I made it all of one whole day without Dante before I felt like I was losing my mind.

Maybe it was the infatuation. Maybe I just had some slightly obsessive tendencies, in which case, I needed to talk about that in therapy. I just had to either find a new, definitely witchy therapist or figure out how to explain what I was feeling while entirely leaving out the concept of soul mates and the fact that Dante was most certainly not human.

... Maybe the first one. "Was it the soul mate bond, was it my neurodivergence, or was it regular old romantic obsession?" seemed like a reasonable question to ask a witch therapist.

I actually liked getting to hang out with my family for a little bit, even if my grandma was pretty stiff the entire time. It was nice to see Mom and Ray getting to know each other again and catching up after so long, and after several tries, I did manage to start knitting.

I had no idea what I was going to be, but hey, I could do a garter stitch!

I did wonder if Dante made it safely, though. He'd texted me right before he stepped over the Veil, or so he said, but I was a little worried. Not to mention, I missed him.

It wasn't even romantic, I realized slowly. I just missed him because I was used to seeing him almost every day. Obviously, over the past month, I'd seen him more and more as he'd frequented the shop and the conflict had kicked up. But the past three weeks? Every day. If I hadn't seen him, I'd talked to him. It was strange that he'd suddenly disappeared.

The worst part was waking up the next morning without him there, though.

We'd spent three nights in the same bed, and I already felt spoiled being able to wake up near him and know he was safe. What was I going to do if something happened? How would I handle not seeing him around again, never seeing him come into the shop, never hearing his grumpy complaints?

Even more than that, there was so much I wanted to know about Dante. I knew a little about his parents, but I never asked him what he wanted for his life. I'd had the chance, of course, but it always felt like prying before. I wanted to know how he felt about being a prince, what it was like growing up in the Sylvan lands, if we had similar ideas about how we wanted to live our lives...

It dawned on me at that moment just how strongly I felt about him.

It felt like a rock in the pit of my stomach and a head rush all at once, like a fall and a flight put together.

I had to go to him. Fuck meeting up with Calen for appearances. I needed to be with Dante, and there wasn't any point in waiting longer. The only thing left to do was to get Callie out, and going to see Calen again wouldn't help me with that. Coordinating with a Sylvan healer, on the other hand, would.

I marched into the living room to find my mom having coffee, a book in her hand. Grandma was probably still asleep, and I could see Ray out on the back patio.

"I'm going to stop at my apartment long enough to pack a bag, and then I'm going to the Sylvan Court," I said, hands on my hips.

Mom looked up from her book, closed it, and stared at me for a long moment. I couldn't exactly tell if she was sizing me up, trying to figure out if there was something I wasn't telling her, or if I just looked a little funny posing like Wonder Woman in my pajamas.

"You're sure?" was all she asked.

"I'm sure," I said firmly. "I'll figure out how to get out of here without being noticed. I think it's safer for everyone if I'm at the Sylvan Court, and I'll have to come out of hiding eventually."

Even if it was because we needed groceries, I'd still have to come out of hiding. I wouldn't live the rest of my life like this. Maybe the Council could figure out a way to stop Calen, too, now that we knew the truth.

"I think it's a good plan," she said. "I don't know what your father will say, though." She glanced towards the glass doors leading out to the patio. The thick blackout curtains were pulled aside for now, just to let the sunlight in.

"What are you going... to... do about Dad?" I asked, unsure how to phrase it. They seemed more at ease around each other, like the reunion was helpful for them both, but then again, they'd chosen to separate for a reason.

"I think... Well, your grandmother is just going to have to deal with the fact that ladies in this family keep finding themselves attracted to Sylvan men," she said, shrugging.

"Ladies?" I raised an eyebrow. "Plural?"

"I'm not blind, you know. You like him," Mom said, eyeing me over the rim of her coffee cup.

"And?" I asked. I just hoped she would get to the point.

"I like him, too. He seems like a nice boy."

"He's not my soul mate," I said, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

"Do you really care?"

Well, that was an easy answer, in a way. It was much more difficult in another.

I didn't have the security of knowing that this was meant to work with Dante. I finally realized that was what I'd been waiting for all along. That was why I'd been hesitant to date anyone, to form any romantic attachment. I didn't want to get hurt, and that was the bottom line.

In the end, though, I thought that Dante was worth it. I thought it would hurt more to lose the chance with him and wonder for the rest of my life than to be with him while I could.

Plus, my soul mate was a piece of shit, so why should I trust the universe at all?

"No," I finally said. "My soul mate's an asshole. I'd rather it be Dante."

"So make it him," she said.

"You seem awful confident in this plan for someone whose soul mate romance worked out well," I said, sighing.

"And you seem pretty resistant for someone who really, really doesn't like the cards they've been dealt," Mom countered. "Sunday, I know it's disappointing, but that's just life. You, more than anyone, have been given the chance to make your own path. Take it!"

I hated to say it, but she had a point. And, in a way, it was encouraging.

"I should probably go pack that bag then," I mumbled.

"Probably." Mom pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead, rubbing my back gently. "I do think you'll be safer with the Sylvans. Just promise me you'll be careful getting there."

"I will," I promised.

"We can take you to the crossing point," Ray said, walking into the room from the back patio. "Sorry. May have been listening."

It didn't really bother me, to be honest, but I didn't want them taking me anywhere.

"If this goes south, I don't want you there," I said, shaking my head. "You're the only ones who will know where to send help if I need it. It makes more sense for me to go alone— I'll get there faster, anyways."

Ray pursed his lips, but he nodded.

"I trust you to make your own decisions, but you better believe that if we hear anything, we'll come running." He paused for a moment, shifting uncomfortably. "That, and I think you'd probably find a way to sneak off again, so I'd rather just know where you're going and when."

"Okay, fair point," I said, snorting.

When this was all over, I wanted to get to know him better. I had a lot of questions for him, some about my ancestry and others about magic in general. Maybe he had a better chance of knowing than anyone else. I wasn't sure how old he was, but I wanted to know all he'd seen and done, and how the world had changed while he was alive.

For now, it was time to make some plans.