Nero POV
"The curse didn't come last night."
Remi said it like she was still surprised by it. Sitting on the edge of the bed pulling her boot on. Hair still messy from sleep. The star blanket half on the floor.
"No," I said. "It didn't."
"Because we—"
"Yes."
"All night."
"Yes."
She looked up at me. That specific expression. The one that meant she was pleased about something and absolutely was not going to say so out loud.
"Good," she said.
"Very," I said.
She went back to her boot. Her ears were pink. I watched her fight with the lace for a moment before she got it.
The small room was warm. Morning light coming through the east window thin and gold. Everything in here — the carved wolf above the bed, the clay figure on the shelf, the faded star blanket — felt more familiar than
