silently. I reached for the stone, brushed it with my fingertips. And for the first time, I didn’t force my magic. I didn’t rip it violently from myself like a blade torn from flesh. I asked it. I gave it the choice.
The black stone rose gently. An incantation slipped from my lips. Then the stone spun. Its light swelled, bursting into a thousand golden shards before condensing into a single shining point. A star suspended in the night. Bright. Unfaltering.
“He will guide those who pray to this star,” I whispered. “It will shine even in the darkest nights. No one will forget him. He will be a symbol of hope.”
Lempicka smiled through her tears. “He will shine above us, like our lucky star.”
Behind her, the confectionery was reforming, slowly emerging from the drifting mist. The remaining Cursed lingered, uncertain of their place in this new order. They had been born of magic, but they too could grow, learn, live, and heal.
“Seems we’ll keep gathering strays in distress,” I remarked. “Yeun? Welcome them into the forest. They’ll be safe there.”
“I’ll take care of it, sir!” Yeun called, bounding toward the group, his ostrich leaping behind him.
Chouquette climbed onto Lempicka’s shoulder, purring softly against her cheek, while éclair, eyes misted, raised his head toward the star I had set in the sky, silent in respect. Lempicka wrapped her arms around herself. She breathed deep, then finally lifted her gaze to me.
“What are you going to do now, Arawn?”
Her eyes pressed on me, insistent, as though she feared I would vanish back into shadow. As though she still believed I could exist anywhere without her.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
I turned to my Sugarplum. And, without looking away, I knelt before her—because she had already brought me to my knees long before I ever hit the ground.
“I will do everything to be worthy of being your sorcerer and… more.”
Lempicka raised a brow, unimpressed. “So you are capable of some semblance of humility?”
“Don’t get used to it,” I shot back with a sharp smile. “But I’ll spend the rest of my life being worthy of your heart, as you’ve been of my hearts.”
For today, I was not. Not yet. And somewhere above us, the star I had hung in the sky seemed to agree.
Then, slowly, she reached out and brushed my hand with her fingertips.
“Then fight,” she murmured, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “I had to work hard to earn your hearts. There’s no way you’re getting mine so easily. It might take… years. I’m not making it easy for you!”
A low, rough laugh slipped from me. I should have expected it.
“Years, huh…” I caught her hand and, without warning, pulled her into my arms. “Lucky for you, I’m a patient sorcerer. I’d wait centuries if I had to.”
I brushed a strand of hair from her face, traced her cheek with my fingers, while she gave me a playful tap on the hand.
“I don’t recall authorizing that kind of behavior.”
I pressed my lips tight, released her from my hold, and rose to my feet. “I won’t let you go, Sugarplum, so make me suffer, torment me, because I will not give up. Never.”
Not until I was worthy for her to be mine.
“And where do you plan to start?” she asked.
I cast a glance at the confectionery. “I suppose if it’s here, it means you wrecked everything inside. So I’ll start with that. And after…”
A sharp smile cut across my lips.
After that, only I would know.