23 #2
“Alright,” I say. “I wish you both safe travels.”
“So formal,” Seren says as she pulls me into an unexpected hug. “You always get so formal when you’re mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you,” I murmur, returning the hug with a fierceness I didn’t expect.
Goddess, will we ever get any proper time together?
Seems unlikely, considering… well, all of it.
So I better savor the moments while I can.
“You’ll make the choice that’s best for you,” Seren whispers just before she breaks the embrace. “I know you will.”
I don’t know what to say to that, and after a brief goodbye, they’re off and I’m left alone with those parting words.
The best choice.
What the hell does that even mean?
Because it’s not just me I’m choosing for, and no matter what path I take, someone gets hurt.
I choose the coven, and I lose my sister in a more permanent way this time.
I choose to walk away, and I abandon the witches who’ve raised me, and the bone-deep belief that I actually could change things around there for the better.
And that’s not saying anything about the new factor in the mix.
Finn.
My demon mate.
My demon mate, who I just had a careless night of pleasure with, who I can’t even begin to comprehend how he would ever fit into my life.
I can’t handle this.
Not at all.
Too many factors. Too many choices. Too many potential ways this all goes wrong and blows up in my face.
Like I’m on autopilot, I walk across the workroom and plunk back down at the desk which holds Ariana’s grimoire.
Something I can work on.
Something I can control.
Everything else is going to be playing in the back of my mind like low, annoying static, and maybe my hindbrain will have processed and figured it all out by the time I pull my head out of this book.
Not likely, but a girl can dream, and the distraction is wonderful as always.
But I barely get lost in it at all before the workroom door is opening again.
I really need to find a quieter place to run away from my problems.
It’s Vayla, this time, and I’m surprised to see her back so soon.
“No bath for Emilia?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
“It’ll have to wait until later. She’s teaching a group of students this afternoon.”
During our conversations around camp, Vayla let me know Emilia—another former Crescent witch—has started offering rudimentary magick lessons to demon children who’ve shown an aptitude for wielding it.
Demons don’t have the same natural affinity to magick that witches do, at least beyond their portalling abilities.
But since witches have been coming to the demon realm for centuries as brides to seal the bargain, some of that DNA has trickled its way down family lines.
Maybe it’s not the only reason, either, that so many are now showing as magically sensitive. The bargain Allie struck with King Eren is still so new, and I’d bet we haven’t yet seen the full extent of what it will change for both our realms.
Vayla gets back to work preparing the rest of her supplies for travel tomorrow, and the same avoidant impulse whispers to me again.
Louder, this time, and insistent. Crowded even closer by the thought of leaving this realm so soon, of having to go back and face it all.
“I could come along if you need an extra set of hands for the final brew.”
“Yeah?” Vayla says. “That would actually be amazing.”
“You’re leaving first thing in the morning, right?”
“That’s right. Bright and early as always.”
“And if I wanted to bring… one more?”
“And by ‘one more,’ you mean a blond, handsome—”
“Yes, I mean Finn.”
She grins. “Sure. He can come along. I doubt you’d be able to leave him here, anyway, once he learns you’re going.”
I flush, but nod, and get up from my seat. “Great. I’ll… I’ll be back in a bit.”
“I won’t wait up,” she says with a careless wave, already back to packing.
Leaving the workshop, I start down the corridor before belatedly realizing I don’t actually know my way to the Nighfall rooms. This place is a labyrinth, and even though I’ve been there once before, there’s no way I could find my way back.
Maybe there’s another way I could find my demon, though.
I give the bond in my chest a tug.
It tugs back immediately, and seconds later my mate appears through a portal a few meters down the hall.
Finn’s face lights up when he sees me.
His whole being changes.
Wings flared, shoulders lifted, arms open for me when I reach him.
“Hi,” I say as he folds me into a hug.
“Hello,” he whispers back, lips brushing the top of my hair.
For a few long moments, I simply let myself savor it.
Goddess, it’s so simple.
Me. Finn. This magick between us.
It might be the simplest, easiest thing I’ve ever experienced.
But, simple or not, it doesn’t erase everything else going on in my life. It doesn’t take away my problems or responsibilities.
“That magick really comes in handy when I’m looking for you,” I say softly, and Finn chuckles.
“It does. Is everything all right?”
“I wanted to tell you I’m going with Vayla,” I explain. “To… to… well, I can’t remember the name of the town, but she said it’s by the sea.”
“Gales Harbor?”
“Yes. There. Vayla needs some help brewing the fevercure, and since I’m here and good with potions, I said I would go. I thought maybe you could…”
I trail off, the absurdity of what I’m asking washing over me.
Of course Finn can’t just upend his plans and come with me on my idiotic escape plan.
He’s probably got things to do here. A whole life he needs to—
“Of course I’d like to come with you, sunshine, but…”
“But?”
“You don’t need to go back to the human realm?” he asks slowly, carefully. “What you said about your Ascension, I thought you might—”
“Not yet.” I grab his hand, squeeze it. “I don’t need to go back just yet.”
Finn’s eyes search mine for a few moments.
I wonder what he sees.
Panic, probably, at being reminded of what I’ll need to face sooner rather than later.
But he must also be able to see how much I really, really don’t want to talk about it, because he nods and lets the question go.
“Alright.” He uses the hand I’m holding to pull me closer, presses a gentle, teasing kiss against my lips. “Then let’s get out of here.”