a's

I stepped back before his

said. "That shirt too

ng it took me," I said

till pull it back somehow, like the f

stop

had made for him during our fourth winter together, back w

rn from a book I borrowed fro

it into

r household staff silently watching. I didn't lo

"This is about Willow, isn't it? You'

thing to do

at is it

reen, the color he used to say reminded hi

"Every stitch, every hour I spent hunched over a needle instead of sleeping

mean som

k over your lost child." I threw the scarf into the fire. "Every piece I burn tonight is a re

an said. "Sera, nothing a

someone and still betray them completely. I know that now. I didn'

et I hadn't burned yet, and I pulled it out of h

ouch me,

ra.

omething in my voice

" he asked. "Tell me what you

t things. I​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ expected apologies to mean something. I expected effort to mean something. I expected that if I lo

first time all night, he looked

ourtyard, drawn by the noise, her robe pulled tigh

went straight to the fire, straight to the

t concerns y

, ignoring me entirely. "Are

an said, though h

g closer to him, her hand finding his arm. "Watchi

ost l

m," I said. "You've done en

. "I'm not acting, Sera. I just don't understand why yo

is his fault," I said. "

illow instead, his hand covering hers where it rested on his arm, an

everything I

t year together, the one I'd made before I even knew how to sew properly. "From now on, he's e

ur wolf. I can't feel her

as right. Something inside me that used to strain toward

d not

fire and watched it curl and bla

at the flames, staring at me, and then he t

with one last smirk at

e both

en one of the guards came rushing into t

the middle of the night, with guards in her colors. They brou