I reach across the table and take her hand. “Then we’ll help each other. If you start to get afraid and pull away, I’ll remind you not to. And you do the same for me when I’m being an idiot.”
Her lips twist into a small smile. “You’re not an idiot.”
“I can be.” I squeeze her hand. “Trust me, I’m very good at self-sabotage.”
That gets a laugh out of her, and it seems to help her shake off some of her tension.
“Now eat up, Brains. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
She picks up her spoon again, and this time she actually eats.
We finish breakfast talking about lighter things—the prairie fish from the carriage ride, the chaos of Aurora’sfamily, whether Harrison the cat was judging us from his spot on the table. We determine that he probably was. Cats are judgy like that.
After breakfast, we spend the morning exploring Faunwood one last time. We visit the bookshop again, stop by the market for some candied nuts for the ride back to the academy, and end up sitting on a bench in the village square, watching people go about their day.
“I like it here,” Poppy says quietly, the sunlight reflecting off her glasses. “It’s peaceful.” She takes a deep breath of the crisp autumn air. “And it smells good. Like bread.”
Her words make me think about Alden’s offer, about the workshop, about what it would be like to live in a place like this.
About whether Poppy would ever want that too.
But I don’t say any of that. Not yet. We just had one really good night together. Bringing up the possibility of me moving here after graduation feels like too much.
So instead, I just put my arm around Poppy’s shoulders and pull her close, and we sit there in the autumn sunshine until it’s time to go.
THE CARRIAGE ARRIVES LATE IN the morning, the same driver from before tipping his hat to us as I load our bags.
“Have a good visit?” he asks.
“We did,” I say, taking Poppy’s hand and helping her into thecarriage. “Thank you.”
“A visit to Faunwood is always a good visit,” he says, and I’m inclined to believe him.
The ride back feels different than the ride here. Poppy sits close to me, and we share the candied nuts we bought in the market. Her head eventually finds its way onto my shoulder as the miles roll by outside the carriage windows.
“Aric?” she says softly.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for last night. For being patient with me.”
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Always.”
She’s quiet for a moment, then says, “I’m going to try to be braver. To not let fear ruin this.”
“I know you will,” I say. “And I’m gonna try too.”
Because the truth is, I’m just as scared as she is. Scared of messing this up, scared of the apprenticeship decision, scared of the distance that might be coming between us.
But there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s worth the risk.
Thatwe’reworth the risk.
And as the carriage carries us back to Coven Crest, I let myself believe that we might be able to figure this out without either of us getting hurt.
Chapter 33
Poppy
