I rose from my seat, fear gripping me. “Lydia is gone? I barely left her with you.”
Darcy frowned as he listened, his brows pulling together.
“I know. She was so determined to help you,” Lizzy said. “I thought maybe she left to find you.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I placed a hand on the back of the chair to steady myself. “Have you tried calling her?”
“Of course I have.” Her tone was impatient. “But it goes straight to voicemail.”
I jerked my keys from my pocket and left the room, racing down the steps of the main staircase. “What are you doing to find her besides calling me?”
“I’m brewing a potion to help locate her, but it won’t be ready for several hours. Jane is out looking for her at her normal spots. Kitty is checking in with her friends… I’ve even called the police again, but they have no idea where to search… other than that I…” Lizzy sounded on the verge of tears.
I was vaguely aware of Darcy’s footsteps following behind me on the steps. “I’ll check a few places. Call me theinstantyou find her,” I said.
“Yeah, okay.”
I hung up the phone and didn’t stop walking as I headed out the front door. “Sorry, Darcy, I have to go. Lydia is—”
“I heard. I want to help. Do you want me to go with you?”
I shook my head. “How about you go to Cupid’s Confections and check in with Lizzy?”
“I’ll do that.” Darcy hurried off to another car parked in the driveway.
I jumped into Mr. Rothschild’s old station wagon, jammed my key in the ignition, and started the car. I gunned the engine, peeling out of the driveway.
All this time I’d been pushing her away because I was afraid she’d be hurt. And now none of it mattered. Instead of trying to end things, I should have been holding her close, cherishing every minute.
Now, I might never see my fae-witch alive again, and that thought made the light inside me fade to black.
Chapter 13
Idrovearoundtown,searching for Lydia in her favorite stores. I recalled our first date—how we’d kissed under the drifting snow. Her beautiful face and wild eyes sparkling in the fading light. It was killing me, the thought that she might be in danger, that I might never see her again. I couldn’t believe I’d ever pushed her away. What had I been thinking?
I’d loved Lydia far longer than I’d known, and the fear of losing her twisted through me like a knot I couldn’t undo.
Finally, I realized where she might be.
I stopped at the park and walked over to the frozen lake as the first flurry of snowfall hit the ground. My heart leapt with relief when I saw her heavy parka and the tiny frozen crystals landing in her familiar light brown hair. Pausing for a moment,I took several deep breaths until the anxiety balled inside me finally unraveled.
I sat on the bench and debated between yelling or hugging her senseless. Instead, I said, “Lydia, everyone has been out of their minds with worry.”
She looked up at me with no surprise, as if she’d expected me to simply walk up and start talking to her. “And what about you?” she said quietly.
“What about me?”
“Were you worried?”
I let out a slow breath. “Of course I was.”
“How worried?”
I ran a hand through my hair and peered out over the lake, currently empty of ice skaters, not sure how I wanted to answer that.
“Worried enough to come looking for me,” she said. “And to be relieved yet upset when I was found. My family tried to lock me up. Keep me away from you. I won’t be kept down, Wickham.”
“They’re trying to keep you safe, Lydia.”
