Page 145 of Rituals & Rivalry

“Aurora is a medium, Sterling.” She leans in, her gaze sharp. “That means she has death magic too. Your magic can’t hurt her.”

I blink. “It can’t?”

“Of course not. She has just as much of a tie to the Underworld as you do.”

“Oh…”

That doesn’t change anything, but at least I know I haven’t been putting her in harm’s way. I slip my glasses off my nose and rub my eyes, silent.

“Go home, Sterling,” she says. “Gather your thoughts and figure out your next step.”

There is no next step. I can’t go with her without leaving my family and coven here, and she won’t stay. But Jewel is right about one thing: I need some time off. Just a day to collect my thoughts.

Thankfully, there’s no snow piling up yet. Nothing to keep me inside. So, I spend my sick day hiking through the woods, reconnecting with nature. By the time I get home, the setting sun is casting everything in an orange glow.

I stop when my porch comes into view, and a woman on it, her hair as pale as a ghost but reflecting in the sunlight. There’s a thin layer of snow on the grass, so slight it will probably melt in the morning, and she looks right at home in it—the flow between autumn and winter.

Aurora smiles at me, and my heart stops, but she has to be a figment of my imagination. Just another ghost.

I put my hands on my hips and wait. She doesn’t say anything. So, I do.

“Why are you here? I know we said we’d stay in touch, but I think this is a little soon⁠—”

“Because I love you.” She stands up and closes the space between us, looking at me so sincerely that it makes me want to melt like the snow will in the morning. “I said it before, but I want to say it now—now that I’m clear-headed. Now that all I feel is love. I love you, and I want to stay. Because I love you.”

As much as she’s rambling, she is in higher spirits and without a single ghost clinging to her life force. Her eyes are clear. Her words are pure.

“You know I love you too,“ I say. “But I don’t understand what changed.”

“Nothing did.” She lifts her shoulders. “We’re just… I talked to Mom, and we’re all going to stop running. It’s a family trait, I guess.”

“Sort of like our family and our stubbornness.” I chuckle and run my fingers through my hair, shaking my head. “You’ve been putting me through a rollercoaster of emotions lately, you know that?”

She grins. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” I curl her hair around my fingers. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re my favorite terror, and Jewel… she told me my magic can’t hurt you. Can you believe it?”

“I can. I always knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”

Aurora had more faith in me than I ever have in myself, and gods, I hope I deserve it, but it will take time for me to believe I’m worth all the trouble we’ve been through. All the secrets. All the pain.

She tilts her chin up and kisses me on the cheek, her lips lingering. “But there’s something we have to do. Something that will help us stay, or at least make it a lot easier.”

“What is it?”

I’ll do anything for her, but the words feel too heavy for the moment.

She touches my face in both hands, cradling me, and I’m so hers.

Even her next words can’t push me away.

“You need to stop running too.”

You need to stop running too…

I don’t realize I’m running until Aurora brings me to the cottage and makes me face it. Wendy is the first person I see when I step inside—which is still mostly put together, but with just a few half-empty boxes. I nearly stumble to the floor, my knees locking as I suck in a breath of harsh air.

Aurora warned me we would be talking to her, but I didn’t imagine I would be able to see her. She’s changed in the same ways I’ve changed. Older. I didn’t think a ghost could change.