{Let go.}
He immediately released her.
{You never saw me here. Continue with whatever you were doing.}
Cris’s older brother furrowed his brow, as if something had been right in front of him but suddenly disappeared. He shook off his confusion and wandered back into the kitchen, picking up his knife.
“Was someone at the door?” he looked up to ask his brother.
“No. Must’ve been the wind,” the younger one replied as he sat back down on the sofa and picked up his knitting.
If Ena’s heart hadn’t been beating so hard with adrenaline, she would’ve taken a moment to be impressed with herself, but she didn’t want to count her blessings. She needed to leave her message and get out as soon as possible.
She moved to the back of the house and down the narrow, dark hallway which led to the bedrooms on either side. Locating the familiar door at the back of the house, she opened it into Cris’s room.
It was dark, with only one window, and there was no fireplace in his room, but she knew that since receiving his Gift, that probably wasn’t a problem for him. He used to have to use a bedwarmer, and she remembered sitting on his bed talking late into the night, being careful not to kick it lest she burn herself.
She moved to his desk in the corner of the room, which contained some scraps of paper. Cris liked to draw, but the disorganization of his desk always shocked her—and little had changed in that regard, since it currently contained dozens of half-finished charcoal drawings and as many charcoal sticks, most of them worn down to the nub.
Her eye caught on one drawing in particular, however. It was placed at the back of his desk, leaning against the wall and held into an upright position with an empty candlestick holder. She recognized it immediately.
It was her. She remembered the day he drew it, when they’d been outside mushroom hunting and playing around. They’d practically been children then, maybe just fourteen or so. It was long before she’d met Ty, and the drawing showed her as she had been then—her hair was down her back as she crouched, reaching for a mushroom on the ground. Her face was out of view, but he’d spent an extraordinarily long time sketching her hands as they’d stretched for the mushroom.
Ena was awed that he’d kept it so long, and in such a place of honor on his desk. There were no other drawings on display except that one, and a crinkled one of a cat. She didn’t quite know what to make of that, but she didn’t have time to focus on it right now.
Instead, she grabbed a mostly unused scrap of paper and charcoal stick and scribbled her message.
Cris-
I need your help. Meet me tonight by the oak tree—you know the one. But please, keep this message and our meeting a secret. I’ll explain everything when I see you.
Ena
She left the note in the middle of his unkempt bed, hoping he’d notice it right away when he returned, then she slipped out of his room.
She passed the two brothers, still focused on their tasks and unaware of her presence, as she quickly made her way to the front door. Cautiously stepping back out into the cold, she assessed her surroundings, assuring herself that no one had seen her come and go, before heading back to their campsite.
She hoped against all odds that Cris would believe the note—that he’d recognize her handwriting and come as she’d asked—but something about the way that drawing was displayed made her realize…maybe dragging Cris into all this would be more complicated than she originally thought.
Chapter Thirty
Ena
Enamadeherwayback to their camp but found it unoccupied upon her return. Figuring Ty and Turner must’ve still been waiting to speak to the matriarch, she began collecting downed sticks and branches and used her spellword to start a fire. She sat next to it to absorb its warmth, listening to the nearby stream trickle as she ate some food and rested.
Sometime around sunset, Ty and Turner returned. Her eyes were drawn by the shuffling of their feet through the snow, and her stupid heart leaped automatically when she saw Ty.
The way he walked, so assured and in control, drew her to him—but it was painful too. Painful to see him, want him, and not be able to have him.
His gaze met hers, his light-green eyes reflecting extra light from the layer of snow around them, glowing, and she forced herself to look away, remembering what he’d said to her the last time they’d spoken alone. How he felt like he’d failed her. She didn’t know how to even begin to fix that perception, or if sheeven should. Did it matter if they were on the same page about why exactly they couldn’t be together? What was most important was that they couldn’t. End of story.
Not for the first time, Ena loathed how complicated this all was. But one day, she knew, it would be over. They’d break the bond…and then go their separate ways, and the sudden thought of that wrenched Ena’s heart so painfully that she almost clutched at it.
And suddenly, as much as it ached not being with him, she found herself grateful for it. Because at least, for now, she still got to be near him.
Facing the fire again, she cleared her throat before speaking to Turner as he joined her by the fire. “How did it go with the matriarch?” she asked.
“Good,” he said. “She was open to looking at the goods we have to trade in exchange for some additional supplies and potions.”
