‘I know this is scary. Naomi took something huge from you. But I need you to look at me and see me, not her. I’m not like her.’ I licked my lips. ‘Do you remember what I said when you dropped me off for lunch at Bonnie’s the first time?’
Callum shook his head.
‘That’s okay,’ I reassured him, rubbing away the tears inching down his face. ‘I said changing your mind is always an option, even at the last moment.’ I pressed up to rub my nose across his, then lowered onto my heels. ‘That’s the samehere, right now. You got scared and that’s okay, but you’re allowed to change your mind. You don’t have to force me away because the fear in your head is screaming that it’s the only option. You can choose to trust me. You can change your mind.’
Callum shuddered, then fell completely into my arms. The hands that had been gripping my wrists wound around my back, crushing me to his chest. With some contorting, we ended up sat on the floor. I hugged Callum with all my puny might, conveying with my arms along with my words that I would not hurt him if I could help it.
Gradually, Callum’s breathing calmed. His hands smoothed down my back, then up to my neck. His fingers traced my chin, and over my lips.
When I looked into his face, his eyes were open. Glassy, but clear and focused.
‘I’m so sorry, Aster,’ he said, his voice rough. Not in the same way as when I’d walked in the cabin. He hadn’t unleashed the pain howling inside of him, but it sounded like his throat had taken some damage anyway.
‘Don’t be sorry.’ I spread my hands over the sides of his face. Callum had put me through the wringer today, but I understood why. Someone getting close to him and lying about something significant was bound to switch his brain straight into protection mode.
Callum frowned, but nodded. ‘I need to talk to my sister.’
I reeled back, then raised one hand from his cheek to his forehead. ‘Callum, you normally run hot but surely you’ve got a hideous brain-eating illness.’
Callum’s mouth twitched into the smallest of smiles. I would spew nonsense until the end of time if it kept anguish from his face.
‘I want to trust you, Aster. I think I do. But I don’t trust my own judgement. Bonnie was there, she’ll know if there are any signs I’ve missed this time. I need to check.’
I nodded, even though a bit of me was gutted Callum couldn’t trust me when I said I wasn’t a family-murdering freak. I understood—as far as anyone who hadn’t been so epically and catastrophically betrayed could—that his trust was a fragile thing. He wanted to believe me, but his faith in his own discernment had been broken once. He wasn’t about to risk it again.
Callum blushed as we stood and he looked at the half-packed suitcase. He pulled me into another hug. ‘Please don’t leave.’
‘I won’t,’ I promised. ‘Tim and Albert would miss me too much.’
Another tiny smile, then Callum kissed my forehead. ‘I’ll be back soon.’
He untangled himself from my arms. While he walked through to the main room and pulled on his boots, I sank onto the bed. The front door clicking shut announced his departure.
Two goats peered into the bedroom. Callum was strict about them staying in the main room, but I figured this was an extenuating circumstance. One head tilt, and Tim and Albert bounded up onto the bed. They chose an arm each to aggressively snuggle under.
I let out a long breath, holding them tight. ‘I reckon someone finding out about my magic couldn’t have gone much worse than that.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CALLUM
Ipaused after the cabin’s front door clicked shut. Almost everything inside of me screamed to go back inside. But that was the trouble;almosteverything wanted to fall into Aster’s arms. A little part, much quieter now Aster had broken me out of acting on instinctual fear, would be wondering.
Was he hiding something else? Was he an exceptionally good actor? When would he hurt those I loved?
I couldn’t trust myself. My judgement had proven faulty before. The only thing that would quiet the lingering voice of terrified doubt was hearing from someone else that Aster was good and trustworthy. The only person whose judgement I cared about was the one who’d been to hell and back with me.
I patted my pockets as I walked to the quad bike shelter, but they were empty. Retrieving the keys was a legitimate reason to go back into the cabin, but then Aster spoke. Not to me, but I wasn’t so far away that I couldn’t hear his words clearly.
Turning from the cabin, I sprinted down the first hill. I couldn’t go inside to get the keys when I couldn’t stay to comfort Aster, when I couldn’t undo the damage I’d done with my initial fear-filled reaction to finding out he was a witch.
My breath misted in regular puffs as I ran. I didn’t care that Aster was a witch. Not in the way he probably thought I did. Magic was off limits to werewolves, but I had no particular aversion to it. I’d love to hear about all the things he’d learnt today.
That had to wait until Bonnie confirmed trusting Aster wasn’t going to blow up in my face. That was what I desperately needed her to do. I so wanted to believe Aster was kind and had lied because his magic was something he habitually kept secret. I wanted to run back up the mountain and press my face into his skin with no hesitation or reservations.
I didn’t have a watch, so had no way of knowing how late it was when I made it to the village. The waning moon hung low over the harbour in an inky black sky. I walked the last distance along the narrow road to Bonnie and Joshua’s cottage.
She yanked open the door before I could knock. ‘Did you know that normal individuals call ahead when they’re going to drop by? Or, better yet, they come to the meals they’ve actually been invited to rather than showing up unannounced like some untrained heathen.’
