Christelle Dabos

I think we could have all lived happily, in a way, God, me and the others, if it weren’t for that accursed book. It disgusted me. I knew what bound me to it in the most sickening of ways, but the horror of that particular knowledge came later, much later. I didn’t understand straight away, I was too ignorant. I loved God, yes, but I despised that book, which he’d open at the drop of a hat. As for God, he relished it. When God was happy, he wrote. When God was furious, he wrote.

It wasn’t Thorn who needed her. It was she who needed Thorn.

His question was terse: “Your heart?”

“It’s fine,” she stammered. “The illusion has passed. I feel be . . . ”

Ophelia didn’t finish her sentence. Thorn had wrapped his arms around her with a vehemence that took her breath away. She opened her eyes wide on this darkness, which was making her blink rapidly. She didn’t understand. Thorn should have hurled reproaches at her, shaken her furiously. Why was he hugging her?

When I told you that you had a preternatural predisposition to disasters, it wasn’t an invitation to prove me right.”

Ophelia couldn’t hold back her sobs any longer. Thorn’s arms stiffened with surprise when she clung to him. She pressed her face against his chest and howled as she’d never howled before, in all her life. It was a cry that came from the depths of her being and surged up her body like a tornado. Thorn let her sob, hiccup, sniff against his uniform until she’d used up all her breath. They remained for a long, silent moment on the floor of the Imaginoir, bathed in the red light of the lanterns.

. At that second, she finally knew with absolute certainty where her place was. It wasn’t in the Pole, it wasn’t on Anima. It was precisely where she was now. At Thorn’s side.

“The first time I saw you, I formed a very poor opinion of you. I thought you had no common sense and no character, and wouldn’t make it to the marriage. That will forever remain the biggest mistake of my life.”

Ophelia felt torn between distress and fury. He didn’t have the right! He didn’t have the right to come into her life like this, turn everything upside down, and then leave as if nothing had happened. She felt as if she were breaking inside when Thorn tightened his embrace around her.

“Don’t go falling down any more stairs, avoid sharp objects, and above all, above all, keep away from disreputable people, alright?”

tear rolled down Ophelia’s cheek. Thorn’s words were carving out an abysmal void inside her. She knew with absolute certainty that from the moment they separated, she would never know warmth again.

Thorn swallowed against her shoulder. “Oh, and by the way, I love you.”

Ophelia’s sob caught in her throat. She could no longer speak. Breathing hurt her.

Thorn’s hands disappeared into her thick mass of curls. She became even shorter of breath. He clasped her body against his own, as close as was physically possible, and then pulled away from her with almost brutal briskness. He cleared his throat, suddenly hoarse. “It’s . . . it’s a little harder than I thought it would be.”

He pushed his pale hair back, his eyes studiously avoiding Ophelia’s. The rims of his eyes had reddened; this sight, more than all the rest, moved her as she’d never yet been moved.

“Leave, now,” muttered Thorn. “I loathe tearful farewells.”

He unclasped Ophelia’s hand, which had clung to his shirt. She wished she had both her arms, the better to hold on to him.