Page 105 of Flame and Sparrow

“I know. But maybe…” He drew his fingers away from the sparrow, clenching them into a fist. “If you will not allow me to call upon the Healing God on your behalf, then maybe you should go back to your home for a bit and see if its energy helps.”

I was so shocked by this suggestion that I promptly forgot about every other thing I’d been trying to make sense of.

Home.

He was offering me a chance to go home. To the broken but beautiful mansion, its sunrises, its cobbled-together kitchen. To Andrel. To Cillian. He was giving me a chance to talk to them, to see them and the rest of my world with newly opened eyes, and…

He couldn’t have been serious.

I swallowed, pushing down the cautious hope trying to bloom inside me. “Is that…allowed?”

“I told you before that I was willing to bend the rules.” He still didn’t look at me. “And besides,” he added, “you’re useless to me while you’re in such a state.”

“Useless?”

“Afraid so.”

“Well, I suppose it’s lucky I’ve never based my worth on how useful I could be to a man. Or to a god, for that matter.”

He ran a hand through his hair, eyes lifting toward the ceiling as they often did when he was becoming exasperated with me. But I thought I saw a corner of his mouth inch up as he said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I might actually miss that smart mouth of yours while you’re gone.”

Heat climbed into my cheeks. That—combined with the hope blooming defiantly in my heart—made me more bold than usual. Or more foolish. Or both. “Well, I would tell you to feel free to think of this mouth while I’m gone,” I said, “but I’m sure you were already planning to think about it.”

His gaze finally fixed on me, burning with possibility and promise as he said, “Among other things.”

The heat in my cheeks swept over my entire body. I wanted to command him to elaborate on theseother things,but I couldn’t seem to find my voice.

“You’ll have to come back soon enough, of course,” he continued without missing a beat. “I’m afraid we’re stuck together until we see our deal through to the end, for better or worse.”

I nodded. Despite our relentless bantering and bickering, the idea of seeing him again didn’t make me recoil as it should have. Again, I didn’t fully understandwhy. I didn’t even want to think about it—so I was glad for the distraction of Moth’s sudden appearance, heralded by the sound of his claws scrabbling against the sill as he tried to squeeze his body through the partially opened window.

He finally pressed his way through, tumbling clumsily inside and struggling to right himself for a moment before zooming toward me. He slammed into my stomach, sending fresh pain radiating through my ribs and causing me to let out a little grunt of pain.

Dravyn caught him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him away from my bruised body. “Behave yourself,” he ordered, prompting Moth to twist and claw in vain toward his arm.

“He’s okay,” I insisted, holding my palms open for the creature to perch on. He fluttered down into my hands and stared up at me through big red eyes. “Did someone sense I was leaving?” I asked, scratching his chin.

He let out a sad purr, knocking his head against my hand. Dravyn left with a sigh, closing the door behind him, while I said my goodbyes to the griffin.

Thoughts of returning home had filled me with renewed energy. I managed to crawl from the bed and change into clean clothing, to wash my face and braid my hair, even as every too-deep breath and too-quick movement made me cringe.

Moth fluttered close by, mirroring each of my painful gasps and cringes with an anxious chirp and a worrisome flash of fire around his body, until I was forced to gather him into my arms and calm him down.

“No setting anything on fire while I’m gone, okay? You have to stay in control of yourself.”

He squeezed out of my arms and shot toward my bed in response, burrowing himself under the pillow with a series of disgruntled little huffs. He stayed there while I packed a bag; when I glanced back at him, he’d fallen asleep. I was tucking covers around him when I heard a light knock at the door.

“Karys?”

My name, so soft and so clear from Dravyn’s lips, startled me; I couldn’t recall him ever calling me anything aside from Sparrow.

As I opened the door, my lips curved in a slight smile. “You actually do know my name.”

He returned the smile, faintly, stepping inside and offering me what he’d apparently gone to retrieve—a bracelet comprised of glass beads.

I took it and held it up to the window for a closer look. The forgelight’s glow ignited the translucent glass, revealing the true depth of colors swirling in each of the beads’ centers.

“Your work?” I guessed.

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