Page 22

Twenty-Two

G rimot’s eyes peeled open. He didn’t know where he was, but he knew he was not the same.

Heavy breathing echoed in his ears. He tried to turn to the source of the noise, but his neck twitched in pain. That’s when he noticed it. His arm was gone from right where his elbow once was. White bandages were wrapped tightly around the wound.

What happened?

The last thing Grimot remembered was being in his old room with his parents stowed away somewhere safer. The next, he felt Kamine’s touch on him before he went out like a light again.

“You’re up,” a voice croaked. Kamine stood up from a chair. There was a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her glasses partially concealed the dark bags under her eyes, but he could read in her posture how tired she was.

“You’re here,” he managed to say back.

A cry escaped her lips. He extended his one arm to her, and she fell into him. He winced, but he didn’t care about the pain anymore—he only cared that she was there with him. He rubbed her back as she sobbed.

“I was so scared,” she said. “I thought you were dead.”

“What happened?” he repeated the question out loud this time, seeking any answers.

She pulled back and sat on the edge of the bed. She wrung her hands together, picking at a scab, her eyes downcast, barely looking at him. Not out of fear though. Something bigger than that.

“The Undertaking was successful. We all won,” she shrugged casually.

He blinked, trying to make sense of that statement, but couldn’t. “What does that mean?”

“It means…we beat the system. We played the Weather Gods’ little game and followed their rules, and all won. We all touched the Heart at the same time.”

“There have never been multiple winners.” And they didn’t know the consequences of what it would mean now that it had been done.

“No one in the past wanted to share the glory.”

He huffed. Had it always been that simple? Grimot had a hard time believing that to be true, but he didn’t want to suck the joy from her. “I’m proud of you.”

“You haven’t heard the best part.”

“What’s that?”

She beamed with pride as she said, “Now that you’re alive and breathing, we can officially say that there were no casualties.”

In that joy, he saw the relief that consumed her. She had been so stressed, but she set out a goal for herself, and had accomplished even more. He wanted to kiss her.

“Except your arm,” Kamine corrected. “How do you feel?”

He didn’t know, not yet anyways. “It’s an adjustment.”

He could see the guilt etched in her features, and he hated that she even considered it her fault.

“Don’t blame yourself,” he said with such passion, not giving her the room to doubt him. “You saved me in more ways than one. You broke my curse.”

The heavy weight that consumed him for years had disappeared. When his arm had started turning to stone those seconds before it all turned black, he had accepted his fate. He would be forever lost in the dust and rubble, a punishment he deserved.

“You found me. Just like you found the Heart,” he continued, when he could still see her worry. “My existence will always trace back to you, my purpose in life to be consumed by you. I’ll never get lost again.”

She laid down next to him, and he wrapped his arm around her. Her presence was like a balm to his soul. Just having her next to him solved so many of his worries. He knew he still had explaining to do—and that time would come, because he owed it to her. But it was a comfort to know that she still wanted him.

“I like it,” she said as she brushed her finger across his chest.

“Yeah?”

“It’ll be easier to tie you down.” Mischief lined her voice, and he was so grateful for the light-hearted change of tone. He needed it, and she recognized that.

He snorted, “I like the way you think.”

“I also like that it means I still have you, that you’re still alive,” she said into his chest.

“You still want me?” He felt her nod against him. “I want you, too.”

“Good because I—”

He shushed her. “I want to say it first.”

She scoffed as she lifted herself up to look at him. Those purple eyes were practically glowing in the light now. “So bossy,” she crooned. “I’ll allow it only because you lost an arm yesterday.”

He pushed himself up so that he was level with her. Their lips were so close as he said, “I love you.”

She pecked him on the lips. “I love you.”

And those words were the beginning of every beautiful moment to come.