Page 98 of My Faire Lady

Frankie and Boden exchange a wary glance, but it’s Boden who finally steps forward.

“A month.”

“A month?” I settle back against the mattress, my head swimming.

“It took a week to stabilize you, Scarlet,” Frankie says. “We didn’t think you’d make it.”

She pushes my hair out of my face, and it takes everything not to recoil from her touch. Ever since she obliged Lottie in having her memories wiped, I haven’t been able to look at her. It’s unfair, considering Lottie was never going to keep her memory, but still, I wanted to be the last one she saw before everything was taken. I don’t care if it’s selfish. I wanted to say goodbye.

“So, the faire?” I say.

Boden shoves his hands in his pockets. “Has shut down, indefinitely.”

It should be good news, but the words spear through my chest, sharp and aching. This is what I wanted, isn’t it? Everyone is free, and their lives aren’t threatened by the magic I was draining from their bodies. But now they’re scattered around the globe, to the farthest reaches, where I may never see them again.

And I never got to say goodbye.

A chirp comes from the foot of the bed, and Nesbit hops up, her feathers ruffling as she settles against my side.

I skim my fingers over her, scratching beneath her chin. “I’m sorry.” I study Frankie first, then Boden, searching for any noticeable changes in the lines of their faces, or the colors of their eyes, but they’re exactly the same as I remember, pressed into time. “I promise, I had no idea that’s why the witches consecrated the land.”

“We know you didn’t,” Boden says, wringing his hands around the footboard. “I just wish your mother would have told one of us before she took matters into her own hands. If she did, she might still be here today.”

“Did you see her?” I breathe, slowly pushing myself into a seat. “In my head?”

He nods. “I saw everything.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Frankie says, helping me lean against the headboard.

She hands me a glass of water, the outside of the cup covered in a layer of condensation, and I take a long sip. It’s a balm against the raw lining of my throat, but it churns in my empty stomach.

I tighten my hand around the glass, and a hollow chasm opens in my chest. By the way Boden’s face softens, I know he’s heard my thoughts before I say them aloud. But it’s been a long time—so long since I’ve ever admitted anything I’m feeling.

Lighter than a whisper, I say, “I’m scared.”

The confession spreads thin over the duvet, vulnerable.

But Frankie squeezes my arm, pulling my attention to her. “It’s not fear, honey. That’s excitement you’re feeling.”

I scoff. “I don’t think there’s anything for me to be excited about.”

“They feel the same,” she says, digging her hand into her pocket. “Especially when everything you knew about your life changes in the blink of an eye.”

Setting down the glass, I pet Nesbit’s feathers—something to do with my hands. The swell of magic I’ve shared a body with for my entire life is suddenly barren, and nothing more than a tiny flicker rests in the center of my chest.

My power. It’s gone, or at least most of it.

“I don’t know who I am anymore.” A lump rises in my throat. “What do I do now?”

A weak smile pulls at Boden’s lips. “You’re free. You can do anything.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” I hate the insolence in my tone and the helpless droop of my shoulders, but it rings true. I have no purpose, nothing to guide me. No rules to follow. Nothing to tether myself to.

This is what I always wanted. And it’s terrifying.

“Why don’t you go find Lottie?” he says.

My jaw clenches shut, and an ache spreads across the width of my chest. It’s been over a month since I’ve seen her, held her, heard her. I shake my head. “She doesn’t remember me.”