Instead of fighting me on it, his face broke out into the first real smile I’d seen from him since I’d died. “Good, then the feeling is mutual.” He held up the deck of cards. “Shall we? I hear the sixth time is the charm.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe you’ll win when hell freezes over.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That could easily be arranged.”
When the council convened the day before the spring equinox, I still wasn’t healed enough to walk on my own. It took both Ava and Ella to help me dress, and by the time we were done, I was so exhausted that I wanted to crawl back into bed.
“Maybe they could wait another day,” said Ava, biting her lip as she eyed me. I sat in the armchair Henry usually occupied, cradling my head in my hands.
“No,” I said with a grimace. “I’m fine. Just give me a minute, would you?”
They’d forced me to wear a white dress, and I was too afraid of popping a stitch to move. The only good thing about these injuries was that a corset was out of the question, but that meant there was very little padding between the fabric and my bandages. One wrong move and I’d be standing in front of the council with my chest covered in blood.
“Would you like me to fetch Henry?” said Ella. She was still keeping her distance from Ava, but since the river incident, she seemed to be making an effort to tolerate her. It probably didn’t help that Theo and Ava were back together again, but Ella was putting on a brave face. I had to give her credit for that.
“No need,” said a deep voice. I pulled my face away from my hands enough to see Henry standing in the doorway. “Girls, you are dismissed.”
They scattered quickly, although Ava paused to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good luck,” she whispered, and then she was gone.
Henry was by my side before I could sit up straight. “Are you well?”
“I feel like I’m going to puke.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “As do I.” He offered me a hand and I took it, relying on him for balance as I stood. There was no way I was going to make it all the way to the ballroom, where the meeting would be held.
“Do I have to wear shoes?” I said, glancing at the heels Ava had picked out for me.
“Your gown is long enough that the hem should hide your bare feet,” said Henry. He hesitated, then said in a low voice, “Kate, are you sure?”
“Sure I don’t want to wear shoes? Yes. I can barely walk.”
“No, I mean—are you certain that you do not wish to take me up on my offer?”
Never seeing Henry again or returning to Eden. I couldn’t think of anything I wanted less. “Positive,” I said, leaning against him. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late. I’m not exactly in any shape to be sprinting down the hallway.”
“Do not worry about that.” He brushed his warm fingertips against my cheek. “You understand the consequences of passing and failing?”
“If I fail, I go back to the real world with my memory wiped.” And Henry would fade into nothingness. “If I succeed, I hang out here with you for six months a year.”
“For eternity, unless you wish to end your life,” said Henry. “You will forever stay as you are today, and you will be granted immortality by the council. It is not an easy thing, immortality. You will form connections with mortals, and you will live well beyond their lifetimes. There will never be an end. Your life will be continuous, and eventually you will lose touch with humanity. You will forget what it was to be alive.”
The thought of forever was daunting—it took away the one certainty in life, and that was death. But what good did dying bring? All it brought was pain, and I’d had enough of that to last me the next thousand lifetimes or so.
“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing my best friend is already dead, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said dully. “You are quite lucky.”
“No one ever said this was going to be easy,” I said. “I know that.”
“Indeed,” he said, his eyes focused on something I couldn’t see. “And you do understand that success also means that you and I will be married?”
I didn’t know if the shiver that ran down my spine was out of excitement or nerves. “Yeah, I sort of picked up on that. You don’t mind, do you? I mean, I know it’s a little fast and all.”
He cracked a smile. “No, I do not mind. Do you?”
Did I? I wasn’t ready to be anyone’s wife or queen, but it meant I would get to keep him. He’d said that I would be free to be with others and live my own life during my six months away if I wanted, and while I couldn’t imagine finding anyone who could compare to him, it helped alleviate the feeling of being trapped. I shook my head. “Just as long as you don’t make me wear a dress for the ceremony.”
Henry gave me a look. “Why do you believe you are dressed in white?”
“Oh.” I made a face. “That’s not very fair, you know.”
“Yes, I know.” He wrapped his arm around me, the weight of it familiar and comforting. “Now we must leave, else we truly will be late. Close your eyes.”
I did as I was told, wishing my stomach would stop doing somersaults long enough for me to get through this without ruining my gown. When I opened them, we were in the ballroom. It was empty, except for fourteen magnificent thrones arranged in a circle, all from the ball in September. Each was unique: some were made of wood, and others of stone, silver or gold. One looked like it was even made out of branches and vines, but I couldn’t get close enough to get a good look.
Waiting for me in the center was a padded stool. We appeared only a few feet away from it, and Henry helped me to it and didn’t let go of my hand until I was settled. “Comfortable?” he said.
I nodded, and he pressed his lips to my forehead for a lingering moment. “No matter what happens, I will always be there for you, even if you do not remember who I am.”
As his eyes searched mine, I forced a small smile, too nervous to really try. Beneath me the lace of the cushion was irritating, but I didn’t trust myself to move. “There’s no way they could make me forget you,” I said. “No matter what they do to me.”
I saw a glimpse of the sadness in his eyes before he looked away and stepped back. “I will see you shortly,” he said. “Do not move.”