“The wild honey you found has a twofold ability,” Jack said. “As long as it runs in your veins, you’ll wield the same green magic I did for years. Your body will also heal itself.” His eyes dropped to the place in my side still throbbing, caught between wanting to grow and wanting to yield to the death that lived in my every cell. “It will be harder to fight that off soon. Unfortunately, nature does not discriminate between soil and human flesh. It will grow through you, as my tithe has done.”
“Your tithe,” I whispered, putting a name to this new thing we shared.
Jack nodded. “There is a price for breaking the rules of nature. We can only borrow creative power, not wield it against death. If we try… well”—he touched the base of his tree—“it grows in us instead.”
“So he says. But he doesn’t have me,”the monster said, preening.“I won’t let this so-called tithe get anywhere near your heart.”
Jack’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. You’ve only just woken. If this is too much, I can let you rest.”
“No!” I tried to sit up, and a rush of exhaustion poured vertigo into my vision. I closed my hand around the side rail of the hospital bed and breathed until the ringing in my ears cleared, then I met Jack’s even gaze. “Eva?” I said raggedly.
“She’s okay.”
Relief was a crashing train. I fell back against the pillow, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment.
“There was a lot of blood on your clothes,” Jack said. “The medics who picked you up thought it might belong to the missing member of your party.”
“It wasn’t Lenny’s.”
Jack accepted that with a nod, then paused. “I know what you did for my daughter.”
A swallow lodged in my throat. “She was dying. I-I had to—”
“I know.” And then he did something I didn’t expect. The giant honeyman moved closer and pulled me into a crushing hug. “Trust me, I know.”
It shouldn’t have been possible for us to embrace this way without my death-touch drawing Jack’s life out second by second. But just as it had when I’d tested it in the meadow, the monster remained calm and contained, keeping its promise.
After a stunned moment, I gripped Jack by the shoulders and hugged him back, a hot tear rolling down to my chin. I didn’t have words for this. The casual, easy press of affection reached deep to the core of me, spreading a balm over my heart.
“Thank you, son,” he whispered.
A lump balled in my throat. When Jack pulled away, the pressure uncorked and tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and healing. Behind his glasses, Jack’s eyes were shining too.
The door behind him opened, and Izzy popped her head inside. “If things are getting sappy, I want in.” She stepped into the room, carrying a bundle under her arm. “Got a change of clothes for you, Fairy,” she said, setting the bundle on the tray before she plopped herself at the end of my bed, landing right on my foot.
“Ow,” I said indignantly.
Izzy ignored my sound of protest and pointed at my chest. “Youbroke your promise,” she said. “You weren’t supposed to leave before we talked.”
I swallowed hard. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
To my relief, she accepted my apology with a nod. “I guess that means dinner is on you tonight.”
I blinked. “Dinner?”
Before she could reply, Jack cut in. “Eva still in with the sheriff?” Izzy nodded. “Why don’t you two go on ahead and pick up the food, then? I’ll drive her home when they’re done.”
“Perfect.” Izzy opened her purse and passed over a pink bundle to Jack. “I brought her a clean dress.”
“Wait a second,” I blurted out, trying to catch up. I looked between her and Jack, my mind clogging with questions I wanted to ask, apologies I wanted to give, and too many other important things I’d left unsaid.
Izzy’s expression softened. “What’ll it be then, Fairy? Cheeseburgers?”
“I… What?”
“Chicken? Pizza?” She raised her eyebrows. “What are you hungry for?”
I felt as though I’d been transported out of my body and was hovering above, watching the scene play out beneath me. The easy back-and-forth was strangely comforting, and between Jack’s grounding presence and Izzy’s lighthearted banter I felt real in a way I hadn’t for a long time.
