Page 108 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

Wide-eyed, he gave a nod.

“We didn’t stick around long. I remember one big moon.”

Orion’s attention caught on my intricate armband as if seeing it for the first time. He reached out and stroked fingers along a gold tendril, but he never touched my skin. “I have never seen the like.”

“And you won’t again.” I headed toward Kivi, removing my slippers as I closed the distance. “It’s a part of me, by the way. Can’t be removed. It’s in my bones, in my blood. Without it, I will die. Without me, it will disappear into dust, just like those othercloch realtas. Get any big ideas about leaving me out of the picture and you’ll have nothing.”

Kivi stretched out her foot and when I stepped on it, she turned solid again. As she lifted me, I grinned over my shoulder.

“Think about my offer. We both get something we want. Besides, Gloir and Afi are dead. Haven’t you had enough revenge?”

“I have not!”

“Well, consider this. You and me, on the back of this dragon, on our way to Hestia.” I lifted my brows high. “What if that’s what Moire saw?”

Kivi took to the air and when I looked down, the sea wall was a long, blank, concrete line. Orion was gone.

* * *

Dealingwith Big Bad was exhausting.

I willed Kivi and I back to the meadow, then sent us to the only place I could think of where I might feel a little peace and maybe get some sleep. Hope House.

The place was deserted, but thankfully, the wards were gone and I could see it clearly from the road. Kivi took me over the wall and I let her go, assuring her I would be fine. As I walked up the drive, it was the manor now that was the ghost in my life. It was a massive box of shadows despite the layer of bright white snow surrounding it. Mine were the only footprints, so no one had been inside since the last snowfall.

I was truly alone, but I reminded myself that was what I wanted.

I was surprised to find the inside of the house even colder than the outside. My soft footfalls echoed like whispers as I moved through the hallway. I went directly to my room, and closed the door. I glanced at the closet but didn’t look inside for fear I might want to slip back into familiar clothes…and slip back into an earlier, simpler version of myself.

In another life, a fresh fire had been laid and forgotten in the fireplace. With just a thought, I lit it up, so the chill air could stop kissing my face.

A movement caught my eye and my heart jumped. But the other woman in white was just my reflection. My dress and hair looked like hell, like a bride who’d escaped her own wedding on the back of a motorcycle and went rolling in a meadow with someone other than the groom. I stripped out of the dress and laid it over the chair before I slipped between the frozen sheets, confident my armor would protect me if necessary.

But no one was coming. I’d stepped back in time for a good night’s sleep, and no one would come looking for me here.

A few thoughts invaded my head as I tried to relax. I still didn’t know why Afi Cean More allowed the contract to be broken. It wasn’t like he could return to Hestia, or everyone there would become mortal again, vulnerable to who knows what.

Maybe he did it for revenge. After all, his brother got the girl…

40

Old Jeans, New Snow

Morning brought with it a fresh snowstorm.

Back in Wyoming, we’d look up at a sky like that and say, “It’s too cold to snow.” In response, it looked like Oxford, England was saying, “Hold my beer.”

Though I was toasty warm on the inside, the surfaces of the kitchen were biting cold, and the metal handles didn’t immediately warm to my touch. Someone had cleaned out the refrigerator and left nothing but a box of baking soda. I found enough dry and canned food in the pantry, though, to make what Urban would call a slap-dash breakfast.

I’d been wrong. Wearing things from my old wardrobe didn’t make me regress—it made me feel grounded, reminded me who I was and what I’d been through. It made me want to celebrate that I’d survived it all. My body was intact, as was my mind. My heart and soul were another matter. I wouldn’t be able to assess any damage to them until this was over.

And I had a new style. I wore a perfectly fitting pair of black jeans, a gray t-shirt, and an army green knitted vest. The pieces of shiny jewelry and my brown boots were nothing new. When I slipped on my black leather jacket, I didn’t pull it over my left arm, but still zipped it up halfway. My arm and armband were free.

I caught my reflection in the glass door and smiled. “Not bad.” Then I went outside, hit the release button on the gate, and stepped into the road before willing myself to Fairy. Old habits died hard. And though the wards were gone, I hated the idea of pointing anyone back to Hope House.

I tried not to think about it, worried it might bring up my breakfast, but by the end of the day, the war would be over. One way or another, this was it.

* * *

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