His fingers cup my jaw and turn my face to look at him. “Youdid it. I was wrong about you.”
“Wrong, how?”
“All this time, I thought you were a little bird. But you’re not. You’re a dragon, just like your tattoo.”
I laugh softly. “What about my fluttering heart?”
He shoots me a slow, crooked grin. “The sound you make before you breathe fire.”
I laugh, even as my ears grow hot under his close scrutiny. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
He tilts his head and shakes it once. “Yes, you could have. I came to be your advocate, little dragon, but I’m afraid I haven’t served you well. I wanted to kill for you, but you solved the problem on your own, in your own way.”
“No,” I insist. “You helped me, but more importantly, you healed me. Tony had stripped me down to a shell of who I once was. He took me apart and tried to remake me into the robot he wanted, then left me in scraps when I didn’t operate that way. I’d never have succeeded if I was still in pieces. Somehow, you put me back together. Do you know you did that for me?” I slide my hands up his chest. Our eyes catch and hold.
“Careful, you’ll make me believe I’m no monster at all.” He nuzzles my neck, pulling me closer, but I push him away.
“You did exactly what I asked youto do, and now it’s done. And I promised you I’d do something in return.” I cross the parlor to get the candle out of my purse and bring it back to the hearth, where I use one of the matches to light the wick. “Now we just let it burn, and when it burns out, you’ll be free.”
Damien looks between me and the candle, his expression wistful. His voice is all gravel when he says, “I admit, I was skeptical.”
“About what?”
“That you’d truly attempt to free me. I thought you might forget your promise once you had what you wanted.”
I rest a hand on his cheek. There are things I want, no need, to say to him. “What happened between us meant something to me.” I watch him flinch as if I’ve surprised him but I carry on. “I don’t expect anything from you. Please don’t think that. I know as soon as the candle burns down, you’ll be gone, and I’ll never see you again. But while you’re still here, I want to say thank you. Knowing you has helped me find myself again. For all the times you called me your little bird, you never infantilized me like Tony did. You challenged me to become stronger. You made me feel wanted and valuable. You made me understand I was broken but not ruined. So, yeah, all of this has meant something to me, and I’ll miss you.” My voice catches. I smile against the onslaught of tears I’m fighting back. “I hope wherever you go next that you’re happy, and I hope by freeing you, I contributed to that happiness.”
He closes his eyes. “You are the kindest soul, Eloise.” My name on his lips does extraordinary things to my insides, but the agony I see in his eyes is sobering.
“Thank you,” I say. “But why do you look like you’re in pain?”
Shadows rise around him, and he takes me by theshoulders. “Because the candle will never burn out, no matter how long we wait, no matter your intention to free me.”
“What are you talking about?” I dart a glance at the candle. “It’s barely a stub. It shouldn’t take long now.”
“That candle has been the same size for a half century. The Gowdie curse ends when the candle does, and their magic keeps it from ever ending.”
Flabbergasted, I take measure of the candle again. I’ve assumed it’s gotten shorter every time I’ve burned it, but it isn’t noticeably different. “It’s enchanted to never burn out?”
“The curse is designed to be forever.”
Hot tears pool in my eyes. “But that’s not fair. So… so… you’re their slave for all eternity?”
He grabs my hand and places it over his heart. “Eloise, the fact that you tried to free me, that you intended to, even if the task is impossible, means everything to me. What happened between us meant something to me too.”
I shake my head vigorously. “This isn’t okay.” My monster, my advocate, my Damien... I won’t let them do this to him. “That isn’t our agreement. I’m supposed to get free of Tony, and you’re supposed to get free of the candle.”
“I wish it were possible.”
A dark restlessness swirls inside me. As much as I love Maeve, I can’t muster anything but rage toward her family. My skin burns with it. Bile rises in my throat.
“Eloise...” Damien’s eyes rove over me.
I seethe at the candle, snatching it off the mantel. Hot wax drips down the back of my hand. “Shit! Fuck!” I toss the entire thing into the fire. The moment it hits the flames, a shower of sparks explodes from the logs. Suddenly, I’m across the room, protectedin a cocoon of solid darkness. Damien forms from the shadows with his arms around me.
“Are you hurt?” He inspects my hand, rolling the wax from my skin.
“It’s fine,” I say. Truly it is. “I yelled because I expected it to burn, but it didn’t.”
