“I searched everywhere for your ribbon,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, his ice-cold fingers proof that he’d been outside all this time. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t find it.”
“That’s okay,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll find it in the morning. Thank you for trying.”
He nodded. “I should get back to the fort.”
Suddenly, she was fully alert. “Already? What about...?”
He smiled and kissed her so sweetly that Aurelie felt a curl of doubt in her stomach. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” he said, his voice a soft rumble in the dark. “But you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow, and I think you should get your rest.”
“I’ll rest when I’m dead,” she said, taking his face in her hands. “I want to spend tonight with you.”
“Aurelie...”
She reached over to her nightstand to turn on her lamp. “What’sgoing on? Everything was fine before you went to look for the ribbon, and now you’re acting strangely.”
Something passed behind his silver eyes, but it was a look she hadn’t learned yet. Maybe that was why it elicited a sinking dread in her stomach. “I’m concerned about tomorrow, that’s all.”
“I wish you’d have a little more faith in me,” she said, pulling him onto the sofa beside her.
“And I wish you’d have a little less faith in Everard.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I know you don’t want me here tomorrow—”
“It’s not that I don’twantyou here, Des. It’s that it wouldn’t be safe for you. If Everard sees you, he’ll think I’ve betrayed him in some way.”
“What makes you think Everard isn’t already well aware of me? If Kobal has seen me, I have to assume Everard has.”
“If that were the case, he would have said something by now. Listen, I know it’s difficult, but in twenty-four hours, this will all be over. Uncle Leo will be home, I’ll be back to being a student, and if all goes well, you’ll be searching for a new line of work.”
To her relief, he smirked. “Seems a shame, when I just got a promotion.”
“I’ve heard the Iron Guard has a good retirement program.”
“I’m nineteen. A little young to retire, don’t you think?”
She chewed her lip for a moment, and when she spoke again there was no teasing in her voice whatsoever. “Maybe it can be a fresh start. For both of us?”
He arched a brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m going to give up inventing.” She shook her head when he started to protest. “I’ve given it a lot of thought, and Ican’t in good conscience continue with it. Not after all the harm I’ve caused.”
“But with the portal closed, you’ll be able to invent without creating demons. It’s hardly the time to retire.”
She was grateful for his encouragement, when once he’d despised her for her inventing, but she’d made up her mind. “My uncle wants me to live a normal life. Even if inventing is legal again, there will be a stigma hanging over it for years to come. I’ll finish university, earn my degree, get a proper job.”
“But it’s your passion, Aurelie. You can’t just give it up.”
“What about you? Have you thought about what you’ll do next?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t allowed myself to get that far, if I’m being honest.”
Her heart sank. “Because you don’t believe it will work.”
She was grateful he didn’t lie to her, that he had more respect for her than to offer false hope. “Even if it does. I never think beyond the immediate future. There’s never been a point.”
“Well,” she said, leaning against him, “let’s daydream for a minute. Close your eyes.” She sat up a bit to make sure he was complying. “Good. Now, imagine yourself in ten years.”
He shuddered. “I’ll be nearly thirty.”