Page 55 of The Unseelie Wish

It looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but seeing the look on her face, his expression smoothed, and he stayed quiet. He just gently squeezed her hand as they walked along the city street in silence.

Cars occasionally drove by, but Boston was a pretty sleepy city, all things considered. It was still only around eleven, but the traffic was already thinning out. That was what happened when last call was at midnight, maybe one in the morning if the bar was being particularly frisky. Or was particularly dive-y. Either way.

The city stank, as all cities did. It smelled of garbage, exhaust, hints of leaky gas pipes and standing water. The pavement was stained with years of she-really-didn’t-want-to-know-what. All the trees she could see were put there on purpose, their existence to try to add scenery to the bricks and concrete somehow laughable.

A rat skittered around a corner into an alley.

Boston was gross.

She was going to miss it.

For the four hours I’m alive after we leave.

They walked until they reached a small neighborhood park. It was really just a patch of grass between buildings where dogs could do their business and children could play on the multi-colored metal structures. Walking up to the swing set, she sat down on one of the curved rubber pieces. Izael sat in the one next to her before idly kicking and swinging back and forth.

No one was around, save for the stray person likely walking home, their heads lowered, hands shoved in their pockets.

“I don’t want to die.” It was an obvious statement, but she felt like she needed to make it anyway. “I don’t want to do this.”

“I know. Neither do I.” He leaned his head against the rubber-coated chain. She remembered the days when the chain was just steel, and if you got pinched, well that was on you. “But the other option is war. And you said no to that already.”

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.” She started rocking back and forth as well, her feet not leaving the ground. Why was that so comforting? It didn’t really matter. Probably something that called back to being a baby.

Should she text someone? Say goodbye? She was just going to go missing. Her friends—the ones she had, anyway—would eventually notice. Her family wouldn’t give a shit. They checked in with her maybe once a year if they remembered.

“No one’s going to miss me.” It was another statement that she felt compelled to say. “I have no job. My few friends are mostly digital now—they’ll notice eventually, but they won’t ever know what happened. My family doesn’t give a fuck.”

“What happened between you and them?”

She shrugged. “Honestly? Nothing. That’s the worst part. No big blowup, no big trauma—it’s not like my dad touched me or my mom beat me or anything. I was just clearly not a kid they wanted to have. Both in general and me specifically. They were both distant all through my childhood. When I moved away to go to college for music, they saw it as a perfect opportunity to totally write me off. Said that if that was my decision, they’d have no part in it. I was on my own.” After a pause, she laughed quietly. “It wasn’t that much of a loss.”

“You don’t care?”

“I do. I mean, of course I do. I see people with families and I’m jealous. But—like—you and Anfar. You aren’t close.”

“No. We certainly are not.”

“And your mother?”

“Wants nothing to do with me, either.” Izael sneered. “I was kicked out of that world. They begged Anfar to take me away.”

“You know it’s messed up when the people that are probably going to miss me the most are Puck, Bayodan, and Cruinn.” She snorted. “Okay, and Pumpkin. He’ll miss me. I think. But he’s also a cat.”

“He’ll miss you. The rest? Who knows.” Letting out a hum, it was clear something just occurred to him. “I don’t think anyone will miss me. If anything, I think they’ll be relieved.” He looked puzzled at that for a moment. “I don’t think I like how that makes me feel.”

“It’s probably not something you’ve ever cared about before.”

“Certainly not. I am ageless. I am the Duke of Bones.” Straightening his back, he puffed himself up like a peacock. “I’m not supposed to care.”

“Doesn’t do much good, does it, what you’re supposed to care about or not?” Case in point. She cared about him. And that’s something she really shouldn’t have let herself do.

“Seems so.”

Silence stretched on for a few more minutes as they sat there, watching the city with its occasional cars and pedestrians. It was a sad and lonely existence, even surrounded by people. It was fascinating how sometimes being in a crowd was more isolating than not. The buildings around them were filled with people living their lives. Watching TV, sleeping, reading a book, playing videogames—going about their own dramas and their own events.

And none of them knew Alex and Izael even existed. They would come and go from this moment. Nobody would care.

She took Izael’s hand and squeezed it.