His bright eyes held mine. “I swear it.”
In a blink, the man was gone. A beautiful black bird with an impressive wingspan took off into the sky, leaving me to wallow alone in my fears. I had a bad feeling… about everything.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tiny pinpricks of light glimmered through the branches as the black dot of Ryker faded off into the distance. I hadn’t slept and wouldn’t now that morning was on the horizon. According to Celeste, Dash should be waking soon, and I wanted to be there when he opened his eyes. I needed to see that he would truly be okay.
Moseying back inside to check on him, my heart ached at the sight of him still fast asleep. I leaned a shoulder on the wall, not trusting myself to support my weight, my knees suddenly unsteady and wobbly.
“He is still unconscious?” Celeste asked from the doorway leading into the kitchen.
I glanced up. “Yes.”
Her long silver hair was knotted at the nape of her neck, a red ribbon woven through it. She didn’t appear to have had as rough a night as I did. Gracefully, she walked across the room, laying a hand over Dash’s forehead. “He has slipped into a deep sleep, one further than my reach. There is nothing I can do for him. His body has healed and is free of the poison, but his mind isn’t ready to return.”
“A coma?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes, much like the slumber we all endured to wake up here a hundred years later.”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “You’re saying he might never wake up? At least not during my lifetime? How?”
“It could be that some of the Ceraspan is still in our bodies even after we wake,” she mused. “Who knows what that could do to the body?”
“I can’t believe it. I won’t. He has to wake up.” I could hear the franticness in my voice, but I couldn’t stop it, not when I felt so powerless. The ground slipped out from underneath me as I slid down the wall. There was nothing. Only emptiness.
There is always hope, Ryker had said, but right now, hope was out of my grasp. It had never felt farther away. I took a deep breath, but the stupid tears I thought had run dry started falling and kept falling.
Celeste came to where I had sunk, her soft hands slipping under my elbows to help me to my feet. “You need to rest. You’ll do him no good if you’re dead on your feet.”
Choking back a sob, I started to refuse, but she wasn’t having it.
“I’m not taking no for an answer, Charlotte.”
My vision started to waver. “What did you do to me?” I asked, my hand catching on the wall.
“Giving your body what you deny it,” she said, but her voice sounded distant. My feet didn’t feel like they touched the ground as she led me to a small room in the back of the house. Before I could utter another protest, I was lying down, my eyes fluttering shut of their own accord.
I was so tired, but Dash, he needed me.
It was the last thought I had.
Sleep might have been what my body needed, but when I awoke hours later, I became increasingly restless. Ryker hadn’t come back yet and Dash was still out cold. Our time was running out, and I didn’t know what to do. I knew what Ryker would tell me and what Dash would want me to do, but there was no way on earth I could leave him here. It was one thing to be on the run with Star or Dash, but another thing entirely to survive in the Heights on my own.
I wandered into the kitchen after checking on Dash and found Celeste. Right at home surrounded by pots and vegetables, Celeste whipped up something that smelled divine, making my stomach growl.
When was the last time I ate?
I couldn’t remember, a sure sign it had been too long.
Celeste turned as I approached, a friendly smile curving her lips. “Good. You’re up and just in time for dinner.”
Dinner? How long had I been out for? I assumed it had only been a few hours, but it had to have been much longer, not that I should be complaining. I hadn’t slept so soundly since what seemed like forever. “Something smells amazing. He didn’t wake up while I was asleep?”
She shook her head. “Do you like pasta? I’m making spaghetti.”
“You can make spaghetti here? I figured that was a dish of the past.”
Celeste laughed, a husky, warm sound. “It’s definitely not as easy as before. I have to make the pasta from scratch, but it is oh so worth it.”
“Can I help?” I found myself asking. The simple task of cooking suddenly seemed like what my hands needed to keep busy.
“If you would like. Stir this while I boil the water for the pasta.” Handing me a wooden spoon, she sprinkled in some dried herbs to the sauce.
“I think I can handle that.” It was the most normal thing I’d done in weeks, sitting at the stove, simmering a red sauce. There had been a time when I had been eager to help my mom in the kitchen. No one in my family was much of a cook, but Celeste made it look inviting.
I hadn’t had homemade spaghetti for over a hundred years.
When everything was to Celeste’s liking, we sat down at the little table near the fireplace, and after the first bite I swore I died and went to Italian heaven. “Where did you learn to cook like this?” I asked, twirling a fork of pasta.
I kept watch over Dash as we enjoyed our meal. “My mother.”
Often a touchy subject, but I felt compelled to ask. “Did she survive the mist?”
Her pretty eyes grew sad. “No. She never made it to a safe house.”
Not the pleasantest of dinner conversations, but getting to know Celeste a bit more was comforting. “I’m sorry. So you’re alone?”
“It’s not as lonely as it sounds. I enjoy the solitude, and the visits from people needing my help keeps me busy.”
She was like the local doctor in a way. I glanced down at my half-eaten plate, wondering if I would ever get the chance to eat a home-cooked meal in a kitchen again.
“Tell me about your awakening and how you came to cross paths with the Slayer,” Celeste said.
A smile tickled the corners of my lips. “Dash found me in a holding house. He claims he kissed me awake.” It was an ongoing joke between us, and he liked to remind me of it often—the magical powers of his lips.
Celeste’s lips pursed. “Interesting.”
“He’s joking of course. It’s all about timing. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time to save me.”
“Possibly. Or you were destined to find each other.”
I scrunched my nose.
Celeste laughed. “A skeptic. Don’t believe in destiny, do you, Charlotte?”
I swallowed a forkful of pasta. “I also didn’t believe in shape shifters or trees that can strangle you. Fate should be a whole lot easier to digest.” But I didn’t buy it, and my thoughts turned to my future. “It’s not safe for me to stay here, not for you or Dash.”
“But you can’t bring yourself to leave?” Celeste guessed, reading my mind.
“No. We’ve been apart before, but it’s different now.”
Sipping from a chipped teacup, she looked at me from over the brim. “You love him, that’s evident.”