They talked and talked. And Keller gave herself up to it, to the simple pleasure of his closeness and the feeling that for once she didn't have to hide or pretend or defend herself. It was such a blessed relief not to have to pretend at all.
Galen knew her, and he accepted her. All of her. He loved herself, not her black swirling hair or her long legs or the curve of her lips. He might admire those things, but he loved her, what she was inside.
And he loved her with a sweetness and a power that shook Keller to her soul.
She wanted to stay like this forever.
There was something else waiting for them, though. Something she didn't want to think about but that loomed just outside the brightness and warmth that surrounded them.
The world... there's still a world out there. And it's in trouble.
And we can't ignore that.
Galen.
I know.
Very slowly, very reluctantly, Galen straightened, putting her away from him. He couldn't seem to let go of her shoulders, though. They sat that way, their eyes locked.
And the strange thing was that the mental connection wasn't broken. They could still hear each other as they held each other's gaze.
We can never be like this again, Keller said.
I know. He had faced it as clearly as she had, she realized.
We can't talk about it; we can't even be alone together. It isn't fair to Uiana. And we have to try to forget each other and just go on.
I know, he said for the third time. And just when Keller was marveling at his quiet acceptance, she saw tears in his gem-colored eyes. Keller, it's my fault. If I weren't the son of the First House...
We'd never have met. And that would have been worse.
"Would it?" he said out loud, as if he needed reassurance.
Yes. She gave the answer mentally, so that he could feel the truth of it. Oh, Galen, I'm so glad we met. I'm so glad to have known you. And if we live through this, I'll be glad all my life.
He took her into his arms again.
"We have it, Boss," Winnie said.
Her eyes were sparkling. Beside her, Nissa looked calmly enthusiastic.
"What?" Keller asked. She herself felt calmly alert, in spite of almost no sleep the night before. She and Galen had stayed up late, reading over the scrolls, making sure that there was nothing they had missed.
They had already explained what they'd found to the others.
Now Winnie was grinning at her.
"How to protect Iliana at the party on Saturday. We've got it, and it's foolproof!"
Nothing is foolproof, Keller thought. She said, "Go on."
It's like this. We put wards all around the Ashton-Hughes house, just like the wards Grandma Harman made for this house. The strongest possible from Circle Daybreak. But we put them around the house now, as soon as we can. We key them so that only humans can get in."
"And we add another layer of protection," Nissa said. "Circle Daybreak agents posted around the house, starting now. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out that they don't know about. That way, when we go to the party on Saturday, we know it's safe."
"We just whisk her from one safe place to another," Winnie said. "As long as we can keep her in here until Saturday night, there's-no chance of any danger."
Keller considered. "We have to make sure the limo is safe, too. Absolutely safe."
"Of course," Winnie said. 'Ill take care of it."
"And I'd want agents to check the people who go hi somehow. Not just monitor. Would there be any way to do that?"
"Without the family knowing?" Nissa chewed her lip gently. "What if we set up some sort of road crew near the front gate? There's bound to be a gate; this is a mansion, right?"
"Check it out. And we'd better get plans of the house, too. I want us all to know the place by heart before we get there."
"City planner's office," Nissa said. "No, more likely the local historical society. The house is probably a historic monument. I'm on it."
Keller nodded. "Hmm." She tried to think if there was anything else to worry about. "Hmm, it sounds..."
They watched her, breath held.
"It sounds good," Keller said. "I think there's just the tiniest, slightest possibility that it might actually work. But I'm probably being overoptimistic."
Winnie grinned and socked her on the shoulder. "You, Boss? Perish the thought."
'It's so difficult," Iliana said. "I mean, what can you wear to both a birthday party and a promise ceremony?"
"And a Solstice Ceremony," Winnie said. "Don't forget that"
"You're trying to make things worse, aren't you?" Iliana held up one dress, then another. "What's right for a Solstice Ceremony?"
"Something white," Winnie suggested.
"That would be good for a promise ceremony, too," Keller said. She was doing her very best to be patient, and finding it easier than she had expected.
The last three days had been very quiet Iliana had agreed to stay home from school even when her cold got better. Galen and Keller had scarcely spoken in that time, and they had never been alone.
And that was... all right. There was a quietness inside her to match the quiet air outside.
They both had jobs to do. And they would do them as well as possible. Keller just prayed that what they did would be enough.
"White? I don't know if I've got anything white. It has to be fancy because everything at Jaime's is fancy. I hope she's really okay."
"She's fine," Keller said. "You talked to her an hour ago." To her own relief, Jaime had stayed quietly at home for the past three days, too. The last thing she wanted was for that girl to be attacked again. But the Ashton-Hughes house, at least, was safe. For three days, it had been buttoned up tight, with Circle Daybreak agents watching every person who went through the gates. And checking them, using the same wards that protected the house. No Night Person could cross the invisible line that encircled the grounds, and no person who tried to cross and was turned back by the wards would be allowed to leave without being tracked.