But she only smiled. “Then I’d love to teach you.”
She took the dishes from my hands, carried them to the kitchen. I followed, my heart pounding.
She turned, standing close. For a breath, I thought she might kiss me.
“Here,” she said instead. “This’ll get the fishy taste out of your mouth.”
She held out a fork with a slice of mango. I took a bite, oddly thrilled when she used the same fork to eat her own.
Just a fork. A shared fork. But still.
“Mmm. This one’s really sweet,” she said, offering me another. She was already starting to act like herself again. I was glad.
And also not.
Once she’s better, I’m gone.
That was the plan. Always had been.
But then?—
What if…
I blinked, watching her hum as she cleaned, sneaking mango slices into her mouth and mine.
The question surfaced before I could stop it.
“You could come with me,” I said, voice low, uncertain.
She froze and turned to me. “You know I can’t…”
My jaw clenched. “Why not? I will protect you. Keep you safe. You would be well-provided for, and would never have to worry about finances or being alone.”
I stepped forward. It was killing me to fight this…
“Why can’t you come, Malia? What are you hiding?”
Her face drained of color, her voice barely a whisper. “If I told you, you’d hate me.”
“Why?”
“I did something terrible…”
“When? To who?” I took another step. Found her hand. Our fingers interlaced, our hearts beating.
“Alaric. You just don’t understand. I can’t go to Moanalei. I can’t go anywhere… if I do, she’ll find me, or the witch hunters will find me.”
“Who is she?”
Instead of answering, Malia said, “I’m only safe here.”
“This place is falling apart. You’re miserable hiding,” I said, plain and simple, and the hurt reached her eyes. “What are you hiding from? Why won’t you tell me?” Frustration welled up inside of me.
She squeezed my hand, but didn’t move close to me. Instead, she inhaled and said, “You deserve your life of freedom, Alaric. You don’t want to be chained to me, in this dark place with my dark past.”
“You don’t even want me to stay, do you?” I asked, and her breath caught.
“I…”
