Page 71 of How to Woo the Undead

“My reason for being is to make you happy.” He could hear the smile in her voice but he audibly groaned. It ripped a weak giggle from her, but it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. Austin squeezed the next few words out of her. “There is no me without you, Austin.”

He nuzzled his face into her collarbone. “And there is no me without you, Hyacinth.”

“Well, clearly…” she huffed, pulling back to stare into his face. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Ipulledyou out of that fire. Do you know how much that hurt? I lost my hand!”

Hyacinth wiggled her new digits for added effect. Austin’s head fell back in a laugh. A good one, from deep in his aching belly. It stung his lungs and made him flinch. But it was the best feeling in a long time as she grinned, pleased with herself. His flower snuggled down into his chest as he laughed, gasped for air, then laughed a little more.

And when he laid back down on that slab of metal, staring up at the ceiling in the laboratory, he thought to himself,This is what love feels like.The moment he could get enough air in his lungs to say it—to profess to her the way a fairytale prince would to his princess, he was going to tell her.For now, however, I’ll take just lying here with her in my arms.

Safe.

And sound…for now.Austin happened to glance to the side, slinking at the edge of the room, a hollow-eyed woman turned into shadows. A woman who looked eerily similar to Hyacinth. Austin hugged her close to his chest. They lay there, dozing in and out. He swung like a pendulum between limbo and fully alert. Every time he woke up, was to a tingle in his body at some part. When he perked up suddenly, he’d catch the ghost skittering out of view. Like a roach to the light, she’d linger nearby then race away the second he spotted her.

“Austin?” Hyacinth murmured from his chest, finally sitting up in his lap on the table.

“We should get out of here,” he sighed, glaring at the last corner the ghost disappeared behind. “Sleep in a real bed.”

Hyacinth nodded sleepily, climbing down with the help of her wings. Austin followed her, legs wobbly at first. But after a little leaning on the tables as he walked past, he was upright. Then the stairs loomed in front of him, and he almost crawled up them. He took the stairs one at a time, stopping to take a breath between each one. He was dizzy, and considered staying in the lab, but he wanted to be where others could hear.Especiallyif Sabine returned again.

“You saw her, didn’t you?” Hyacinth asked from halfway up the steps, leaning cooly against the railing.

Austin grimaced, stopping to stare up at his beautiful flower. She smiled sympathetically at him, her hair down but out of her face. Unlike the drenched rat of a ghost that ran her fingernails along the underside of the stairs. He could hear their incessant clicking as she followed them up to the top. He managed to grind the words out of his teeth, “I won’t let her hurt you.”

“I’m not scared of her hurting me,” she muttered.

Austin narrowly avoided a clawed finger from nicking his foot. He jerked up a step quickly, missing his chance to say anything. Hyacinth chewed on her lower lip as she turned from him. They traveled up the steps in relative silence except for Sabine’s clicking. By the time he got to the door, Austin thought he might collapse to the floor. He pushed all the way out into the hall and made it to the running carpet before his knees sank to the floor.

“Oh! Austin! Hyacinth! I was just about to bring you two breakfast.” The sweet sound of Agatha filled the air and cleansedit of the tension. Austin smiled up at the banshee as she floated down to the carpet beside him. Snuffles appeared out of the wisps of her dress and bound up into Hyacinth’s arms. “Don’t let him lie to you, Hyacinth, I’ve already fed him a whole chicken. Had Kevin pluck it and chuck it into a bowl just for him.”

“Thank you,” Hyacinth chuckled as she slid down the wall next to Austin’s head. Despite the tension in the stairwell, she didn’t stop him from shifting to put his head in her lap. Agatha put a plate on his chest, but Austin was stuck staring at her dagger-like fingers. Even incorporeal, it looked like she’d run them ragged, with dents and bruises and scrapes all over her hazy hands.

“Aggie, what were you doing?” He furrowed his brow.

Agatha huffed, taking her hands back sharply. “You know I sew aggressively when I’m stressed.”

“Why are you stressed?” Hyacinth mumbled through a mouthful of chopped steak and mashed potatoes.

“Well, two of my favorite people were hurt and I couldn’t do anything to help them. And the house has been in a tizzy; the storms coming in and out have been heinous. For once I’d like to not have a thunderstorm! Plus, how could I not be stressed when this house is constantly destroying fabric. Ripping dresses in half, popping buttons off frocks, torn seams—thishouseis a nightmare! No one in it has any restraint when it comes to fabric. But we’ll see how everyone likes it when you’re all reduced to wearing potato sacks around the house.Potato sacks for everyone!”

Austin blinked rapidly, staring up at his red-eyed, frayed-haired, floating ghost of a best friend. Agatha took a moment to seethe. Breathing heavily as her eyes illuminated the whole hall in ruby lights. Then Hyacinth reached across Austin to hand theseamstress foaming at the mouth an apple slice from their plate. Agatha cooled steadily, eventually taking the slice and offering Austin’s flower a thankful smile.

“Sorry, Aggie. I’ll talk to Lord Rosemont and Smith about being more respectful of the clothes.” He put a hand on her knee and patted the air around it affectionately.

“You’re such a sweetie, Austin,” Agatha chuckled. “I am fine. Really. I like making new clothes. I like stitching up the sides of pants because Smith caught it on a doorway or when Havershum accidentally stabs a coat rack thinking it’s something else. I do. I just…”

Austin took her free hand in his and wove their fingers together. Her red eyes glanced up from her lap, the sadness filling her whole face. The words that came from her after that were rattled, wet even as he saw ghostly tears form in her eyes. “I just worried that maybe I’d never be able to make a suit with you again, Austin.”

“I’m so sorry for worrying you, Aggie,” he breathed, brushing the pad of his thumb around her spectral clawed hands.

“You worried more than just me, Austin.” She glanced back up the stairs at the third floor. Austin didn’t need to look to know where her eyes went.Lord Rosemont.Austin had been so wrapped up in his sadness, in his despair, in his need to prove himself…he almost proved he could be the shield too well.

“Is he regenerating?” Austin murmured. “I noticed he wasn’t with us when I woke up.”

“Lady Rosemont tucked him into his regeneration chamber earlier today. Smith went into the city, hoping to be able to plead Hyacinth’s case. Lord Blightwood sent us a letter while you were both healing, talking about how the tree they confiscated from the yard was acting strangely.”

“How strangely?” Hyacinth asked, popping more food in her mouth before encouraging Austin to eat. He was less hungry than he thought. The relief of being upstairs, out in the free air where the others existed, helped him immensely. However, he wouldn’t lie, popping some warm steak bites into his mouth did make his stomach happy. He munched enthusiastically while Agatha tried to explain the scraped together information they had. Apparently, the tree self-combusted inside the council courtyard, and about a hundred disembodied hands fell out of it. Then, it went dormant, where previously it did a slew of strange things. Between bleeding like sap dribbling out of a maple tap to releasing a horde of wasps, it did a lot of things that the Council had their hands full trying to explain.

Hyacinth’s face grew serious. “I wish I could go see it.”