Page 92 of Cherish

It’s like the old adage about the tree in the forest. If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it actually make a sound? If I was here but no one remembers me, did my time here even exist?

Intellectually, I know it did.

I fell in love with Hudson here.

I met Arnst and Maroly, Tiola and Smokey, Caoimhe and Lumi and Nyaz here.

I killed a time dragon and fought a time wizard and battled the Shadow Queen herself. That has to count for something, right?

So why do I still feel so lost? Why do I still feel like something important has broken and I don’t know how to put it back together again?

“Thanks for checking us in.” I give Amnonda the best smile I can muster as I distribute the keys among my friends. Hudson and I are in one room, Jaxon and Flint in another, and everyone else has their own room.

“Why don’t you all go put your stuff in your rooms and relax for a little while?” I say as we walk toward the stairs. “I’m going to see if I can remove Hudson from the chaos outside so we can hit the town and try to figure out where this smuggler is.”

And it is total and utter chaos right now. More people have joined the original crowd, and while I can see Hudson—with Smokey perched on his shoulder—trying to make his way toward the inn, he barely gets a couple of steps before someone else stops him to say hello and ask how he’s doing.

If they were strangers, I think he’d find it easier to just wave and move on. But they’re not. Most of the people in the square know Hudson—they served him food, sold him clothes and other things, or even had kids in his class during his time here.

I slide through the crowd and wait for there to be a small lull between people.

As soon as there’s more than a five-second pause between one person and the next, I swoop in for the kill—or in this case, the rescue.

“I’m sorry,” I say as I loop my arm through his. “But I’ve got to steal Hudson for a little while.”

A disappointed murmur moves through the crowd, and I hold up a hand. “I promise I’ll bring him back later, though. In fact, Hudson wants to reacquaint himself with all his old haunts, so he’ll be around a lot in the next few days.”

The disappointment changes to excitement at the thought of Hudson visiting their stores and restaurants, and the crowd parts a lot more easily than it did at first.

A few more hands shaken, a few more hellos called to old friends, and I’ve gotten him through the square and into the inn.

“Are you handling me?” he asks as I move him toward the stairs.

I shoot him a look. “No offense, but somebody had to, or you would have been there all night.”

“Believe me, I’m not complaining. That was…”

“Amazing,” I tell him with a smile. “Absolutely amazing.”

“A little overwhelming,” he corrects with a bemused look. “But, if you say so, who am I to argue?”

“They’re so proud of what you did for them, and obviously so happy to see that you’re okay after our very abrupt departure.”

“Yeah.” His grin fades. “I’m sorry they don’t remember you.”

“I’m not.” I shake my head. “I mean, it feels strange, almost like that time didn’t happen, but I’m not the least bit sorry not to be the center of attention. I’m more than happy to leave that to you.”

We’re at our room now, and as the door closes behind us, Hudson grabs me and pulls me against him. “That time did happen, Grace. Fucked-up timeline or not, wewerehere together. Even if they don’t remember, even if you’d never remembered, it still happened. I will always remember you.”

“I know, Hudson.” I hug him back because he’s trembling just a little now—whether from the emotional overload of what just happened in the square or because of the emotional overload that still occasionally hits one or the other of us when we think about those first months when I brought him to Katmere with me. “I loved you when I didn’t remember, and I love you now that I do. Nothing is going to change that.”

He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes. And I see all the love I have inside me for him shining down at me.

Part of me wants nothing more than to curl up in this room with Hudson and stay right here forever. Things were simpler when we were in Adarie. Easier. And right now, simple and easy sound really good.

But no matter how good it sounds, it’s not to be. Not when we have a Shadow Queen to find and a barrier we still need to confirmcan even be crossedto reach the Curator—all as quickly as we possibly can, so we can save Mekhi from certain death and keep Lorelei from suffering any more than she has to.

“What are you thinking about?” Hudson asks right before he lowers his head and drops a soft kiss on my lips.

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