Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “Lovely,” she said. “You’re back.”
“Uh oh. Melancholy Aveen. How can we get rid of her?”
“You can’t.” In her haste to reach for something at the corner of the table, she knocked a glass pot onto the floor.
Melancholy Aveen would disappear as soon as she saw the townhouse, I was sure of it. And if not, after her first bite of tart, she would definitely be gone. No one could resist Eava’s tarts. “We’ll see about that.”
The jar of black that she’d dropped smelled like tar. “No wonder you’re melancholy, smearing this shite on your face every day.” I handed it back even though I felt like throwing the whole feckin’ lot into the fire and letting it melt into nothing.Couldn’t she see how perfect she was without it?
“You are ridiculous,” she murmured.
“It’s better than being melancholy.”
“I’m not melancholy. I’m nervous.”
“What’s there to be nervous about? All you have to do is go like this—” I made a kissy face and a bunch of sloppy tongue noises. “And my brother will take care of the rest.” My stomach twisted at the thought. I pushed that right back, refusing to let that bastard ruin this night. “We can practice if it’ll make you feel better.” We could practice all night. I longed to kiss her frowny lips almost as much as I longed for vengeance. And for someone like me, that was saying a lot.
“What if something goes wrong and I don’t come back?” she whispered.
I took her hands, pulling her upright. “I swear on pain of death that you will come back.”
“You lie.”
“About most things, yes. But not this.”Not to you.
She stared at me, brow furrowing and frowny lips turning down. I put my thumbs on either side of those lips and forced them into a smile. “Give me a different Aveen. This one’s broken.”
She bared her teeth in a grimace.
“Fake Aveen? Pass. Next.”
She rammed the toe of her slipper into my feckin’ shin, sending a jolt of pain straight up my leg. “Ohhh, violent Aveen. Welcome back, my dear. I’ve missed you. Grab your cloak, my little viper. We’re leaving.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, fastening the gold clasp at her throat.
I swept her into my arms and drew on all my magic to get us straight to the townhouse. The way she clung to me made the resulting wooziness worth it. Besides, there would be more executions, and I’d have forever to replenish my magic.
Forever without her.
I set her down but kept a hand on her elbow until she steadied herself. Once I was sure she wouldn’t fall over, I brought her from the entryway to the parlor.
Her soft gasp cut straight to the void in my chest.
I watched her gaze sweep from the window to the chandelier and the table beneath, a smile playing around her lips, tugging at the corners. She was the most stunning woman I’d ever seen. Not only that, but she made me feel things I hadn’t felt in centuries. Warm. Hopeful. Alive.
“There she is,” I whispered.
She looked at me as if she’d forgotten I’d been standing right here.“Who?”
“Happy Aveen.”Maybe this Aveen was my favorite. Hard to tell since I’d only just met her.
“Well, if you aimed to impress, you have succeeded.”
“This?” I gave one of the droopy flowers a flick. “Oh, you think I did this to impress you? I hate to disappoint, but this is what I do every other Friday. You should not feel special. Because you aren’t.”
She returned my grin. If I’d had my heart, it would’ve been pounding. “Don’t lie to me. Not tonight.”
“All right. I don’t do this every other Friday. It’s usually on Tuesdays.” I flicked my wrist, shifting the golden plates, goblets of wine, and tiered stand of tarts from the kitchen onto the table. Aveen unfastened the clasp at her throat and draped her cloak over the back of the chair closest to the fire.