Midnight
Page 37
The warmth I felt radiating through my chest made any protests I had fizzle on my lips. I loved Josephine, and she loved me back. It still felt too amazing to be true. My wings shuddered against the bed. Hugo was still looking at me, an almost smug expression on his face.
‘What about you?’ I asked quickly. ‘How are things going with you and Ezzie?’
‘That,’ he said, ‘is none of your business.’
I smirked, but I kept my mouth shut. I knew better than to press my brother for details. I pushed myself off the bed and folded my wings tight against my back. Hugo took another survey of the room.
‘So you’re really going to stay here?’ he asked, glancing out the window.
‘For now,’ I replied. ‘I’ve got a room in the Court of Shadows, but it’s going to take some getting used to. I’ve not been really fond of the whole underground thing, lately.’
‘And what’s Josephine got to say about it?’
I sniffed the air, catching a scent. ‘Why don’t you ask her?’
Josephine stepped into the room, brushing dust off her jeans. ‘I don’t mind. This place might make a great little getaway place, once it’s fixed up right.’ She smiled at me, and I felt my face grow ten degrees hotter.
Francis entered the room behind his sister, carrying an open box. ‘Hey, Sebastian. I brought your stuff from the Circe like you asked.’ He glanced around the room approvingly. ‘Nice place. Better than the quarters they’ve got us in down at the Court.’
‘Thanks.’
I shot Hugo an overly satisfied look, which he conveniently ignored.
‘Well,’ said Francis, dropping the box into the nearest corner. ‘I’ve gotta run, but I’ll see you guys at the banquet tonight, right?’
‘I don’t think we really have much choice,’ said Josephine.
Francis grinned. ‘See ya later, Your Majesty.’
He turned and headed back down the stairs without another word. I felt myself grinning after him. I’d really missed Francis and the rest of the Circe, even if some of them were still slow in coming around to me.
Suddenly, Josephine let out a loud sigh. ‘I just realized, I forgot my bag at the bottom of the stairs.’
‘I’m on it,’ I said.
I got the image in my head, drew in deep breath, and summoned the shadows. They swirled around me in a cold, comforting mist. I was back in a matter of seconds, with Josephine’s bag in my hands.
‘Thank you,’ she said, kissing me on the cheek.
Hugo huffed, impressed. ‘So, no more problems with the whole mist thing? Ezzie told me shadowing made you sick as a dog.’
‘Not anymore,’ I said with a shrug. ‘I guess thanks to the other guy.’
I still refused to name the creature that had somehow shared space with me for a while. Because, even two weeks later, the idea that he might return still haunted me at night.
‘So the horns aren’t the only thing he left you with,’ Hugo commented.
My smile dropped. ‘No.’
‘There’s something else?’
‘I … he … you know we didn’t destroy all the shadowen that night. All of them in Savannah, definitely. But there are more. They communicate to me, sometimes. Not words, just emotions, mainly. But I know they’re out there.’
Hugo frowned. ‘Could you control them?’
What remained of the creature inside me was still fresh, and though I mastered it now, I also realized it would never truly go away. ‘I don’t know. Maybe. It’s not something I really want to try right now.’
‘Fair enough.’ Hugo shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘Well, I’m going to run out and grab some dinner.’ He lowered his brows at me. ‘I won’t even ask if you want anything.’
‘I’ll pay you back,’ I said politely.
‘Yeah right,’ he replied. ‘I won’t lose any sleep over it. You two have fun with all this … stuff. But just as a warning, Josephine, this guy sucked at cleaning back home.’
Hugo ducked out of the room, but not before I pegged him in the back of the head with a paperback copy of Hamlet. Josephine laughed, then opened her bag and pulled out a letter.
‘Katie wrote me this week.’
‘I’m not surprised.’
‘I love it. I mean, nobody writes letters anymore. And she always decorates it with glitter and stickers—’
‘Because she’s five.’
‘Because she’s creative. Anyway, she told me she might be coming to Savannah to attend college.’
I felt a grin spread over my face. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah, really. Of course, it doesn’t have anything to do with us. Kris Corsi’s opening up a tattoo shop downtown.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Should’ve known.’
Josephine set the letter on my desk and took my hands. It never failed to send a shiver of electricity up my arms. Her smiled faded, but it was replaced with a look that made my heart want to explode inside my chest. She led me to the window and climbed onto the ledge. I moved beside her.
‘This is nice,’ she said, as she squeezed my hand and cast a sideways look in my direction. ‘But promise me you won’t spend too much time up here.’
I pulled from a memory, my first official day as her guardian.
I go where you go, Josephine.
The words tingled in my head as I thought them, and I watched her expression shift contentedly as she heard it in her own mind. The bond between us resonated like music. There was no need for us to try and understand it anymore. I’d never felt anything so natural in my life. She leaned her head against my shoulder, and I pulled my wing close, wrapping around her protectively.
‘Are you sure about this?’ I asked hesitantly. ‘About us, I mean.’
‘Absolutely,’ she replied, without a hint of doubt in her voice. Then, she paused. ‘As for the future, well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Things won’t be easy.’
‘Whatever happens next, I’ll face it at your side, Josephine.’
She looked up at me. ‘Together.’
Josephine wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled into my chest. I took in her scent, the exotic spices from a world that was no longer foreign to me, but smelled like home. ‘It’s a beautiful night,’ I said, looking out at the expanse before us. ‘Would you care for a short flight, Kralitsa?’
She beamed at me like sunlight. ‘Ready when you are.’
I swept Josephine into my arms and leapt from the window.
Acknowledgments
To God, who makes all things possible. Proverbs 16:3
To Doug, Liam, Justin, my parents, my in-laws, my niece and nephews, and all my amazing family. Thanks for your continued love and support.
To the wonderful team at HarperCollins/HarperVoyager for bringing this series to life. Thank you Lily Cooper and Natasha Bardon for all your work! Thanks to Ben Gardiner for my beautiful cover and to Simon Fox for making my words better.
To my agent Jill Corcoran for always being in my corner.
To my incredible friends, who bring out the best in me.
To Rachel Winterbottom. Thank you.
To Trail Mix – the best critique group and friends I could ask for.
And finally, to all the people who’ve read these books so enthusiastically, spread the word so diligently, and written reviews so beautifully … your encouragement means more than you know. Thank you for sharing this world with me.
Christi
About the Author
Christi J. Whitney is a former high school theatre director with a love for the arts. She lives just outside Atlanta with her husband and two sons. When not spending time with them or taking a ridiculous number of trips to Disney World, she can be found directing plays, making costumes for sci-fi and fantasy conventions, obsessing over Doctor Who, watching superhero movies, or pretending she’s just a tad bit British. You can visit her online at www.christijwhitney.com or connect on Twitter @ChristiWhitney
Also by Christi J. Whitney
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