Hexennacht (Wheel of the Year #2)

by C.M. Nascosta

and leaving the house was still an exercise in trying her best to understand that hidden subtext the whole world seemed to know. She hadn’t grown comfortable in crowds overnight, hadn’t learned how to be helpful without seeming obsequious, hadn’t changed at all, really.

He saw her exactly as she was, and the act of being seen made her feel more substantial. Less afraid to take up space in the world, and the substantiality made her more certain of her place in it.

She would carry her grief with her forever, but so, too, did she carry their love. They walked beside her still, and they always would.