I shrug. “That’s a simplified version. Alternate experiences might be more accurate.”
“This, this—” she presses a hand to her forehead “—this is a lot to take in.”
I give her a minute to sit, then I can’t bring myself to leave her alone any longer. I stretch a hand between us and cover hers, lacing our fingers slowly and then giving her a soft squeeze.
She sniffles once, then holds my gaze when she says, “So…I’ve fallen for a ghost. That’s it, then. I didn’t think I could fuck up anymore, but turns out, this takes the cake.”
A pained smile flicks across my face before I catch myself. “It doesn’t work like you think. Not by a long shot.”
“So…you’re not a ghost? I am crazy?”
I sigh. “Words are so limiting, especially when it comes to the natural world.”
“Supernatural, I think you mean.”
I shake my head. “Only to you, only for now.”
I seem to have stolen the breath from her lungs with that last part. I regret the clipped tone.
“So, what would you call yourself, then?”
“I wouldn’t. I’m not as focused on labeling things as much as I am living.”
She arches an eyebrow at my last word, and it makes me chuckle. Despite everything, she has a sense of humor. Whatever is revealed today, we’ve crossed some sort of barrier because now she knows. Whatexactlyshe’s thinking, though, I’m still not sure.
“I was so foolish…” A dark frown mars her beautiful features. “So many nights, so many dreams that stayed with me long after I woke up and changed my ideas. They wash through me, altering me forever. I actually allowed myself for a split second to think that we might have a future, and it was just…all in my head.”
I groan, standing from the table and closing the distance between us. I pull her into my arms, clasping her cheeks in my palms. I can barely choke out my next words, I’m wound so taut with emotion. “Don’t do that. Those moments are as real and alive as anything I’ve ever experienced.”
“H-how?” Her eyes shine with shameful tears as she looks up at me.
I wipe at the wetness, then place kisses on either side of her damp temples. “Every moment was real for me too. Every second, Fable.”
She nods. “I get it now.”
The pain in my bunched shoulders begins to fade as I see realizations running through her mind.
“Your heightened senses connect us.”
I nod slowly. “And yours.”
“You’re not a ghost, but you’re not of my world either.”
I hesitate, wanting to correct her but knowing she has to be ready.
“And Keats is real?” I frown at her use of the word real. “I mean…he’s living out a human existence?” she corrects.
“Yes, you’re starting to get it.”
“Can he see you?”
“When he chooses to. He prefers to ignore me more often than not, though. It’s the same reason he avoids staying in Leith Hall for long—it’s too active. Just bearing witness takes its toll.”
“So, his senses are heightened too? Like mine, and that’s why we both can see you?”
“Keats has the heart of a noble man, his senses have sharpened with experience. He has a knack for crossing visual dimensions. It’s more of a curse than you might think.”
“So, that’s it, then? I just have all these senses to perceive things that I don’t know how to understand? Why am I here, then? Why do I feel so drawn to this place, only to be scared away by haunted legends?”
