Atop the dresser was a bouquet of red roses beside aWelcome Homebasket. Inside was a stack of the latest issues of Vogue tied up in lace, a jar of hazelnut peanut butter, a sleeve of malt crackers, and a bottle of Barbera wine that was labeled Wicked Affair.
It seemed to Cyrus and everyone else that these were all my favorite things. Did this basket sum up the woman he believed me to be? Did he ever wonder if there was anything more to Adora Oria Sullivan?
I pulled a rose out from the bouquet. The thorns were still intact, so I pressed the pad of my finger into it until blood drew. “Are you happy, Cyrus?”
He didn’t answer right away, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He gazed out the window, and I wished he were facing me so that I could see the color of his eyes.
“To tell you the truth, I’m relieved it’s you.” When he finally faced me, his eyes, though tired with dark circles carrying them, were the prettiest shade of blue. The ocean’s shallow waters. “Think about it, Adora. We’ve always been there for each other, and when I think of you, every moment has been my favorite. Even in the worst times. Hell, you’ve seen me fucking cry. I skipped class to walk you home when you started your cycle—”
“Because I begged you.”
Cyrus grinned. “Let’s be honest with ourselves. You didn’t have to try too hard. But that doesn’t matter. What I’m trying to say is that you and I have always been close, and we’ve spent most of our lives never missing a day without seeing each other. You do realize this, don’t you?” I stared at him, not knowing what to say. “I know you better than anyone, and right now you’re having a hard time believing me.”
“The Welcome Home basket. There’s peanut butter.”
Cyrus nudged his head. “Look in the nightstand.”
I walked to the nightstand and sat on the bed before opening the top drawer. Inside was a large keepsake box. I took it out and set it on the bed.
Cyrus leaned his shoulder against the wall, watching me.
“My mother put the basket together,” he said as I lifted the lid. There was a letter sitting at the top, and the first line read,I’m sorry about the peanut butter.“Because I know it reminds you of that day you found out about Adeline,” he continued as I pulled each item out one by one. “A journal for the letters you write and toss into the ocean twice a month. Vintage Vogue issues because you scrunch your face when it’s any year after 1970. A bottle of apple pie moonshine ... and the most important people in your life. Your sisters, your mother, your dad ... a picture of you and me.” A single frame sat at the bottom. Inside was a picture of Adeline and I, holding seashells over our eyes.
I looked up at him.
Cyrus shrugged. “Iknowyou. Never doubt that.”
My mind went numb, unsure of what to do or what to say.
There was so much he didn’t know. He didn’t know I planned to kill our friend, or about the man I was hiding on Bone Island.
“We won’t just be friends, Cyrus. We will be married. You will fuck me and only me for the rest of your life. We will eventually have children and raise them together.”
Cyrus’s jaw clenched. “Does this have anything to do with Kane?”
“Yes.” It had everything to do with Kane, but not in the way he would expect. The only card I had left was to lie, but Cyrus would be able to tell. So, I remained calm, pretending to believe my words were true. “It’s no secret that I’ve always loved Kane. If we both agree not to move forward with this, we may get out of it. We can tell them that you want to marry Ivy. We can find a way around this so that we can both get what we want.”
I dragged in a deeper breath once the last word left my lips. My lungs were thin, and my heart was racing, so I felt the pounding everywhere. I just hoped his hyper-sensory didn’t notice.
Cyrus just looked at me. Blue eyes hard, troubled waters.
Every second in his silence was torture.
If he didn’t speak soon, I was afraid of throwing my fist through the window to get his attention. Very unladylike, I thought, so I pressed against the splinter to calm my nerves, but the splinter was no longer there. I had nothing to allow me to take a breath, nothing aside from clenching my fists and breaking open my scabs.
“Ouch, Adora,” he finally said. It felt like forever, but it couldn’t have been more than a second that had passed. He glanced out the window again before staring back at me. “Let me try to understand what you’re saying ... you’d rather defy the Order than marry me?”
“Yes.” My response came out faster than I’d intended.
Cyrus looked at the ground, smiling in disbelief. “You’re lying to me.” He lifted his eyes until they hit mine. “You don’t love him. You never did. I don’t know why you’re lying to me. Maybe you’re scared, but the consequences of defying will be a hell of a lot scarier.” I closed my mouth, jaw grinding. “This marriage isn’t just about you and me. It’s about our families and our town.Dammit. If we defy, Augustine will remove us both completely.”
“Each day that passes makes this coven feel more like a cult.”
“Augustine does everything with a purpose. Defying him means we don’t trust him. It’s notifhe removes us. It will bewhen. And because we’re from founding families, we won’t end up as flatlanders when he pushes us out. We will be witches without a coven. Lone wolves. And if he decides to detach us from our power, we’ll become the Forsaken.” His voice cut short.
It had been a long time since the mention of the Forsaken—the witches who passed on after losing control of their power.
“Forget you and me,” he continued. “My mother’s standing in the Order would be questioned. Your father will end up like Ben Grimaldi—rest his soul. It will be up to our brothers and sisters to redeem our family names. I refuse to put that pressure on Camora, Cillian, and Kaser. If we defy, there will be no protection. They’ll only use us as an example. Is that what you want?”
