Belladonna

neck, but because she had explained what was at stake in a way that scared him to the bone.
    To lose the ability to hear the music in people's hearts? To lose the ability to play music that would help people find the harmony in themselves? Worse than that, to have that ability but to be denied the use of it until it became a thwarted, crippled thing festering inside you. What would that do to the person who had that ability?
    He knew what that would do to a person. After all, hadn't his mother walked into the sea?
    Door of Locks. Images. Stories.
    Truths. Choices.
    His family was splintering. It didn't matter that he'd spent the past dozen years on the road, only coming back to Raven's Hill for a few days at a time. It had been home because there had been family. Now the cottage was gone, and the sense or belonging somewhere was gone too.
    Face it, lad, if there was a house that had a peg by the door that was for your coat and yours alone, and if there was a woman in that house who would laugh with you and quarrel with you and love you even when she wanted to knock your head against a wall
    ... If you had those things, even if they were in a place far away from anything you had known, would you be resisting the idea of Caitlin settling so far from the places you know? You're afraid to let go because Glorianna hasn't offered you a place in her life, let alone a place in her house or in the piece of the world she calls home. And you're afraid because when you lose Glorianna, there won't be anyone left.
    Lee stepped up to the railing. Said nothing.
    Michael sighed. "How do you find the courage to let go?"
    Lee shrugged. "Parents have been asking that question for generations. Most of them find the courage."
    "It's just ... If she stays here, Caitlin is going to be so far away."
    Lee gave him an odd look. "You still don't understand, do you, Magician? All you need is one piece of common ground. If you have that landscape, she'll only be as far away as she wants to be."
    Michael grimaced. "Sure, I know about you making bridges, but Caitlin's never been anywhere beyond Raven's Hill, and I can't see her wanting to go back there."
    "She's been to Aurora," Lee countered. Then he gave Michael an evil grin. "And she's been to the Den of Iniquity."
    He jumped as if a steel rod had been jammed up his backside. "Ah, no. Don't be doing that to me. You've got a sister too —"
    "And a cousin who is the Justice Maker in the Den."
    "Mentioning Sebastian is not a comfort." And thinking of Caitlin with her lips locked to Teaser's was a whole lot less than comfort. "She's just eighteen and innocent. And Teaser is neither, and a walking temptation in the bargain." Maybe if he kept saying it enough, it would make an impression on someone besides himself.
    Lee's evil grin got wider. "So that story you told me about your first time. Which was it, brag or lie?"
    "Damn you." But even as he said it, it occurred to him that he'd never had a friend who would poke at him like this. Even Nathan wouldn't have poked fun at him.
    "Tell you what," Lee said, clapping a hand on Michael's shoulder. "You don't show too much interest in Caitlin's sex life —
    and I won't show too much interest in Glorianna's."
    "That's different."
    "So you say."
    "It is."
    "We're docking," Kenneday called out. "If either of you care."
    "Could be worse," Lee said, taking a step back. "Sebastian could start taking an interest in Glorianna's sex life."
    "Lady of Light, have mercy," Michael muttered, wincing at the reminder that the incubus had already showed a bit too much interest in his cousin's relationships. And I haven't even talked her into bed yet.
    Lee walked away laughing, the ripe bastard. Then Brighid appeared from belowdecks, looking pale but determined.
    Let them go, he thought as he moved to intercept Brighid and have a few words with her to convey Glorianna's message. Have the courage to let them both go on with their own lives.

    Their eyes met, and he realized she had faced this moment twelve years ago — when she had let him go, He offered her a smile and his arm. "Shall we go out and meet the world?"
    She linked her arm in his. "Yes, I think we shall."
    Can you feel it, Caitlin?
    That's what Glorianna had asked. But she couldn't feel it. Wasn't sure of anything anymore. She hadn't meant to hurt the White Isle or Lighthaven, hadn't meant to break the world. It felt too much like the time she had indulged in a temper tantrum. She couldn't remember now what