Quill stirred in her sleep, fingers curling into Boo’s fur as she murmured something too soft to hear. Even now, even after witnessing the darkness I carried, she trusted me enough to sleep peacefully beside me. The thought made my chest ache with a pain that had nothing to do with magic or bindings. This child claimed me as her own. She’d seen past the monster to the broken woman beneath. And at the age of only nine, she’d stood toe-to-toe with a god she had no business speaking to. Gods help us all when she was grown.
A glint of gold caught my eye. That damned book materialized on the edge of Quill’s blanket. I looked away, refusing to acknowledge its presence or the way my heart clenched at the sight of it. Not now. Not when the wound of Thorne’s betrayal was still raw and bleeding. Not when I needed to focus on the family who’d stayed by my side and had chosen to weather my storm rather than seek safer shelter.
“You stayed,” I whispered, careful not to wake Quill as I peeled myself from the ground and moved to Archer’s side. My legs shook with each step, the marks around my ankles burning like brands.
“I’ll always stay.”
“I heard what you said to him.”
His voice dropped as he turned away. “He was our friend, and he didn’t care at all. I could see it in his eyes when Imentioned her name. He didn’t care, and she loved him like a brother. What right did he have to her devotion?”
I slipped my hand into Archer’s, grateful when he didn’t flinch away from the dark marks spreading up my arms. “He had no right at all.”
“She was the best thief I ever knew. Could lift a purse without leaving a whisper of a touch. Remember that job in the governor’s mansion?”
I nodded, having heard pieces of this story before.
“She scaled that wall in a full gown. Three daggers strapped to her thigh, jewels in her hair, and not a single guard suspected the beautiful lady was anything but another noble’s daughter.”
He laughed softly. “Then some drunk lordling tried to corner her in the hallway, and she had a blade at his throat before he could blink. Didn’t even wrinkle her dress.”
“She was something else with those daggers,” I murmured, remembering the one she’d gifted me.
“Grandmother insisted on dance lessons when we were young,” Archer explained. “Harlow hated every minute until she realized it made her faster with a blade. After that, she never complained again.”
His eyes grew distant. “You know she kept a tally? A little mark for every successful job, inked into the handle of her favorite dagger. She was so damn proud of that knife. She was terrible at cards, though,” he admitted with a soft chuckle. “Couldn’t bluff worth a damn. But it didn’t matter because no one was looking at her cards. They were too busy staring at her face.”
“She knew it, too,” I recalled. “Used it to her advantage.”
“Every time. She’d lean forward, flutter those eyelashes, and suddenly no one remembered what game we were playing.” His smile faded. “But she never used people, not really. That wasn’t her way.”
He looked down at our joined hands. “The night before… before Ezra’s men… she was cleaning her daggers. All six of them laid out on the bed. She said something I can’t stop thinking about. ‘Archie, if something happens to me, promise you won’t be alone.’”
My heart twisted painfully in my chest.
“I didn’t take her seriously. I told her not to be so dramatic. I’m pretty sure I even threw a dinner roll at her. But she gave me that look, you know the one, like she knew something I didn’t. She said, ‘We found a family here. Don’t throw it away, no matter what happens.’”
Archer’s shoulders trembled slightly. “She knew, Paesha. Somehow, she knew.”
“She was protecting you,” I said gently. “Right until the end. That’s who she was.”
“I should have protected her,” he whispered.
“And she would say the same if your positions were reversed,” I reminded him. “Harlow made her choice. She loved you enough to die for you. Honor that choice by living for her.”
He finally turned to face me fully, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m trying. Gods know I’m trying.”
The silence was vast and all-consuming. We stood there together, staring at the tree line. Eventually, he spoke again. “I don’t want to be sad anymore. I don’t think it’s good for the kid, you know.”
“Tiptoeing around her isn’t good for her either.”
“I should have never told her who Thorne was when we were standing in the house. She was like a tiny little beast, but he could have done anything. And I fed into that. She couldn’t control herself because I couldn’t. It’s not right. She’s yours, so she’s mine too. That’s how this is going to work. I lost everyone in my family.” He took a deep breath. “Everyone. I need a new family. I can’t lose control.”
I held my arms out to show him Alastor’s bands circling my wrists, the patterns now reaching my elbows. “You thinkyoulost control?”
“I wasn’t going to ask.”
“I’m bound to Alastor now. Of all the villains in last night’s show, he proved to be the worst.”
