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His brows furrowed and he shook his head. “What do you mean?”
Hannah took another sip of tea. “That girl could befriend a teaspoon. If anyone could break you out of this reclusive hovel you buried yourself in, it was her.”
Uther snickered behind his hand. “That sounds about right.”
She finished her tea. “I like this aunt business. I think I might have been rather good at it, given the chance.”
“You’re a natural,” said August. He was back to smiling. “Did you want some more tea?”
Hannah smiled, and wrinkles framed her eyes that Esther hadn’t noticed before. “No, thank you, dear. Actually, it’s a warm night, and if memory serves, you have a lovely garden out back. Would it be terribly rude if I asked you to take a stroll with me?”
“No, of course not.”
The three of them—Esther, Uther, and August—leaped from their chairs, the room filled with the sound of wood scraping as they stood like this was a Jane Austen novel. Hannah took August’s arm, and the two of them went out back. Esther and Uther remained behind in the kitchen, wanting to give them a private moment together.
“How long do you think they’ll be? Should we make some tea? Start a movie?” Uther asked.
“Let’s put on some tea and give them a few minutes.” Esther glanced out the window.
It was dark, aside from a decorative streetlight over the bench in the backyard. August and Hannah sat side by side, their backs to the window.
Tea was made, and Uther and Esther entertained themselves, sharing videos on their phones.
“No, wait!” The call came from outside, but they both recognized the panic in August’s voice.
Esther and Uther sprinted out the back door. August was alone on the bench, his fingers raking through his hair and his shoulders heaving.
Uther got to him first. “August, are you all right?”
“Don’t sit there!” August shot up and grabbed Uther, pulling him from the bench.
“What happened?” There was no sign of Hannah anywhere.
August was bent over sobbing into Uther’s shoulder. “She’s…she’s gone.”
“Where did she go?” Esther tried rubbing August’s back, but she wasn’t sure that was any help.
He pulled back from Uther’s shoulder, tears streaming down his face. “I didn’t want this. I would have tried harder if I’d known. I just wanted to fix her. To fix us.”
“August.” Esther put her hands on his shoulders, trying to anchor him. “Just point where she went. We’ll find her.”
He hiccuped and pointed at the bench. Brow furrowed, Esther released August and approached the bench. They hadn’t noticed before with August in tears, but there was a pile of gray soot on the side of the bench where Hannah had been sitting.
Esther gasped when she recognized what it was. “What happened, August?”
His breathing was slowly coming back under control. Uther had taken over rubbing his back and helping him stand upright.
“I didn’t notice at first. The shadows were blocking her face. She started to slow, so we sat down. It all seemed normal. But then her voice changed, and that’s when I noticed.” He sniffed, and a tear tracked down his cheek. “She was aging, right there in front of me. Then she just dissolved into dust.”
“Jesus,” whispered Uther.
Esther covered her mouth.
Hannah was right. The potion didn’t work.
“Ashley.”
Esther ran like her life depended on it.
