Page 169 of Steel Queen

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” he muttered.

“You said you had something for me. What is it?”

A hesitant look suddenly came over him.

“Is it a gift?” I urged.

Noah looked even more uncomfortable, making me even more curious.

“It’s something I bought a long time ago,” Noah said in a low voice. Hesitatingly meeting my gaze, he added, “Your tastes aren’t the same anymore but since I bought it for you, it’s only right for me to give it to you.”

“Was this before I got back to Silverlake City?”

He nodded. “It was about a year after you went missing. I was walking around a mall where one of the jewelry stores was having a show. The pendant reminded me of you and I missed you so much at that moment, I bought it.”

Reaching inside his jacket, he brought out a small velvet-wrapped box.

“Back then, I thought it’d do its magic and bring you back to me.”

He pushed the box across the table.

I picked up the box and opened the lid.

A silver pendant shaped like an owl was nestled on a white satin pillow. The eyes were made of dark onyx stones that glittered darkly.

“Hedwig,” I whispered, recognizing the image immediately.

I picked up the pendant and lay it on my palm for a closer look. A long silver chain was strung around it. If one wore it, the pendant would rest between their breasts.

A sudden emotion struck me. “It’s gorgeous,” I said in a choked voice.

“I guess you grew out of the nerd phase,” said Noah with a small smile.

I shook my head. “You can never grow out of it,” I said as tears pricked my eyes. “You just learn to hide it.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks as painful memories welled up inside me.

“Mom was the one who introduced me to the Harry Potter books,” I said. “I was so addicted to the first few movies that I fussed about wanting to read the rest of the books before the movies were released. Those books were expensive but I wanted to own them all.”

I brushed away my tears but they wouldn’t stop pouring from my eyes. “Mom must have taken on extra shifts to buy those books for me.”

Noah’s hand closed over mine. “Milla...”

“When she died, I couldn’t bring myself to wear or use anything that reminded me of Harry Potter and the world I loved so much,” I said, no longer trying to hold back my tears. “I decided to kill that part of myself that loved the world of Hogwarts.”

“I’m so, so sorry, Milla,” Noah said in a deep, rough voice. “I knew I shouldn’t have...here, you don’t have to wear it. I’ll take it back. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt—”

I snatched the pendant away before he could take it from me.

“Milla?”

“I’m not giving it back!” I said smiling through my tears. “It’s mine now.”

“But, if it’s too painful—”

I shook my head. “It’s not painful anymore,” I said, realizing that my tears weren’t from sadness but nostalgia. The owl-shaped pendant reminded me of all the happy childhood memories I shared with my mom.

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