Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
And if it was an actual ghost, this Hessian, where was it going?
Who was it hunting?
My mother is riding between me and Crane, and I try to catch his eye, but his focus is elsewhere. I want to talk to him in private about last night, about everything. But even if he did use his so-called voice where he speaks inside my head, not only can I not respond, but there’s a chance that my mother will hear it. There’s so much of her magic I don’t know about.
Eventually, we reach the school and go our separate ways after handing our horses off to the stableboy, who seems a little less spooky now in the daytime. My mother takes off for the cathedral building to talk with her sisters while Crane and I walk toward the center courtyard.
“I know I’ll be late, but I need to get changed,” he says, coming to a stop. He’s close, almost too close if anyone were to be watching, but he doesn’t touch me. “Are you alright?”
“No,” I admit. “I want to be alone with you. I want to talk to you.”
He swallows and gives me a quiet smile. “And I want to be alone with you. More than you know, my vlinder. Our afternoon walk will have to suffice.”
“Okay,” I say with a nod, hating how strangely desperate I’m feeling for him. I feel scared for reasons I can’t explain. It’s not just that we encountered the horseman last night. It’s everything. It’s the way he made me feel, the power I felt when I came on his hands, this need to grab him and get as close to him as possible. I ache for him, both physically and emotionally, maybe even spiritually.
“I would die to kiss you right now,” he says, leaning in closer, his charcoal eyes burning on my lips. “And I would happily accept that death.” Then he pulls his head back. “I’m not a patient man, Kat, but it will have to wait. I promise it will be worth it.” He gestures to the dorms. “Will you wait for me while I get changed?”
I nod, and he casts a cautionary glance around him before hurrying off to his dorm.
I exhale a trembling breath, my whole body feeling jittery, and stand there on the path as he runs into the building. There’s so much to try and make sense of, and I feel like my brain isn’t keeping up.
Thankfully, Crane doesn’t take long, and he’s back in a few minutes. “How do I look?” he says as he takes long, quick strides toward me, tightening the buttons at his collar. “Do I look like I spent the night at the Van Tassel farmhouse?”
I laugh, reaching out and straightening his necktie. “Not at all.” Truth be told, all his suits are dark and look the same anyway.
We hurry along toward the classroom, and with my short legs, it’s hard to keep up with him—he covers so much ground when he wants to. Crane anxiously checks his pocket watch. “Well, a few minutes late won’t kill anyone,” he says. “I’m sure one of the teachers has already unlocked the classroom.”
He opens the door to the building for me and ushers me inside. By the time we reach his classroom, I’m already out of breath.
Someone did unlock his door for him, and the chatter of the students rolls out into the hall.
We stop inches away, and I look at him to ask if it would seem wrong for the both of us to enter the room together. He taps my bottom with his hand, telling me to go first.
I give him a coy smile and then step into the classroom.
Everything looks the same as it usually does except for one big difference.
There’s someone sitting in my chair.
And it’s not just anyone.
No…
It can’t be.
I feel all the blood drain out of me, my vision growing fuzzy, and I fear I’m about to faint.
It’s like looking at a ghost.
The ghost of Brom Bones.
He’s sitting in my seat and staring right at me with those achingly familiar brown eyes of his, so dark they’re almost black. He’s older now, with a dark beard, and he’s so broad-shouldered and Herculean that he barely fits in the desk.
But it’s him.
It’s him.
He came back to me.
“Oh my God,” I say softly, my hand at my lips.
Just then, I feel Crane come up behind me and hear his sharp inhale.
“Abe?” Crane whispers, a gasp.
I twist around to glance at Crane over my shoulder, his eyes focused on Brom too, a look of utter shock on his face.
Abe? I think. Who is Abe?
I look back to Brom, but he’s still looking at me directly at me.
“What is he doing here?” Crane whispers, a tremor in his voice.
And then I remember what Crane told me last night.