Page 14 of Fleshbound
“Quill?” Perry said behind him. “Are you…okay?”
Quill spun to eye his friend and apprentice. “No. But I will be. I just need to find the right answers.”
The handful of witches inside the shop quickly made their purchases and departed.
When the door was locked, Perry turned to him.
“What are you wearing?”
Quill looked down at himself. “I…” he lifted his gaze to Perry. “I’m not okay.”
Perry rushed closer, clasping Quill’s shoulder.
He’d cried every tear he had out yet somehow found some more. He cried into Perry’s arms, his very confused apprentice quietly holding him.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Perry finally asked when Quill quieted.
“I can’t. Not yet,” Quill murmured as he pulled away. “Give me time. I promise I’ll tell you.”
Perry nodded. “Well, the only time I’ve ever cried that hard, it was always about a man.”
Quill’s gaze flipped to Perry’s.
“If he hurt you, then maybe he doesn’t deserve you,” Perry said.
“He… he didn’t hurt me. Not purposefully.” Quill forced a smile. “Life pulled us apart.”
“Oh,” Perry said, frowning.
“Go home,” Quill said, looking around the bookstore. “I need to find a way to pull us back together.”
“I can help.”
“Not tonight,” Quill whispered. “I just need me and my books tonight.”
6
Two months passed without him finding a single thread or clue onFleshbound, Corven of Evonium, or anything pertaining to Merlin outside what was already legend. He’d closed the shop for most of that time, only shipping special orders off their website with Perry’s assistance, much to the confusion of the witch communityandhis coven. He’d been unable to speak of what had happened without breaking down, so he kept most of it stored up inside.
The only one who hadn’t asked questions was Cassius, their coven leader. The look of pity in the witch’s eyes every time he glanced in Quill’s direction made him think the man knew what had happened. Cassius had a sixth sense about him. Always had. It’s what made him such an amazing leader.
But Quill didn’t want Cassius’s pity. No one else’s either.
He would find the love of his life if it was the last thing he did.
After two more weeks of endless research, little sleep, and little food, he crashed hard. He awoke in his bed with Cassius sitting on the side of it, hovering close, unsure how he’d gotten there.
“What happened?”
“Perry found you passed out on the floor of the shop. Luca and I brought you up here and he gave you a little boost. You haven’t been eating, Quill. You can’t do that.”
“I know. I’ve been… busy,” Quill muttered.
“I thought we were friends?”
Quill sat up, resting his back against the headboard. “We are.”
“Well, friends talk to one another. They let them carry some of their burdens. These last few months, you’ve closed yourself off.” He sighed. “And pushed yourself so hard that you crashed and burned.”
