I forced a smile into place. “Whatever the future holds, I truly hope that’s the case. You’re a very special person, Augustus Sanderson.”
“Auggie,” he corrected me.
I wrapped my arms around him and stared down into his face, heart beating so furiously I could feel it in my throat. “Your friends call you Auggie. And I want to be more than a friend.” I took a shuddering breath. “When next we meet.”
Even if it’s in the underworld.
He grinned up at me through those beautiful eyelashes of his. “So forward of you, Callum.”
“When I want something—”
We were interrupted by the door opening. A man in a black robe stared out at us expectantly. He examined me before his eyes shifted to Auggie, whereupon his face lit up with a smile. “Well, you must be Auggie. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Auggie smiled back shyly and took a step toward the door as the man opened it wider for him to enter. Auggie looked back at me, his eyes full of meaning, imploring something of me. But this was his time, whatever awaited him inside.
“When next we meet,” I said again, so softly that I doubted he heard it.
The door closed on Auggie, but not before I caught a glimpse of something on the man’s shoulder, red like a goat’s head.
I frowned. A goat’s head was a pretty common symbol of witchcraft, and if a witch owned the building or if the staff served one, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to don such a mark. Yet, it left me wondering its implication for this household in particular. Auggie’s aunt couldn’t be a witch, or he would be one himself.
But it was also none of my business.
Freya was waiting at the carriage with the door open. “Are you all right?” she asked, watching me.
I smiled tightly. “Of course. Mission accomplished, right?”
She frowned and moved aside to let me back into the coach.
Emotions were threatening to overwhelm me, my throat thick, my stomach sinking. It had been a while since I’d felt anything so strongly. I cleared my throat, looking to Narcissa for a distraction. “You could have said goodbye.”
Narcissa curled up on the seat, yawning. “That’s a very human custom. We see each other again or we don’t. That’s up to the Fates, not us.”
I snorted, glancing at Freya. The sympathy in her eyes made me look away. “I suppose this means your business has concluded as well,” I told her. “You can report back to the Council of Witches about this boy Satan has designs on.”
“I suppose I can,” Freya agreed. “But I’m not sure there’s much to report, frankly. And anyway, now that he’s out of the Council’s reach, what good would my report be?”
“So … you’re not going to tell them about Auggie at all?”
“Why bother?”
I reached out and put a hand over hers. “That’s very … kind of you.”
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Yes, well, I would rather not embarrass myself by making something out of nothing. There are worse jobs than transporting witches around the globe.” She slipped her hand out from beneath mine. “But for now, I would like to make sure you return to England safely. And to thank Lexi again for her hospitality. I can teleport you and your friends.”
I smiled slyly. “Ah, yes. Thank her properly this time, would you?”
Freya looked away and pretended as if she hadn’t heard me.
Out the coach window, the streets passed by. We would collect Therese and then leave New York behind, Auggie along with it. Gods, I hated how painful the thought was.
But Auggie may already be a part of my past.
My heart nearly clawed its way out of my chest at the thought, and I had to close my eyes and take deep, even breaths to keep my composure. The sound of the carriage rattling through the streets helped, giving me something to focus on since my traveling companions had chosen to remain so damn quiet.
As we drew near our destination, I thought I heard singing and watched curiously as we passed a procession of people. They were praying, eyes closed, arms outstretched, a wax figure of the Saint Akilah at the top of a staircase nearby. There was something quietly powerful about the scene, the reverence they showed the figure. I watched until we turned a corner and no longer could.
When we arrived at the docks, I walked up the gangplank to theKorikowith a much heavier heart than when I’d left it. As the sun sunk behind the buildings of the city, cooling the sky, my head tilted up to regard the blood moon. Seeing that red jewel hanging in the sky sent a shiver up my spine.
