A sparkling wreath of blue light formed in the air, trembling as if it were made of thousands of glowing pinprick butterflies. It wound around Magdala’s wrist and settled on her skin. There was no pain, no burn, and when it was gone, it had left a raised pink scar encircling her arm. It intertwined beautifully, reminding her of a braided vine. Asherton couldn’t lift his arm, but when Magdala glanced at it where it lay across his stomach, it bore a twin mark. Magdala beamed like a fool, her cheeks hurting. Asherton hooked his finger under her chin, tipped up her face, and kissed her softly. She slipped her tongue between his teeth and arched against him, but he could only maintain the kiss a moment before his chest shuddered and he coughed.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him cough into her chest.
“Do you feel any different?” he asked when he’d recovered.
“I couldn’t love you more, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said, laying her hand on the side of his face and kissing his damp, salty neck.
He inhaled slowly as she kissed his jaw and his cheek, and then his mouth. He kissed her back, and this was different. She could not explain it, but Magdala could feel him withinher heart, like a branch grafted into a tree. Part of her and yet separate.
“Now get better quickly,” she whispered, “and we can sneak off somewhere and misplace all our clothes.”
He let out a low growl. “That’s something worth living for.”
She lay her head on his shoulder and he shut his eyes, coughing lightly.
The moment had tiptoed past so softly, Magdala could only stare at the scar on her wrist in disbelief.
When she slept, she dreamed of a rushing river, and, as before, her parents stood on either bank, shouting for her to join them. Asherton stood in the current, beckoning. And Magdala found that she was no longer afraid, and so she lowered her body into the cold water, took his hand, and let the river carry them away together.
Chapter 46
Voices whispered in Magdala’s dreams—angry, like two disgruntled bears. As she dragged her weary eyes open, the sharp tang of mustard and the bitter cloy of herbs met her. The door was shut, but heavy footsteps sounded in the kitchen. Her father and Zephyr had returned.
She hadn’t meant to fall asleep at all, but she’d nodded off despite Asherton’s labored breathing. Now, the room was quiet. No rattling lungs, no staccato coughs. Horror overcame her—had she finally slept because Asherton had died and fallen silent?
Panicked, Magala turned over and found the bed empty, the blankets smoothed, and Asherton nowhere in sight. Flinging the covers aside, she jumped up, bounded across the room, and wrenched open the door. She stumbled into the living room, her hair a wild mass of disordered curls and her clothes rumpled.
“Where is he, Da?” she demanded.
“Just here, my love,” Asherton replied. He was sitting at the table, across from Seamus.
Asherton looked so improved, Magdala could only gaze at him in shock, wondering if this was a dream or some wishful hallucination. He was dressed in an oversizedgreen sweater, knitted with ducks flying across the shoulders and chest, and the same canvas pants he’d worn when they arrived. His eyes were tired, but his cheeks were pink.
“Good morning,” he said. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“What kind of magic is this?” she asked, suspicious.
Seamus sniffed. “I said I would get him a tincture, and I’m a man of my word.”
“A magic tincture?”
“Only the best, of course.”
“Those are expensive.”
Seamus frowned, and Magdala suddenly noticed that the living room was empty. No more brobdingnagian furniture, no lake-sized rug pooling against the wainscot. Nothing but a pair of her father’s boots standing forlornly in the center of the floor.
“Da.” She stared at the void, half expecting the furniture to materialize from the dust motes in the air. “Did you sell the furnishings?”
“Well …” he puffed. “They never did fit.”
“Thank you, Da.”
Seamus shrugged.
She crossed to the table, looped her arms around Asherton’s neck from behind, and kissed his cheek. “You look so much better today.”
“I was fine last night,” he said.
