The Heart's Ashes
Page 49

“It’s okay. I kind of pushed them in that direction, I guess.”
“By telling him to move on?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Sort of.”
“That doesn’t excuse it.”
“I know. But I am happy for them—kind of.”
“Liar.” He smiled, pressing my nose with the tip of his finger. “They do make a good couple, though.”
“So did we—but it didn’t matter.”
“It does matter. I’m still here. I still love you.”
“But for how long? By the time this rain stops, you’ll be gone, and I’ll just be dead again.”
David took a breath and let it out slowly. “Come on, you’re cold. We need to get you home.”
“We?”
He nodded. “We.”
The lift of my cheeks into a smile spread uncontrollable joy across my face. “Really?”
He pushed the stray hairs from my cheeks on both sides. “Just for tonight.”
“I’ll take tonight.”
“Come on then, let’s not waste it in this freezing lake.”
He took my arm and helped me to the shore, dressing before I’d even picked up my shirt.
“Great, my bra is gone,” I said to myself, then looked up as David, with round eyes under a frown, took my arm and forced me to stand. “What?”
“Have you been eating?”
“Yes.” I hid my breasts from his stare.
“Why are you so thin?”
“I’m fine—I eat,” I said, turning away to put my shirt over my head. “I just don’t put weight on anymore.”
David’s fingers smoothed down my shoulders from behind and rested in a clasp around my stomach. “Is it because you’re so sad?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” I rolled my cheek into his face.
“If I stay for a while—maybe—a little longer than just one night, will you be happy again?”
I shrugged. “Depends—on how long.”
“Long enough for you to be healthy.”
“Yes, but then I’ll never get healthy again.” I turned in his arms and smiled up at him. “You abandoned the Set, why can’t you just be with me now?”
“Because the laws are strict. I was a council leader. It comes with great consequences if you abandon that. They will imprison me—and kill you—if they catch me with you.”
“So?”
“So, I don’t want you dead.”
“You don’t want to live without me either, do you? Which is worse?”
“Ara, the Set...if they catch you...”
“I know. It won’t just be death. They’ll torture me too, and make what Jason did to me look like child’s-play.”
He raised a brow at me. “Clued in, aren’t we?”
“Yes. And I don’t care. We can run; we’ll run for the rest of my life if it means we get to be together.”
“And what kind of life would that be? There can be no children, no peace. Ara, you want a normal life.” He touched my cheek, his eyes delving into mine.
“I changed my mind, though—I don’t care about any of that now.”
“Hm, yes.” He smiled warmly and looked down to one side. “I did see that in your memory.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And your uh—celibacy.”
I stared at him, my brow pulling low over one side.
“I went a little further back than you allowed,” he confessed.
“Cheeky.” I pointed in his face. “How far back?”
“I wanted to see the wedding—when you ran away.”
“Not my proudest moment.” I looked down at my empty ring finger.
David’s arms tightened around me. He rested his forehead against mine. “That may be so, precious girl, but I’m proud of you. You did the right thing.”
“You think?”
“I know.” He stepped out from my body and started walking, keeping his arm around me. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
Chapter 8
“Are you cold?” David asked, touching the heater dial.
I wrapped my arms tighter around my shoulders and nodded. Curse these chattering teeth.
David smiled—his secret smile—then turned his eyes back to the road. Warm heat, like breath, encircled the icy-talons on the stubs of my palm as I held them up to the vent. “D-did you d-drive your car to the l-lake,” I managed to shiver out.
“Yes.” He reached across and stole my hand. “But I’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
“Well.” I looked at the speedometer. “Don’t speed in my car—you’ll g-get me a tick—”
“Okay.” He saved me the hassle of finishing the lecture, and the car tugged slightly as his lead-weighted foot eased from the accelerator. “I remember now—you don’t like breaking road rules.”
“How easily you forget.”
“Forget? Or hope you wouldn’t notice.”
“I always notice.”
He smiled in return, keeping his eyes on the road. “Do you think Emily and Mike will have waited up?”
“I don’t know.” I looked at the clock, then the fuel light. “I hope so. I feel bad. I kinda freaked out.”
David chuckled softly. “Yeah. You did. Well—” he nodded to the house, “—looks like they waited up. Porch light’s still on.”
I sat up from my huddle and looked at my house. “Wait, how do you know where I live?”
“I uh—” he wiped his hand down his face and grinned, “I read it in your thoughts.”
“Oh.” I slumped back in my chair; and here I was thinking he might’ve actually cared enough to be checking up on me.
“Hey.” He squeezed my hand. “Don’t be like that. I did, I mean, I do care enough to check up on you—I just—I didn’t know where you were.”
“Why? It isn’t hard to find a person.”
“Well, that’s why I was at the lake.” He turned the engine off and we sat in the drive. “I was trying to decide if I should go ask your Dad, or if, maybe, I should leave you alone. Imagine my surprise when you showed up.”
“Not how you planned your night, huh?”