“I meant it as a compliment.” I whisper the words, worried that all seventy-three of the witches living here will hear me otherwise.
Wolfe shakes his head and looks away. “I know you did.”
I feel as if I’ve said the wrong thing, so I don’t say anything else.
“How are you feeling?” he asks me.
“Embarrassed.” There’s something about him that makes me want to tell the truth, and I realize I’ve felt that way around him from the moment we met. I’ve shown him my anger and insecurities and wonder and fear, and never once has he said I’m too much.
It feels as if I’ve been living in the shadows and he’s invited me into the light. His dark expressions and dark magic and dark home have lit me up inside, illuminating the things I’ve been taught to keep hidden.
His eyes find mine. “Trust me when I say you have nothing to be embarrassed about.” He pauses. “Not now. Not ever.”
We watch each other, and I’m overwhelmed with the urge to reach out to him, to take his hand and pull him close to me. In the current, I wrapped myself around him because I had to. Because I’d drown if I didn’t.
But what if I drown right here in the quiet of his room, suffocated by how desperately I want him?
“Do you feel well enough to meet my dad?”
The question catches me off guard, sparing me from my thoughts. It must have been his dad he was speaking with outside the door. “Yes.”
He nods, and I slowly scoot off the bed and make sure I feel steady on my feet. Wolfe keeps his hand on my lower back until I’m sure I’m stable, then we walk into the hallway. The same mahogany wood as in Wolfe’s room lines the walls and floors, and a long red-and-gold rug runs the length of the hall. Candlesticks in glass sconces adorn the walls.
“Why do you burn so many candles?” I ask.
“How else are we to see?”
I look at him, confused. “You don’t have electricity here?”
“It would have been difficult to convince the mainland to extend power to this side of the island, given that we don’t exist. Don’t you agree?”
My cheeks flush, and I shake my head. “I’m sorry,” I say.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Besides, I’m partial to candlelight.” He looks at me for another breath before walking again.
His hand is hanging loosely at his side, and I can almost convince myself that it’s angled back at me, an invitation, and I fight the urge to reach out and take it. Hushed voices float from behind closed doors, and I startle when a little girl jumps out from behind a potted tree. Her dark hair is braided, and there’s a gap in her smile where her front tooth used to be. She slaps Wolfe on the leg and screams, “Tag, you’re it!”
Wolfe scoops her into his arms as she shrieks. “Those aren’t the rules we agreed upon, now, are they, Lily?”
She giggles and peeks at me from over Wolfe’s shoulder. “Who’s your friend?” she asks.
“This is Mortana,” Wolfe says. “Mortana, this is Lily.”
“His best friend,” Lily says, eyeing me warily.
“Yes, my best friend,” Wolfe agrees. He sets Lily back down, and she watches me from behind his leg.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lily. I have a best friend, too. Her name is Ivy.”
“Do you like to color?” she asks me.
“I love to color.”
“Can she come color with me?” Lily asks, seemingly satisfied that I’m not a threat.
“Not right now, Bug. It’s late—you should be in bed.”
Lily groans. “But I’m not even tired!” she says on top of a yawn.
“I know, I know. But you need to rest up for our game of tag tomorrow,” Wolfe says. “Unless you want to lose.”
Lily’s mouth falls open. “I’m not going to lose!” she says, and then she runs down the hall and slams a door behind her.
“I like your best friend,” I say, following Wolfe down the grand staircase, steadying myself with the iron railing.
“She’ll be pleased to hear that tomorrow.”
When we get to the bottom of the stairs, it’s louder. Voices carry from the right side of the manor, which I’m assuming houses the kitchen, and there are several witches in a formal room to the left, practicing spells. There are lit candles all over the room, and the flames get higher and lower with the words the witches speak.
“Hey, Wolfe,” someone says from the room, sending a ball of fire into the foyer that circles around us before dying out.