“Told you I would. And I wouldn’t dream of letting you down.” I hand them over, and she immediately takes her old pair off and puts on the fixed pair, blinking rapidly as the world comes back into focus.
“Oh, thank the goddess,” she says with a sigh. “I can see again.” She turns to look at me properly, and her smile is radiant. “Thank you so much.” After a moment, her brow furrows slightly. “They feel... different. Better. Did you change something?”
“Fixed the hinge and tightened the nosepiece,” I say, reaching out to snag a piece of cinnamon toast from Poppy’s plate. “And maybe used some runes so they won’t break again.”
Poppy’s eyes widen. “You enchanted my glasses?”
“Just a little bit,” I say before taking a bite of the toast. “Nothing fancy. Just a reinforcement charm so they won’t wear out as fast. I’m way better at runes now that you’ve been helping me.”
She still doesn’t respond, just stares with those big lavender eyes blinking behind the round frames of her glasses. Is she upset at me?Shit.
“I hope that’s okay—”
I don’t get to finish. Poppy throws her arms around my neck in a shocking public display of affection, nearly knocking me backward off the bench.
I catch her, laughing, and wrap my arm around her waist. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Over Poppy’s shoulder, Alina smiles at me.
When Poppy pulls back to look at me, there are tears in her eyes.
“Whoa,” I say. “What’s wrong? Did I mess them up? I can remove the enchantment if you don’t want it—”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just—” Her voice catches, and she has to stop and take a breath. “That was really nice of you. Thank you.” She removes her glasses and scrubs the tears from her eyes just as Lyra, Maeve, and Raelan appear at the table, all carrying plates of breakfast food.
“You’re welcome,” I say softly.
“Well, look who it is. Captain Runeball.” Lyra plops her tray down onto the table and takes a seat on the bench next to me. Her crimson curls are so wild, I’m afraid for a moment that they might reach out and strangle me.
Raelan puts a plate of food in front of Alina before taking a seat beside her, and Maeve sits on her other side.
“What’s the occasion?” Maeve asks, flicking a glance at me over the rim of her coffee cup. “You don’t usually grace us with your presence.”
“He fixed Poppy’s glasses,” Alina says.
“Aw,” Lyra says, jutting her lower lip out in a pout. “But you were so cute in those other glasses, Pops.”
Poppy laughs, wiping at her eyes, and then she scoots a bit closer to me, close enough that our thighs press together. She reaches under the table and finds my hand, threading her fingers through mine.
“These are perfect,” she says quietly, bobbing her head as if to try to dislodge them from the bridge of her nose. They don’t budge, and at the realization, she smiles up at me.
And goddess, she’s so damn beautiful.
Looking at her, I start to think maybe Felex was right.
Maybe I want to be more than herparamour. I want to be her boyfriend—proudly, not in secret.
And I decide I should tell her that.
The Samhain festival could be the perfect opportunity to make this—us—official.
Chapter 36
Poppy
THE BONFIRE IN THE CENTER of the castle courtyard is massive, its flames reaching toward the dark autumn sky and sending sparks dancing into the night like tiny shooting stars. The air smells of woodsmoke, spiced mead, and baked goods from the merchant carts dotting the courtyard, and all around, people talk and laugh and mingle, enjoying this night, when the veil between worlds is thinnest.
I’ve never particularly enjoyed the wildness of Samhain, but tonight, I’m actually looking forward to it for once.
