She pulls back just enough to look at me. “Promise me something.”
“If I can.”
“If it gets dangerous… really dangerous… you’ll come home.”
I don’t like to make promises I’m not sure I can keep. And if things get dangerous, well, it will be Gray eating me, or Jade letting the fey into Earth. Running back home won’t solve either of those, and it might endanger my family.
I hesitate.
She sees it.
“Flyn.”
“I promise,” I say, to keep the peace. “If it gets bad, I’ll come back. Or I’ll find a way to bring you with me. But I’m not walking away from him, Cara. Not yet.”
She nods slowly. “Okay.”
“You mean that?” Hope thuds low in my chest. Cara being upset with me is awful. I’d feel a whole heap better about everything I’m facing if I had her blessing.
“No. But I’m trying.” Her eyes are sad, but her expression is grouchy. I’m not going to get her blessing, but she is going to forgive me.
I smile. “That’s all I can ask.”
“Do you really have to go right now? You can’t wait until Sorcha is out of school to say goodbye?”
My chest tightens. “Won’t that upset her?” I have no idea if a couple of hours will make any difference to Jade’s safety, but it might be worth the risk if Cara thinks it will be better for my little niece.
Cara sighs. “No, you’re probably right. She’s as over the top as you. The farewell would turn into such a drama.”
I chuckle. “I’ll Facetime her later.”
She sniffs and nods, and then gestures at the mess. “Do you need help finishing up?”
“God, yes. I packed six pairs of the same jeans and forgot underwear.”
“Idiot,” she mutters fondly.
We fall into a comfortable rhythm, her folding, me stuffing things into bags, both of us working in quiet companionship. The silence between us softens, turns familiar again. She nags me about the socks with holes in them and sneaks protein bars into my backpack. I pretend not to notice. We take our time.
At one point she pauses, holding up a photo frame from my desk. It’s an old picture. Me, Cara, and our brother Liam. All three of us squinting in the sun, grinning like fools at some summer fair ages ago.
“You sure he’d be okay with this?” she asks, voice soft.
“Liam?”
She nods.
“I think… yeah. He always said I was too careful. Too good at being safe. He’d probably be cheering me on.”
She sets the frame down gently. “Then I’ll try to do the same.”
We linger a little longer than we need to. I take one last look around the apartment. The scuffed wooden floors, the dent in the wall from when I tried to hang a mirror and it fell, the crooked shelf that never held anything heavier than a plant. It’s not much, but it’s been mine. My first place that felt like home. And now I’m leaving it behind for something I don’t fully understand.
Though, as I look around, something becomes clear. The happiest memories are recent ones. And they all involve Jade.
That scruffy sofa is where we kissed for the second time. It’s where I first blew him and he blew me.
The tiny kitchen is where I first made him breakfast and where he made me an omelet and was oh so attentive.
