Page 54 of How to Woo the Undead

Hyacinth glanced back down to her fingers, blowing on them as softly as she could manage. The last thing she wanted was to smudge them and cause him to repaint them. Even though her core was warm, and her insides tingled from him, she needed to get away from Austin. Head buzzing full of destructive thoughts, she ended up pushing herself off that slab. Before he could turn around and return to her with that wonderful smile of his, she slunk out of the laboratory. Hyacinth was already halfway up the steps when he called out her name. Then she was outside the door before he could find her.

And she raced up the steps to her room, unaware of the tears streaming down her face until she was safely behind the bedroom door.

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Austin

“Austin,areyoualright?”Dahlia asked as Austin stepped out of the laboratory. He closed the door behind him with a quiet click.

“Of course, my lady,” he flashed her a beaming smile.

Dahlia arched a brow high on her forehead. It turned Austin’s smile into a grimace. She studied him until his grimace fell to a frown. He hung his head after a minute of scrutiny. Dahlia sighed, “Come with me, I’ve got a fix for that.”

He didn’t argue. There was no arguing with Dahlia Rosemont. Especially not as she wrapped her fingers around his forearm and walked him to the kitchen. She sat him down in a chair before going to the fridge. She rummaged through it for a moment before huffing, “Who has been eating all the raw meat?”

“My lady?” Austin croaked, turning to look at her over his shoulder.

“I wasn’t going to make any, but that’s the third butcher’s package I’ve found just left open in the drawer. And Iknowthe chicken breast didn’t just walk out of this fridge!” She huffed, kicking the drawer shut with her boot. Dahlia pulled away from the fridge, her hip closing the heavy, creaking door. When shejoined him at the table, she had a giant bowl of pudding with a dollop of whip cream in the middle and two spoons. “You’re not eating it, are you, Austin?”

“No,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Though, I might know who is.”

“Who? I swear if it’s Melody playing a prank on me, I’ll skin that funny fucking mutt!” Dahlia snarled before stabbing into the wiggly pudding.

“It’s Snuffles.” Austin took a scoop of his own. They both raised their spoonfuls to the air and clinked them together.

Dahlia stopped, the chocolate mixture halfway to her mouth. “The bunny?”

“He’s a meat-eating bunny.” Austin shrugged.

Dahlia scowled for a long moment before she finally ate her pudding. After swallowing she waggled her spoon at him. “Look, I don’t care if he’s a toe-eating bunny. Keep. Him. Out. Of. My. Meat. Drawer.”

“Yes, my lady.” Austin took another stab of pudding and popped it into his mouth. While he didn’t want her worrying over him, he couldn’t help but admit…pudding really did fix it. His stomach stopped twisting up in knots. He could finally take a breath in as Dahlia muttered about rabbits ruining her dinner plans.

It wasn’t till after they’d eaten half the bowl, that she asked the more important question. Dahlia was scooping out more pudding, granting him the kindness of not being under her scrutinizing stare when she spoke. “So, are we going to talk about why you’ve been sad?”

“What? When?” he blurted out almost robotically. It was habit at that point. Dahlia didn’t even acknowledge it with a look.Instead, continuing to sculpt a divot in their pudding. Austin steadied his gaze on the whip that he spread across what was left of their pudding.Why am I sad? Is this even sadness? It feels…different. I feels harsher. It feels buried in my bones.His words came out like a wheeze he squeezed out of his lungs. “Every time Lord Rosemont has needed me, I was strong enough to save him. I once carried his body for miles in a torrential downpour. I swam us to shore a few times. I even helped with that dragon. I was the one creation he could always rely on.”

Dahlia hummed in understanding. “Until The Hungry One?”

Austin took a rushed bite of pudding, but it didn’t taste like chocolate at all. It tasted like graveyard soil. He was forced to swallow the gritty, earthy lump. He didn’t mean for his voice to crack as he spoke, but there was no way to hide it. “I wasn’t able to keep you safe, my lady.”

My fault. Weak. My fault. Useless. My fault. Replaceable.

“Austin,” she exhaled his name, finally peeking up from the bowl.

“And ever since then, it’s been one mistake after the next. I am…” He didn’t dare finish that sentence. Not while her steel blue eyes scanned him. She put a hand to his arm, brushing her thumb against him softly.

“Hey, I’m going to warn you once, okay?” She smiled slightly mischievously. “Don’t be mean to my friend. He’s really funny and kind and generous. He’s protected me from so much more than some eldritch god that he doesn’t even realize that everysingleday he’s around, I am thankful. Because his worth isn’t tied to his ability to be some knight in shining armor or massive defender. All the gold in all of King’s Fall couldn’t even compare to how much he’s worth to me and me alone. Of all the things I’m thankful for in my life, Austin, you’re one of them. So don’t you dare be mean to one of my best friends inthe world. Who else will catch bats in my bathroom at three am or hold me back from scratching people’s eyes out? Huh?”

Austin sputtered, the spoon falling out of his fingers. Warm tears stung his eyes as he stared at Dahlia. She offered him a sweet, sympathetic look. Lips twisted up at the eyes, eyes slighty red like she might cry, but she didn’t because there was a glow from below that illuminated the kitchen. Getting up to her feet, she wrapped her arms around him, dragging him into a tight hug. Austin embraced her back. She smelled of puff pastry, vanilla, and some herb he couldn’t place. Like home, because Dahlia Rosemont was home to him. Sebastian, the house, Agatha, Smith: they were all home to him. And he didn’t want to admit he felt like he’d failed them.

Then Dahlia Rosemont reminded him of all the little things and he feltso silly. It didn’t get rid of the dark ache in his chest. It didn’t scoop away the rot from the flesh lining his chest cavity. No, he knew that it was his mess alone to clean up. But hearing her say those words…It soothed the pain. Her understanding was a balm. His smile didn’t feel so forced as she sat back down and put his spoon back in his fingers.

“See, told you,” she winked as him as she took another scoop. “Pudding just tends to fix things. Makes you feel better about all the things you can’t control.”

“Yeah.” He licked his lips. “It does.”

Like how Hyacinth disappeared?He couldn’t control her, and he feared he’d upset her. For what, he didn’t know, but the feeling as he chased after a disappearing shadow, was that she didn’t want him to follow.I can’t control how others feel, but tell me, my flower. What did I do?