Turning onto my back, I stretch my stiff, sore muscles. The curtains are open but the room is dark, lit only by a few random candles. The musky scent and warm chest next to me are the only part of my surroundings I want to focus on.
Running a hand along his jaw, I take in the handsome sight for a long moment. Two weeks felt like an eternity away from him.
His breathing is deep and steady, so I carefully crawl out of bed and go to the restroom. After I’ve taken care of my needs, I stand in front of the mirror and take in the hollow, exhausted face staring back at me.
In a weird way, it’s the most I’ve ever thought I looked like Petra.
I’m closer to finally finding myself than I ever have been though.
Archer is sitting up in bed, looking around disheveled, until his eyes land on me. Then he lets out a breath of relief, and I run back to the bed, throwing myself into his lap.
“Renata,” he murmurs into my hair. “Fuck, I am so happy to see you—awake.”
“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” I say, but it comes out muffled against his chest.
I’m not sure how long I was out. There’s no way it could have been more than a day. I hope.
“Neither did I,” he says. “Surprisingly, Calista was… Decent, for lack of a better word.”
Pulling back I look at his bright blue eyes. “Calista?” I ask in a terse tone.
He chuckles and kisses my cheek. “Don’t spend a second worrying your pretty mind, Little Wisp.” I roll my eyes and push us until his back hits the bed and I’m laying on top of him. “Her life has been sad, if I’m honest. Obviously, she does a lot of shady things, but most of what we heard about her seems to be wrong.”
Sitting up to get a better look at him, I ask, “What do you mean? What did you learn?”
“Not a lot. It feels like there was more to her words. Like she wanted me to read between the lines. I’m just not… I’m not understanding.”
He goes over his visit with her. Since we saw each other in our dreams every night, he’s able to skip to the part when he found the cottage. All of it is new information to me. My mom and Agatha never talked about Calista, at least not in front of us. They only discussed the logistics of the trip. I didn’t even have an idea what she looked like.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t help but let the sympathy grow for her.
Yes,she’s a demon. But the parts of her life she shared with Archer… She’s a female. One who has been scorned, banished, and hunted.
We both know Nestor had a wandering eye based on Petra’s journals. It’s easy to believe that his attention was swayed by a beautiful, unfamiliar face.
I hate how angry it makes me. It slowly morphs into betrayal, and for once, I’m positive these are my emotions, not Petra’s.
“What’s wrong?” Archer asks once he gets to how she promised he would be returning and would bring exactly what she needs.
“I don’t know. It’s stupid.” I shrug, trying to downplay it.
With his thumb and forefinger, he angles my chin up. “I bet it’s not.”
On a sigh, I admit, “I can’t help feeling hurt by Nestor. I don’t know… He was the first family member who took somewhat of an interest in me. It doesn’t matter that he’s dead.” In some ways, my magic made me closer to him because of that. “After reading about his feelings for Cassia, Ineverthought that he’d… He’d abandon them. Technicallythreedifferent women,” I emphasize.
With a rueful smile, he asks, “Is that a little sympathy for the succubus?”
Lying so we’re chest to chest, I rest my chin on my hands. “Unfortunately, I am.”
“She said Nestor stole from her, so maybe he was hoping to go back in time to save Cassia,” Archer offers but it’s a fragile attempt.
“Maybe…” I trail off, thinking about every detail of his visit. “How did you get back so quickly?”
“She can create a portal,” he says, a little in awe. “It’s nothing I’ve seen before. Her fireplace led me straight back to the inn—to you.”
“That’s impossible…” I mutter, thinking back to all the visits when my mother and Agatha returned much sooner than they should have. “Yet it makes so much sense.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll admit, she has much of my gratitude for bringing me here when she did.”
