Page 97 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
His hand slides behind my neck, warm and large, guiding my gaze back to his. “It sounds like she cared for you a lot.”
A memory flashes: Rory and I stare at the stars, our feet dangling outside the window in her high-level tower room. The smell of a diesel-soaked city wasn’t so bad up there. We could almost imagine we were in another world.
“Apparently,” she says, pointing to a star. “You can wish on those if you’re lucky enough to see one fall.”
“What would you wish for?”
She gives me a wry smile. “You first.”
“Um.” I gaze into the night, knowing my family is down there, refusing to let me come home. “I wish I can be a falling star . . . then maybe—“ Maybe I’ll be wanted. Lovable. Everyone will hunt nightly for a glimpse of me in the sky.
It hurts too much to voice. I dash a tear from my eye.
“Maybe what?” Rory prods her shoulder into mine.
“You’ll just say I’m being emotional.”
We sit silently for a while before she says in a small voice, “I’m not always right, Willow.” Her arm slings around my shoulders, drawing me under her wing. She kisses the top of my head. “Sometimes, you need to listen to your gut.”
“Hurry up, you two!” Max shouts out from the other side of the bridge. “Get it out of your system now because once we’re there, no public displays of affection!”
“He’s right, you know,” Bodin murmurs, reluctantly letting go of me and stepping away.
“Can’t anyone know?” I ask, frustration bubbling up inside me. “The idea of hiding how I feel for you is . . . maddening.”
His expression darkens. “It’s against the code. The consequences . . .” He trails off, his jaw clenching.
I blow a raspberry. “That’s what I think of the code.”
“Being facetious will get you turned to stone,” he warns. “And that’s only before Titania returns. Her punishments are far crueler.”
“Fine,” I concede, a chill running through me at the thought of being cursed again. “I’ll be good.”
But even as I say it, I feel a spark of defiance. I’m tired of hiding, of conforming to rules that don’t make sense. Fox’s sacrifice set my confidence back, but it didn’t break me. It made me more determined.
If I’m going to lead and protect, I need to start questioning these outdated laws. The thought both thrills and terrifies me.
Bodin takes my hand, puts it on the rope railing, takes my other hand, and puts it on the other side. Then he moves to stand behind me, palms on my hips.
“Let’s walk,” he says, his touch both reassuring and electrifying.
I’m so conscious of the heat of his hands on my body that we make it halfway across the rope bridge before I realize how far we’ve come. When we arrive at the end, I turn to him and smile. “That earned you one night in my bed.”
His brief arrogance is swiftly replaced by shrewd opportunity. “Let’s cross again.”
My smile explodes into laughter.
Our first classfor the day is in the House of Stone Tower. It’s meant to be tactical warfare, but a little thrill skips in my stomach when I see Legion and the Earl alongside him—still no Colin. Before I take a seat, I turn to Bodin. “Since Legion is here, will you do me a favor and look for Colin?”
The concern flashing in his eyes is directed at me, not the missing boy, but he nods. My smile warms, rushing through me. He inhales deeply, taking in my scent. I can tell he doesn’t want to leave.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him.
“If I’m not back when class ends, stay with Geraldine and Max until I arrive.”
I sit in the front row beside my friends. Across the room, I recognize a few familiar faces: Corey, the new House of Stone Shadow. Beside him sit Alfie and Dahlia.
Legion walks to the center of the room, looking every bit the leader, even with the spectacles. Somehow, they make him look sharper. Behind him, Earl Larkspur is securing a map to the wall. When they place pins in specific locations, I realize what’s happening.
