Wish Apon A Star

Nicole - Breaking and Entering

As it turned out, neither James nor Annabelle were up in time. I sat with Leo downstairs until five, when we finally decided we had to wake them up if we wanted to get there anytime soon. After a long argument, they finally agreed neither of them would get the money. Or, more accurately, Leo agreed on it for them. '

We rode into Koyia late the next day, long after the sun had gone down. James hopped off his horse and asked, "So, when do you want to go?"

"I can go now." I wasn't really tired, and the darkness would give me cover.

"No, you won't," Leo said. "We've been riding for the better part of two days. You can rest, and then go tomorrow."

I started to argue with him, then changed my mind. "Fine."

Leo booked us for one night at an inn, two rooms. Annabelle fell asleep immediately (she always did) but I laid awake for hours afterwards. I didn't feel tired, and I was scared to fall asleep. I hadn't had any of those dreams in a few weeks, but I was always scared I was going to. Especially now. They always came back when I was scared.

It was close to four a.m. when I finally fell asleep. I didn't dream, and I was glad of it. I slept until nine, which was incredibly late for me, until Annabelle came to wake me up. The entire day, I was jumpy. Checkout was supposed to be at noon, but Annabelle bribed the front desk clerk for extra time, so we didn't have to leave until closer to three.

"Nicole?" I slipped the last of my daggers into place. I probably wouldn't need them, but they made me feel better, anyway. Like armor. Leo stepped into the room Annabelle and I were sharing. "I have something for you."

I turned. "First of all," he said, "I wish you had actually thought about this." I opened my mouth to protest, and he shook his head. "I know you didn't. But if you're going to...you're going to. There's nothing I can do. Maybe it sounds lame, but I want to protect you, and I can't. Especially when you throw yourself headlessly into danger like this."

"I'm not," I protested. "It's not that dangerous. And, anyway, I can take care of myself."

"I know you can." A tiny smile flitted across his face. He took one of my hands, gently tracing the scars that ran over them from climbing the tower. He slipped his other hand into his pocket and pulled something out. Gloves, I realized. Fingerless and black. "I know they won't protect the tops of your fingers," he said, "but they're all I could find. And I know the building is probably nothing like the tower–but still. I'll look for something that'll work better soon."

"Thank you," I whispered. I was going to cry. I reached up to hug him. "Thank you."

He wrapped his arms around my waist. "I love you," he murmured. "I know I say that a lot, but it's true. I love you, and I need you. Come back to me."

Most of the time, it felt like I was the one that needed him, not the other way around. I was the broken one, and I hated how dependent on him I was sometimes. I wanted to do things myself, always. I'd never even thought about him needing me. I was broken. I was useless.

I didn't say anything, just held on to him. I didn't want to leave him, even though I knew I had to. I didn't have a choice, even if Leo claimed I did. I needed to do this–not just for him, or Annabelle, or James, but for me.

...

The building was nothing like the tower. For one, it was brick, not stone, and my callouses had built back up enough to protect my hands. There weren't any sharp bits that cut open my palms. It wasn't raining, either. Maybe it was stupid, but I connected rain to the tower, droplets stinging my face like needles, clouding my vision. Tonight was clear.