I’m not.
When I plunged the knife into his neck, I watched it attempt to escape his mouth. I held my hand against his lips, the dark force unable to escape and I closed my eyes, trying as hard as I could to keep it there, hoping that if it was inside of him when he drew his last breath that it would simply die with him.
The black mass, the dark spirit, black magic, whatever it was, it made its way inside of Logan. It must have found him after it left Florence or maybe Florence sent it to him, I don’t know and I’m honestly okay with never finding out. I stayed in that bathroom with his body long enough to know that it didn’t come out of him and that it’s done now—hopefully.
Clearing my throat, I open my mouth to ask about Daisy and Bessie, but decide against it. Honestly, I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep and I’ll worry about those two later.
The Logan situation is unfortunately handled, Jeremiah is recovering, none of the guards were hurt and the dark magic is as good as gone.
Chapter Forty-Five
COLT
“How long must we stay in one of the guest rooms?” I ask as my wife unbinds her hair from the detailed bun that rests at the crown of her head.
Birdie hums, not even sparing me a glance. “Jeremiah is recovering. Until he is well, I suppose.”
“Does the thought of going back in there, to live, scare you?”
The thought had crossed my mind, more than once, but this is the first time I’ve asked her. It’s been a month since she was forced to take Logan’s life.
A month since I disassembled the Assembly in the most final way possible. A month since we’ve had any major issues. I’m sure that we’re due for something else to happen soon.
We’ve not dealt with Daisy, Bessie, or Florence. They are all in Silverridge and I’ve yet to forget or dismiss them, but they are people we will need to deal with when we return home. I cannot worry about them in this moment.
As far as my sources have been able to discover, both soiled doves are back home and did not make the journey to the city behind us. I have guards on them, keeping their eyes on them, and they’ve been instructed to lock them up should they attempt to leave town.
Florence is still locked up tight and will not see the light of day again, ever. She talked of a woman who practiced black magic, but failed to mention that she was one of them, too. Logan was so caught up in his own treason and traitorous ways that he didn’t think of the repercussions of his and his grandmother’s plans.
I don’t know what their endgame was, but it does not matter. They thought that they would best me, they neglected to take into account that I am always on the alert and my bride holds more magic than they could have ever predicted.
“It doesn’t scare me, I can’t allow him to have that kind of power over me. I just want Jeremiah to be well before we move him,” she says.
I hum, unsure if her answer is the truth, but I decide not to push her too much on the topic. Watching her make her way toward me, I can’t help but grin at the sight of the swell to her belly.
She climbs into the bed and shifts herself close to me. Reaching out, I press my palm against her stomach. “How is my boy?” I ask, as I do every single night before bed.
She rolls her eyes. “What if it’s a girl?” she asks, just as she does every single night.
“Then she will be far too beautiful and I will have to start wars over men vying for her hand, men who will attempt to woo my beautiful girl. No, it needs to be a boy, darlin’. Life will be easier.”
“For whom?” she asks.
“Me,” I admit with a shrug of my shoulder.
I laugh softly, knowing that I would welcome a boy or girl, happily. All I have ever wanted was for our babe to come into the world safe. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I need to try again,” she whispers.
Nodding, I release my hold on her and watch as she attempts to use her magic, her powers to find out how Daisy and Bessie are scheming against me, against this country. I have a feeling she is also attempting to check on Florence and perhaps her sister, who still seems to be in her world and has yet to cross over into ours.
Birdie’s eyes close and I watch as they move from side to side beneath the lids, looking and searching for someone to connect to. It’s mesmerizing to watch, a power that I’ve never experienced before. She is the type of woman I would have never chosen for myself, but now could never imagine living without.
I don’t know if she finds what she’s looking for, but I can’t look away from her as she continues to search. Shifting my gaze to the ceiling, I can’t keep my mind from wandering to Logan and Florence.
Since being in the war, I learned never to unreservedly trust another human being, but if I were going to choose someone to trust, Logan would have been it for me. The reality that he was nothing but a traitor in the end, hurts me, even if it was caused by magic.
I’m not quite willing to believe that he was always an enemy, I still hold on to the idea that it was dark magic and perhaps had truly nothing to do with the man himself or even me. It is so
