Page 38 of A Grave Not Made For Mourning
I am a carnivorous plant. I will eat whatever comes near.
“Think about it,” she begs. “Please.”
“Okay.” I force the words out. “I’ll think on it.”
Chapter 9
The Sweetest Torture
Now
T
his time when I go to Lucian and Azaire, I don’t have a plan. Do I tell them Calista can’t remove the glamour, or wait like she asked? Maybe I could get the book to Lucian and let him find his own Folk to deal with it, like he wants. It’s not that I don’t trust Calista, it’s that the boy was right.
If manipulating her emotions is a resort at all, it’s a part of me.
And I already know I’m willing to do it.
But it seems it won’t be an issue for now. When I knock, Azaire opens the door. Without Lucian.
“Hey.” His voice bubbles through my chest like foam.
I stand at the door, right at the threshold, awkwardly balancing at the precipice of the exit. “I um… I’m working on removing the glamour from the book.”
Azaire nods, words lodged in his throat. He wants to talk to me. I have nothing I’m willing to share. Nothing to help him understand my decision.
Telling him I’m saving us both the pain is not often what one hears when they are starting a relationship.
“We should wait for Lucian,” Azaire says at last.
“Yeah,” is all I manage. The rest of my vocabulary gets caught in the spaces between the alphabet.
“He appreciates your help more than he shares,” Azaire tells me, and he means it.
“I’m not doing it for him,” I say, and Azaire shifts, tugging on his beanie. “I’m doing it for me.”
Lucian’s hungry for answers—I might be starving.
Azaire nods, then after a moment, he says, “I love Lucian, more than anyone. But if you didn’t want to be here, I’d tell you to run.”
“That is what someone who cares would say,”the boy murmurs to me.
“I can feel that he cares.”
“Would you like to do anything about it?”the boy asks, but he doesn’t sound happy. He sounds curious.
He feels scared.
“Then why are you here?” I ask. “What’s in it for you?”
Azaire shrugs. “Lucian’s quick to go to extremes.”
“Why areyouhere?” I repeat the question, taking the opportunity to step fully past the threshold.
He glances at me, standing in his suite, as if he wasn’t sure I ever would again. Finally, he says, “Because I want to help the worlds.”
He truly means it. That’s the most baffling part.
