The City of Crows by Bethany Lovejoy (great books to read .txt) 📕

to speak, but then once again shut it, interrupted by the whistle of a kettle far away.

“Leo,” I began to say, yet was cut off by the woman hurrying past me once more.

“Lotus,” she declared. It wasn’t a question; she’d already decided what kind she’d make. “and for the girl, something sweet and refreshing, a peppermint tea, perhaps.” Never mind the fact that Leo had already decided that he would be drinking his mother’s favorite that day. “But you have to drink it all now, otherwise it will not work, you see. All the liquid, not a drop left; wouldn’t want it to fail you.”

Still confused, definitely still concerned, Leo nodded, his eyebrows knitted together. It was hard to understand but, this feeling overcame me as well, a feeling that we should not argue with her. Whatever her intentions, they were harmless.

“And so, you’ve found each other despite it all,” she began to squeak, happiness evident on her face. “I told my sister, I said that nothing would go wrong, she need only have faith. That man may have caused trouble and had his own plans, but he didn’t realize that the universe has a way of correcting itself. That’s why you’re here, after all, because you’re meant to be. Because Leo is meant to drink this cup of tea. Oh,” she turned to me, her hands reaching for mine, clenching them softly in hers, “I am just so happy. I didn’t know it before, but I’m glad that it’s you. When that nasty girl at the shop beckoned you forward, I thought to myself, ‘oh, I hope it’s her’, and here you are! It wouldn’t have worked if it were anyone else.”

“What wouldn’t have worked?” I asked, confusion overwhelming me.

“Well,” she said, “he wouldn’t have gotten here, and he wouldn’t have drunk this tea—Oh! The tea!” She hustled past me again, soon reappearing with a steaming cup in her oven mitts, the water still very visibly clear. “I just can’t wait any longer, not for him,” she declared, her finger drawing a circle around its rim, the tea darkening as she walked it over to him, setting it down on the table in front of him. “Drink, drink, drink!” She commanded, “while it’s still hot, and then, I promise you, everything you’ve wanted will come true.”

“That’s—” he began to say, but then her beckoning blue eyes loomed closer, hands moving up to urge him to drink. He couldn’t resist her, not really, not when she loomed so close. He grabbed the edge of the cup, careful not to burn himself, tilted his head back, and drank. For some reason, I couldn’t help but feel her delight.

The cup slammed back on the table, the back of Leo’s hand wiping against his mouth, his eyes watering from the scalding heat but not a single drop of liquid left in his cup. The woman whooped, her hand shooting up in the air before she rushed forward, arms once again holding him, her voice whispering softly in his ear. Whatever words she said lingering with him, his face awestruck as she pulled away.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re grinning so wide?” I asked as we exited the coffee shop, my hand in his, his fingers squeezing mine back for once. Rain poured outside, bouncing against the sidewalk once more. I regretted, as I always did, living in a city so near the coast. “I mean, not to complain, I want you to be happy today of all days but…”

“But?” He asked, his head rolling onto my shoulder, a shit-eating grin painted across his features as we approached the edge of the awning. There was more color to him then, and he had begun to walk straighter.

“But” I said, reaching into my coat pocket to withdraw a compact umbrella, “you know how it irritates me when you act so secretive, Leo.”

“Mhm,” he replied, reaffirming the fact but making no moves to rectify the situation. Instead, he continued to walk, not stopping to wait for my umbrella to go up. Surprisingly, his head supported itself. In fact, he almost walked as he normally did just two months before. Perhaps the potion had finally begun to set in.

“Hey!” I called, bounding after him, attempting to pop the umbrella over us. “Be careful, you said it yourself, that was your last drop of potion. You don’t want to go out in the rain, Leo, the effects will fade away!”

“Ah,” he said with a nod, “right.” His voice was dismissive, that same grin on his face, and yet he did not stop, if anything, he went faster. Pain, world ending pain was approaching him, and yet he was acting so childish.

But try as I might, I couldn’t fight the wind that somehow kept me under the awning, beating at my umbrella. God forbid the weather act normal in New Haven for once. One of his feet stepped out of the awning, rain pouring down on it, soaking his shoes.

And then, with one, wide step, he walked into the storm.

“Leo!” The umbrella slipped form my hands, disregarded as I charged forward, hands ready to wrap around his wrist and pull him back in.

And yet…

Rain beat against his face, soaking his eyelashes and hair, sinking into the fabric of his clothes. His skin glistened with moisture, the water cascading down it as he turned, his arms outspread, head tilted towards the sky. Not an ounce of pain was on his face, not a trace of regret. His body relaxed under the storm, soaking in the rain, seeming to call more and more water from the heavens to pummel him. He inhaled, a peaceful, happy sound, a look on his face that I had not seen in a while.

“Care to join me, Lyra?” He asked, his voice suggesting that it was in far more than just the rain. He looked radiant, alive.

All hesitation left me, all fear faded. My feet pounded against the pavement, arms wrapping