Page 84 of Summertime Hexy
“Let me get this straight,” I say gruffly. “You want to stay. Here. With us. As our... what? Magical gremlin?”
“Apprentice,” he says proudly. “Forever.”
A beat passes.
Something breaks open in my chest.
I don’t let people stay.
Not since Rowen.
Not since I buried my brother and walked away from the only home I ever knew, swearing I’d never build another just to lose it again. I kept my head down. Took jobs. Stayed moving. Never got attached.
But then Hazel crashed into my world like a lit match in a gunpowder room.
And now this kid—this feral, brilliant, sugar-fueled disaster of a child—wants to tie hislifeto mine?
I sink into the armchair. Quiet. Still.
And say the only word that matters.
“Yes.”
Milo doesn’t cheer.
Helauncheshimself at me like a missile and wraps his arms around my neck, grinning so wide it could crack the sky.
“I knew it,” he whispers. “I knew you were a big softie.”
“Tell anyone and I’ll hex your snack stash.”
“You’ll have to catch me first, old man.”
Hazel groans again from the bed. “Why is there bonding happening before coffee?”
“Because,” I say, glancing at her, “our apprentice made it official.”
Her face softens.
She reaches for the scroll, reads it, and smiles so wide it could melt mountains.
“Looks like we’re stuck with you, kid.”
“Good,” Milo says. “Because I was never planning to leave.”
And in that moment?
Neither was I.
The fire crackles low, spitting sparks into the air like little golden ghosts. Derek’s stretched out beside me on a blanket, one arm behind his head, the other brushing against mine every time I shift.
We’re alone out here—just us, the trees, and a sky full of stars smeared across the dark like spilled glitter.
“I never liked quiet before,” I murmur.
He turns his head. “You talk enough for two people.”
“Rude.”
