“Not too late,” I said, leaning down to brush my nose against his before kissing him and rising from the bed.
“IsMiterahere already?” he asked as I ran to the bathroom to clean myself up.
“She is. She’s down in the kitchen.”
When I returned from the bathroom I found him sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his hand over his face.
“I have something for you,” I said as I stepped into my underwear and pulled my sweater back over my head before heading for the door, not caring that I was only in an oversized sweater that barely covered my underwear. It was what I’d worn all morning, and it wasn’t anything Ethel hadn’t seen.
His brows rose as he pulled his pants on.
“I’ll be right back. You stay here,” I said, attempting to tuck my frazzled curls back into place behind my ears before giving up.
He huffed a laugh as I disappeared out our door and hurried down the stairs.
Ethel turned, gray eyebrows rising as I entered the kitchen. “Is he up?”
I nodded, and she quickly grabbed the basket sitting on the counter.
“Here ye go, love,” she said, eyes lighting up. “Good luck.”
“Thank you so much,Mitera,” I said, taking the basket and turning to head back up to the room.
19
DAMIEN
The door groaned as it opened, revealing Cassie carrying something, and my brows furrowed at the basket with a linen cloth folded over whatever the contents were.
Then, the scent hit me: the sweet, tart aroma I hadn’t smelled in over nine hundred years, and my heart soared and plummeted all at once. My thoughts halted, and I couldn’t bring myself to rise from the bed as she drew closer.
“What...” I said, choking on the words as she set the basket beside me and sat down.
“This isn’t your true Solstice gift, but I thought it would be a perfect way to start the day,” she said nervously as she nodded to the basket. “Go ahead.”
My eyes fell back to the basket, and I reached out to pull away the cloth, revealing pastries overflowing with the rich red berry filling I knew all too well. Chaza berries. They were almost the same as the ones Mother used to make for us as children. I hadn’t tasted one since she’d been killed all those centuries ago.
My vision blurred as the sorrow melted together with happiness welling in my chest. I lifted my eyes to her, blinking back tears. “How did you...”
“I remember you telling me about your favorite sweet on our first date,” she said, fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater. “I’d wanted to make it for you, but you told me the berries didn’t grow around here.”
I looked down at the pastries, steam rising from them, the scent of chaza berry flooding my lungs with each breath. It was my childhood, every bit of what I missed, every bit of what I never got to say goodbye to.
“The memory I had of us decorating the tree—you placed dried chaza berries as decorations, and it was then that I remembered.” She smiled, but there was something somber about it, a sadness that touched her hazel eyes. “I still can’t remember her face, or what her name was. I just know that she made these for us—for you—and how special it was. I asked Thalia if she could find a way to get chaza berries from the Godsrealm. They weren’t too difficult to work with, and I hope I did the pastries justice. I couldn’t quite remember how they looked.”
“They’re perfect,” I whispered as I smiled at her, loving how flustered she got. “You’reperfect.”
She blinked, and her fear melted into happiness as her lips curved into a smile. She nodded to the basket. “Try one before you go praising me.”
I reached out and took one, the crust crumbling beneath my touch. They were warm. “Did you make these this morning?”
She nodded eagerly. “I’ve been up since six making them. I wanted to surprise you.”
Gods, did she even sleep? I’d gotten in around four, and she’d been pacing the hallway when I arrived.
I took a bite, and my eyes slid shut as the sweet and tart filling met my tongue. Gods, it was just as I remembered, the crust buttery and flakey with just the right amount of crunch before it gave way to the soft, chewy center. She’d told me she loved to bake, and I wondered if a part of her remembered how to make them, because there was nothing that compared. It was the same.
“Damien?” she said, a look of worry painting her face, and I realized tears were rolling down my cheeks.
