Letting out a dry laugh, she places her hand on the arm I have loosely wrapped around her waist to stop her fall. “That’s a loaded question.”
My smile softens, but doesn’t fade. “No, it’s not. Just an honest one.”
Her eyes jump between mine before dropping to my lips for a split second. Meeting my gaze, she says, “I shouldn’t.”
Tightening my hold around her, I pull her forward another inch. “That wasn’t the question, Little Wisp.”
“I do trust you,” she quietly breathes out.
Feeling like I chugged a good luck elixir, I touch my forehead to hers and gently command, “Close your eyes.”
She gives me an unsure look. I quiet her anxieties by pulling her further into my chest and brushing my lips against hers as I promise, “Only for a second. I want to show you something.”
It dawns on her what I mean—an illusion.
It’s not the most common divination ability, and one that requires a lot of energy. It’s always come natural to me in the way prophecies have come to Sybil.
And it’s one that I’ve never shared with anyone other than my sister.
“I’m in control,” I remind her. “As soon as you want it to disappear, it will.”
With a deep breath, I see the courage settle on her soft features and she nods.
When she closes her eyes, I whisper a common incantation against her lips, so close she practically breathes in my words.
“Meumoculi tuumoculi.” Cracking one eye open, I make sure the illusion took and murmur, “You can look now.”
She pulls away, taking in her new surroundings.
Technically old surroundings, depending on how you look at it.
When she didn’t open the door last night, I couldn’t sleep and chose to roam the back gardens. It’s not much to look at, all things considered. It’s quiet and I like to imagine what it could be in its prime. Not long after Whisper and I entered, Hexate found us.
I don’t know how it happened—maybe she’s able to communicate with Whisper and he sent that through our bond. He’s never done that with Echo, so the chances of that seem unlikely. However it happened, the fates wanted me to follow her toward the back of the property, and I understood their message.
I’ve explored most of the inn and the surrounding area, but I hadn’t ventured back here yet. Unlike Renata, I knew immediately where we were. My powers helped me make the connection, but the sparkle in her eyes when she sees the meadow—our meadow—makes any lingering disappointment at her confusion vanish.
“This is…” she trails off, slowly twirling in place.
My hand trails from around her back to her hip, tickling the sliver of bare skin between her pretty red top and the waistband of her skirt.When she stops, she’s facing me again and smiling. I grab both sides of her hips and step into her space. She lets her hands slide up and rest on my chest.
“Our meadow,” I finish for her. “It’s always been right here.”
“I feel like we should have guessed that,” she says with a shrug.
Her smile slowly fades. I give her a soft squeeze, pulling her out of her own head before she gets lost in there. “What are you thinking about?”
She assesses me for a long moment, thinking through her words. “Nothing isours. Everything—even here—belonged to Petra and Barrett first.”
“It’s ours now,” I say with conviction.
It does nothing to reassure her.
“For how long?” she asks and raises her eyebrows.
Shaking my head, I run my hand up her back and cradle her cheek. “For as long as you want this—wantme.”
“I don’t know that the choice is up to us,” she whispers in frustration and fists her hands into the fabric of my sweater.
