Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
I know it matters to him that I’m safe. That I’m cared for. That I’m loved.
“Maman called,” he says as I stretch my arms over my head and he gives me a little tickle. I squeal and lean closer into him, so he embraces me and holds me against him.
“And?”
“She wanted to know if we’d visit for dinner soon.”
I smile. “I would love that.” We sit together and enjoy amicable silence in the quiet, warm evening. When a surprisingly brisk wind kicks up, he wordlessly wraps his arm around me and shields me from the cold. I wonder if it isn’t maybe a bit symbolic — he may not ever be able to protect me from everything, but maybe it’s alright that he shields me a little. Maybe there’s a part of both of us that needs something exactly like this, this mutual meeting of each other’s needs.
“And what about the threats against us?”
“Us,” he says with a rare smile. “God, I love hearing you say that.” He blows out a breath. “To answer your question, there probably will always be forces against us, Savannah. The key to it all, I’ve learned, is to stay close together. It’s so much harder for anyone to harm us knowing we’re a fortress.”
Fortress. I like that.
“Right. Well that makes sense.”
I think about Nicolette and Fabien, and whatever it is that brought her to him. She may never tell me all the details, and I’m okay with that.
I think about Lyam and Cosette, and how closely she escaped with her life. I know typically that betrayal the likes of hers warrants swift and severe punishment. But I can still see her pinched face and pale cheeks as she pleaded with me for forgiveness for a sin against me I didn’t know she’d committed.
I know that this life I’ve chosen is complex and beautiful and heartbreaking…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Let’s go home,” he says softly, threading his fingers through mine.
I smile. We rise, hand in hand.
And walk home.