Page 143 - My FlipBook

T R A I L O F C R U M B S

“Yes, I had a…long nap.” She cleared her throat and took
a bite. “Thanks for this.” Then her heartbeat picked up and
the lasagna stuck in her throat. They were alone—Elgin just
a few feet from her, wearing only a bathrobe.
She put the plate on the end table between them, keeping
the fork hidden in her hand. Get out of here, her body told her.
He’s fine. He’s harmless, her mind answered.
Elgin nodded, looking satisfied. He turned back to his

snow observation.
She clutched the fork. If he moved at all in her direction,
she’d stick it in his knee. She’d scream for Ash. Only her body
was frozen. You’re not staying here for free. The thought over-
powered all the others. He’ll want something from you. For a
few minutes, they sat in silence, both completely still—inani-
mate objects. Elgin didn’t even look her way. Greta thought of

Ash sleeping close by and started breathing again, her heart-
beat slowing closer to normal.
She moved to the edge of her seat but didn’t run. “What…
what are you doing out here?” Greta couldn’t think of another
way to say it.
“I’m waiting for spring.”
How very Elgin, sitting in an armchair, literally waiting
for spring. “You have a few months,” she said.
“It doesn’t look like it”—he cocked his head—“but every

day we rotate a little closer to the sun. It’s coming.”
He was right about it not looking like spring. More like
the inside of a diamond mine. An unholy blackness. It had
always been February. That a garden once grew there, that they

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