The line went dead, and Kieran put the phone down.Part of him had expected to feel worse talking to Ash again, but it had been…nice, in a way.He’d spent so long worried about what would happen when Ash found out about the curse that he hadn’t even considered it could go that smoothly.It was like a weight off his shoulders that made it possible to take a deep breath for the first time in weeks.Simply put, he’d done it.He’d fixed his mistake—which left only three more things to do.
Save Delilah.Get the panacea.Keep my magic.
Well, maybe four:
Live happily ever after.
Sebastian opened his door to find Kieran standing outside, breathless from having sprinted up the stairs as fast as he physically could.
“It’s broken,” he burst out before Sebastian could even ask.“The curse I cast—it broke this afternoon.I—I don’t know exactly how, but I think it had to do with my realizing I’m not completely useless as a person.”
Sebastian blinked.He’d pinned back the longer parts of his hair, and his hands were covered in sawdust.He wore a little apron over his clothes, and he held a whittling tool in one hand.The room smelled of aromatic cedar.
“I— Wow.That’s great news.”Sebastian stepped aside.“Come in—I was just finishing up a project I’ve been working on.Tell me more.”
Kieran stepped over the threshold, taking in the state of Sebastian’s room.He was, Kieran had to admit, much tidier than Kieran was.Everything was neatly arranged, from his freshly folded laundry to his throwing knives and a whetstone beside them.The only area with a mess was the table beneath his window, which was covered in wood shavings and loose whittling tools.At the center of it was a reddish piece of wood half carved into the rough shape of an anatomical heart.
“Oh, wow,” Kieran said as he took a seat on the other side of the table.He pointed to the heart.“Sebastian, that’s incredible.How long have you been working on that?”
“Hmm.A week, maybe?The red cedar’s a bit hard to work with, but I like the color.Grabbed some the last time we stopped.”Sebastian shook his head, sitting down on the other side of the table and quickly sweeping his project to the side.“But—more important—how did you find out the curse broke?”
“I was downstairs getting something to eat and I heard the phone ring.Turns out it was Ash.”At the sound of the other boy’s name, Sebastian tensed a little.Kieran continued: “He told me he felt it break this afternoon.He…didn’t even realize he was cursed until it did.And we had a chance to talk, and—”
“He wants you back, doesn’t he?”Sebastian interrupted.
Kieran’s eyebrows shot up.In retrospect, he had made it clear early on that that’s what he wanted.Upon reflection, it was hard for him to pinpoint the exact moment he’dstoppedpraying that Ash would change his mind.The last few weeks had been such a whirlwind, it felt as if he’d blinked and suddenly the world’s axis had shifted entirely.
Or perhaps he was the one who’d changed.
“He…no.He doesn’t.”Kieran offered a small shrug.“Somewhere along the line, I think I realized I didn’t want him to take me back either.We actually talked about how it’s better we just stay friends in the long run.We…weren’t good for each other, I think.”
“Really?”Sebastian’s jaw hung open for a moment before he shook his head.“Sorry, it’s just—you made Ash out to be so smart.Clearly, that isn’t the case if he didn’t want you back.”
For a moment, Kieran was too stunned to speak.Sebastian, meanwhile, looked perfectly casual, as if what he’d just said was the most obvious statement ever spoken.
He added, “As much as I know how much you wanted to fix things with him, I am, selfishly, a bit relieved that it isn’t happening.”
Kieran’s mouth went dry.What did he mean byrelieved?Was he trying to look out for Kieran as a friend, not wanting him to be in a relationship that wasn’t healthy?Or was it more?Kieran had convinced himself that Sebastian just wanted to be a brief blip in his life—someone he used to blow off steam with, like Hélène.
Maybe that wasn’t the case.
Kieran guessed: “Because…you don’t want me to go back to a bad relationship?”
“Of course not,” Sebastian said.Kieran felt himself deflate for a moment before Sebastian added, “You deserve far better than that.And because I…well…um…”
Kieran’s eyebrows shot up.Sebastian was avoiding his gaze, cheeks having flushed pink.Kieran’s heart thumped hard against his ribs.He felt the edge of the precipice before him, like that night on the observation deck when Sebastian had closed thedistance between them, squashing any thoughts Kieran had that he wasn’t attracted to him.Now, though, it felt deeper.Whatever it was Sebastian wanted to say, it was heavy on his tongue.
“It’s just that…you’re different from anyone else I’ve ever met,” Sebastian finally said.Dusting his hands off nervously on his apron and keeping his gaze turned from Kieran’s, he added, “My whole life I’ve felt like I had to play a role.The perfect son, the perfect brother, the perfect assassin—I never got to just beSebastian.In fact, I’m not sure I ever really knew who Sebastian was until recently.But with you, here, I finally feel like I can besomeone.Not a tool for others to use, but a person.I never have to follow a script with you, Kieran.It’s made me quite…fond of you.”
“You know,” Kieran said softly, “I’ve grown quite fond of you too.”
Sebastian straightened in his seat, finally meeting Kieran’s eyes.From the arch of his eyebrows, it was clear Sebastian hadn’t been expecting him to say that.Sebastian opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly struggling to find the words.
Which was exactly the moment when Kieran realized he had to be the one to push them over the edge.
“I want to be with you, Sebastian,” he said, reaching across the table to thread his fingers through the other boy’s.“If you’ll have me.”
Sebastian made a faint choking sound, looking somewhat dumbstruck.He studied Kieran’s face as if hunting for something that would prove the statement had been a joke.When he didn’t find anything, he stared for a beat longer, nonplussed.
