“Have you done this before?” he asked her.
“This?”
“You know.” He glanced down at their bodies.
She scoffed incredulously. “With whom?” she asked, as though the idea were absurd.
He shrugged. “Miles?”
She was caught so off guard she snorted, then covered her mouth in surprise, still laughing. “You’re joking,” she said. “Right?”
“Why would I be joking? You did go on a date with him, if I recall correctly.”
“That wasnota date. My uncle thought Miles Viridian would be a good match for me, simply because he’s a dedicated student from a good family.”
At that, a sliver of doubt wedged itself into Des’s heart. He’d never even considered what Aurelie’s uncle would think of him. Dr. Blake hadn’t been present in the weeks Des had known her. But of course he wouldn’t want his only niece to be with someone like Des. He had raised her since she was a small child to be just like him: smart, successful, devoted to her studies and academia.
“Hey, where’d you go?” she asked, reaching for him.
He shook his head, embarrassed. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” She forced him to look at her, and he resented her in that moment for not simply dropping the matter like Jasper or Aspen would have, for forcing him to confront his own insecurities. She and Daisy were too much alike in that way. “Listen, Miles Viridian is the most repugnant, sycophantic, self-absorbed man I’ve ever met.”
He frowned, unconvinced.
“He was also recently engaged to Lavender Applebaum.”
At that, the spark of hope relit in Des’s chest, and he pulled her to him, kissing her greedily while she laughed. It was the most beautiful sound in the world, Aurelie’s laughter.
Finally, he released her so she could finish making the tea. It quickly became apparent that Aurelie had hardly eaten today, so he went to the pantry to find whatever he could, determined that tomorrow he’d bring a fresh loaf of bread and cheese for her. The world needed more of Aurelie Blake in it, not less.
Just as they were about to head back toward the workshop, Aurelie set the tea tray on a console table and looked up at Des.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I just want you to know, if at any point you decide you can’t be a part of this, I’ll understand. You deserve to be promoted, Des. You deserve everything you want. And I’m not so naïve as to think you’re going to change your entire life for me.”
What was she doing? Letting him off the hook? Trying to tell him gently that they had no future together? Or was she simply trying to protect her own heart?
Instead of asking, he pulled her into his arms, holding her as tightly as when he’d pulled her away from the runaway carriage. And just like then, she didn’t flinch at the stiffness of his armor or the unyielding grip of his muscles. Just like then, she melted into him, as though she knew that his armor, his muscles, were there to protecther, far more than they were for himself.
Because the thing he needed to protect most of all couldn’t be safeguarded by armor or weapons, and the walls he’d built up around it had been reduced to rubble by this tiny, inimitable, wrecking ball of a girl.
Chapter 34
Aurelie
By Thursday morning, the portal was nearly finished. All of the stones were in place, the metal plates affixed with resin. Kiara had carved most of the runes on Wednesday while Aurelie continued to work on her translation. They were cutting it close—maybe too close. But she couldn’t let herself think that way. She was like a horse in blinders, gaze narrowed to the hour, minutes, seconds ahead. If she widened her view at all, she started to feel the panic creep in—and that was the last thing she needed.
The fact that today was Yule was difficult to grasp. Aurelie had spent every Yule since her parents’ death with Uncle Leo in his cottage. There was no pine tree this year, no presents beneath it, no dinner with other faculty members who lacked family or students who were stranded in town thanks to a freak snowstorm.
This year, there wasn’t even Mephisto, who usually received an extra cockroach for Yule dinner. Years ago, Kiara had knit it a tiny stocking and hung it over a miniature mantel she’d carved out of wood in her father’s shop. Since then, she would bring a diminutive gift for Mephisto, generally something completely useless, like a Mephisto-sized sweater with eight leg holes. Aurelie had given up attempting to wrangle the demon into it almost immediately for fear of losing a finger.
At noon, eyes blurring from her translation efforts, she went tothe cottage to prepare another pitiful meal, feeling immensely sorry for herself. Of course, she knew Uncle Leo had it far worse, wasting away in a cage in a cellar. Perhaps they could celebrate a belated Yule once they were reunited. She would purchase something special for him. A new pocket watch or a fountain pen with a crystal inkwell. Anything he wanted, so long as they were together.
She started a fire and skimmed another crumbling tome on Elder Vansion, struggling to read it while her thoughts strayed in a thousand directions. The portal, Des, Uncle Leo. So many things had to go right for this to work, when only one wrong move would lead to utter ruin. When a knock sounded on the door, she dropped the book. Daisy was spending Yule with her cousin. Jasper and Gareth had friends they were going to visit. Des hadn’t said if he had plans, but she hadn’t dared hope he might choose to spend it with her.
But when she opened the door, there was Des, wearing his gray Iron Guard peacoat and holding a small, crooked pine tree.