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Juniper sat next to her, tucking her hair behind her ear as she pried her hands away from her face. “I hate seeing you cry.” She dashed away a tear and kissed her damp cheek. “Maybe none of us can be saved, but I know without a doubt that you’re worth saving.”
“I just want to be someone else. I want a normal life that’s peaceful and calm. I’ve been running and hiding for centuries, yet I’ve never truly escaped him or gotten away.”
Juniper brushed away her tears and looked into her eyes, her fingers running softly through her copper hair. “I can take you away. Before you shake your head no, let me show you.” She smiled, and slipped her hands into hers. “Don’t let go.” She closed her eyes and concentrated. “Intuitum mentista et locum exoticum droc liberum deduc nos—fiat.”
The air buzzed and birds chortled in the distance. The gentle hiss of insects softened the air around them as the room transformed with lush green vines and sultry heat.
“Open your eyes.”
Adriel lifted her lashes and gasped. “How…?”
Macaws screeched overhead as smaller birds chirped on lower limbs. A chimp caterwauled, and frogs croaked as other reptiles raced about the underbrush, hissing and striking prey from the ferns. Gone were the bookshelves and windows.
Adriel looked up at the canopy of trees. “Is this place real?”
“It’s the Indo-Burma rainforest. Or at least what I remember of it. I did a school project on it in ninth grade.”
“This lives in your memory?”
“I guess.” Now understanding what lived in hers, she felt a sting of gratitude for having such a unique sanctuary on tap. “Now it can live in yours. Look.” She sent a kaleidoscope of butterflies rushing past them, and Adriel laughed.
“It’s stunning.”
Juniper brushed her thumb over her hand. “It’s just a parlor trick. But it shows you how much my magick’s improved.” The vision faded and the library gradually reappeared. The noise of the jungle vanished with the buffeted silence encompassing pages and pages of books.
Juniper met her stare. They were at a stalemate.
“We can beat him, Adriel. You have to have faith.”
“Faith has done nothing to save me.”
“I don’t mean faith in a faceless god. I meanfaith in me—have faith in me, in our love. There is nothing you can do or say to make me stop protecting you, Adriel, so you might as well accept it and help me. We have enough obstacles to overcome. There’s no reason for us to create more.”
She sighed. “You’re very stubborn when you want to be.”
Juniper kissed her head. “So are you. It’s why we get along so well.”
Adriel’s eyes creased with concern as she shook her head. “These past few weeks have changed me, Juniper. I need you to know that.”
“Me too.”
Adriel caressed her cheek and smiled, but sorrow remained banked in her eyes. “I never knew what it was to be loved—truly loved—by someone who only wanted the best for me. Nor did I understand what it was to want the same for them.” She laughed. “You’d think it would feel more pleasant, but it’s a relentless torment to care so deeply for someone dead set on endangering themselves.”
“Love is a constant balance of putting other people’s safety, comfort, and happiness before our own. But when we’re in a relationship with someone who loves us equally and respects us, all of those drained areas are somehow refilled. I take care of you, and you take care of me, just as love should be.”
Adriel placed a hand on her face and softly kissed her lips. “Thank you for teaching me whatlove is meant to be. If I hadn’t met you… I never would have known.”
“Adriel, this might be a messy start but this is not how it ends.”
She smiled sadly. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am. Faith, remember?”
“I’m so tired of this life and what he’s made me.”
Juniper kissed her cheek. “Get some sleep. I’ll be up in a little bit. I just want to finish reading and make a few notes.”
It took longer than expected to actually pull herself away from her research. By the time she made it upstairs, the sky was a soft shade of grey with the glow of the approaching dawn. Apart from the muted haze drifting through curtains, Adriel's room was dark.
