Page 92 of Scythe & Sparrow
Rose considers this, her head tilting side to side. “Yeah, but it was okay to take some time too. You needed it.”
She’s right. I did. Maybe I still need time. Not just to get over the last nine months of repairing traumatic injuries, or crash-coursing cosmetic surgery on the job, or living a life in secret apart from my loved ones. I also need to figure out what it is that I want from the future. Who I really want to be. Because the truth is, after so many years of trying to out-perform expectations, I think I need a minute to stand back and simplyexist.
And if I’m lucky, no matter what we do next in life, that’s the way it will be. Me and Rose.
We stop just behind the cars, watching the cottage, admiring its inviting glow. When Rose turns into me, I wrap my arms across her back.
“You ready?” she asks.
I lean down, pressing a kiss to her lips. She sighs against my mouth. How I ever lived so long without touching her, I don’t know. And now it feels like I’ll never get enough. When we pull away from each other, I sweep the hair back from her face, giving a final kiss to her forehead. “Probably not,” I say.
“It’s going to be great. A realta-da!moment.” Rose squeezes my waist in a tight hug and then lets go, taking a few steps back. She smacks a bug on her bare leg and I catch sight of her scar on her calf. One I helped to mend. But when I meet her eyes, I know that even from that first moment we met, it was Rose who healed me. “I’ll go around to the deck and sneak in. You come in the main door,” she says, her smile soft and reassuring. “It’ll be great. I promise.”
I nod once, because it’s all I can manage. She picks up the squirming raccoon, then turns and jogs away to the front of thecabin. I’m left standing in the dark, watching her disappear into shadow.
When I’m sure she won’t see, I pull a box from my pocket. I flip open the lid. The ring catches the dim light. If I were to look close enough, maybe I could see the night sky reflected in polished gold and precious gems. When we look up to the stars, we’re looking back in time. But all I see is the future. And it’s richer and brighter than I ever thought it would be.
I close the lid. Slide it back in my pocket. I hike my bag higher on my shoulder and take a deep breath. I walk to the steps of the cabin, determination in my stride, love and hope alive in my chest.
I’m going to make up for lost time.
EPILOGUE 1
Maps
“What in the fuck is that?”
“An upgrade.”
Sloane sighs and cocks a hip, trying to look as irritated as possible. She does an admirable job, but I can tell she’s biting down on a grin. And she knows I know. She has to look away, probably in the hopes it will make it easier to keep up her disgruntled display. But it doesn’t work.
“You told me once that no boys were allowed in the woods unless they had scales and a breeding kink,” I say with a wicked grin.
“That was four years ago.”
“So …? I’m just making sure I’ve got clearance, you know? I don’t see what the problem is. We’re going to be in the woods.”
“Not in West Virginia.”
“It’s still ‘the woods,’” I say with air quotes. “And the last time I checked, you kind of enjoyed the Sol cosplay. I’m just taking it up a notch.”
“Up a notch,” she repeats with a snort. I shrug, and Sloane levels me with a flat glare. Her cheeks flush beneath her dusting of freckles. It’s still my favorite shade of pink. “You think this is just a single notch?” She waves a hand toward my polyester dragon suit, this one enhanced by layers of scales glued to the fabric and even my skin, and a shit ton of green and blue makeup. “This is at least twelve.”
My bottom lip juts out and she groans. “What, you don’t think I’m pretty anymore? Are you embarrassed to sit next to me?”
“Yes,” she deadpans. “Hardyes.”
My prosthetic foam horns graze the roof of the car as I shake my head in feigned disappointment. I let out a deep, dejected sigh and Sloane curses, crossing her arms. I pat the passenger seat but she doesn’t move, her feet still planted to the sidewalk. “Come on, Blackbird. Just get in the car. We’ve got places to be.”
“If you’re trying to fly under the radar—”
“Great pun, love—”
“—maybe showing up to the location of our annual game in a full dragon costume isnot the way.”
“It’s a cabin. In the woods. In the middle of fucking nowhere. I’m sure we’ll be just fine, love. Get in. We’re going to be late and I want to chase you and fuck you on the forest floor before the others get there.”
With another long-suffering moan, Sloane tosses her bag in the back and slides onto the passenger seat. “You’re the worst.”
