Page 119 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
“Tell the queen she can go f—”
“Mind your words, Tyghan,” Eris said sharply. “I know you’re hurt. But what many of us wouldn’t give for a second chance—just to talk. Would giving her five minutes of your time cost you so much? Or perhaps . . . you’re afraid it could give you everything you really want?”
“I am not hurt. And I don’t want anything. She wished me out of her life eight years ago, and I’ve honored that wish.”
Eris sighed. “Eight years ago, you were both swept into a maelstrom of epic proportions. You were both so caught up trying to save everyone else, that you lost yourselves. Bristol was crushed when she left, beaten down by this world, just as your mother once was. Don’t hold her to every shattered word. That last wish washers. It doesn’t have to be yours too.”
Tyghan felt everything inside him harden, an old familiar armor he reached for that kept the pain away. “I’m busy,” he answered. “Reuben put the timemark back in her pack. If it’s important, she can come to me.”
CHAPTER 90
Bristol’s heart sagged. It had been three weeks since she sent the message to Tyghan. Three weeks of watching and waiting, her breath skipping in her chest every time she imagined seeing him again—imagined telling him about Rían. She had hoped, for their son’s sake, that he would come, even though part of her was terrified at how it might turn out. But no response at all? It hurt—more than she thought possible. She had tortured herself these past weeks with memories of him. The timemark had given her hope, but the silence had taken it away. She guessed she wasn’t even a memory for him anymore.
She remembered that long ago night at the waterfall when she feared how much she might forget when the tick was removed, and Tyghan said he would dance beneath the moon with her every night until the end of his days, until she fell in love with him again. Instead, he was the one who had forgotten.
Or maybe he just hated her and never wanted to see her again. She could understand that.
You are my destiny, Tyghan. She still felt those words, even if he didn’t. She wished Harper had never found the timemark. It stirred up too many old feelings.
Bristol returned to her work, refilling the creamer, putting mugs in the dishwasher. She had reached out. She had tried. That was all she could do. But her son, how many excuses could she keep giving him?
Harper had just parked her car when she saw him—a man lurking near the coffee shop—and she didn’t like what she saw. A scowl that meant trouble. But it was his hair and eyes that gave him away. It was like she was looking at a grown up Rían. She jumped out of her car and intercepted him.
“Hold on there,” she said. “I know who you are.”
Tyghan looked at the petite woman, somewhere in her fifties. “I don’t think so. I’m afraid we’ve never met. If you’ll excuse me—”
“I didn’t say we had met. You’re here to see Bristol?”
He stopped, wary. And then he noted the woman’s familiar eyes—Kierus’s eyes, fierce and protective. “Maybe?” he answered.
“Maybe is not good enough.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Bristol’s older sister, but I used to be her younger sister, Harper. Our sister Cat is dead. Bristol never got to see her again. She lost thirty years when she came back from your world, including her old life. As you might imagine, it devastated her, and she carried overwhelming guilt about our parents too. More than any person should bear.”
“I’m sorry for what she’s been through,” he said, and he was sorry. Old instincts he thought he had banished, rose in him. His instinct to comfort her.
“I had to put Bristol back together piece by piece when she got here,” Harper continued. “She’s doing well now, but I don’t want you to go messing things up. Tread carefully. She only just discovered that she still had that timemark a few weeks ago. It took a lot of courage for her to write you that letter.Remember that.”
He got Harper’s message loud and clear. Protection ran strong in both sisters. “I’m not here to start something. She summoned me, so I came, and then I’m leaving. That’s all. I didn’t come for trouble.”
“Good,” she said.
“Do you know why she summoned me here?”
Harper’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I do. But that’s for her to tell you.
Not me.”
“Sounds serious.”
She only shrugged, which meant it was serious. “Go on.” She brushed her hand toward the coffee shop. “She’s in there.” Harper left, walking to a library at the end of the street, but she glanced over her shoulder once, making another brushing movement with her hand.
He walked over to the shop and looked through the window. His eyes landed on Bristol immediately, and he felt like he’d been slammed in the chest. He turned away, trying to force sense back into his head. He didn’t expect that seeing her would be so hard. It all seemed so fragile now, like he could break everything just by opening his mouth. What did she want? What if she wanted him here for all the wrong reasons?
“Latte half caf to go,” Bristol called as she marked a paper cup. The shop was busy, three of them on the schedule that day, and she had just ground a half pound of espresso for a customer when something outside caught her eye. A glimpse that passed quickly. Something she wouldn’t ordinarily even pay attention to. Bowskeep was a busy town on Saturdays. Still, she walked out from behind the counter, her heart skipping as she followed the flash of color like a fish following a lure—and then she got a better view. Her stomach flipped over. The lettering on the window covered much of his face, but she’d know that scowl anywhere. She glanced at Rían who was happily involved with his puzzle. Bristol didn’t want Tyghan coming inside and making a scene, so she quickly pulled off her apron and slipped out of the shop. He was right outside the door, like he was waiting for her.
