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“Nothing is going to change that,” he said. “I won’t let it. And you can beat me until we’re both black and blue if that’s what it takes to finally make you understand that I amchoosingthis. I am choosingyoubecauseyouare my home. So, please… stop trying to lock me out of it. I will gladly spend my life running so long as it’s you that I’m running towards.”

Taly reached up to stroke a thumb along his cheekbone, wiping away a stray tear.

“What do you want, Tink?”

She couldn’t find the words. Fear, maybe some lingering stubbornness, still wouldn’t let her say them.

But she knew—deep in her heart, she knew.

Her hand was shaking as she drew it up between their bodies and placed it in the center of his bare chest, just above the place where she could feel the bond tugging. Faint and closed off, but still there.

Her eyes rose back up to his.

A life—that’s what she wanted. With him. Human or Fey, that would never change.

A breath shuddered out of him as he placed a hand over hers, squeezing it tight.

“I have a question,” she whispered, staring up at him. “The bloodcrafting—would you have started if not for me?”

Skye shook his head. “I don’t think I would’ve had the courage.”

“But is it something you wanted?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

“Why hide it then?”

He shrugged and looked away. “Because I know the stigma, and… I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want you to look at me like I was a monster. And because…” He exhaled sharply, like the next part physically hurt to say. “Seeing you be so strong every day made me feel like I couldn’t keep up, and that was… hard. You left me behind twice already. I didn’t want to give you a reason to do it again.”

It took a moment for Taly’s mind to wrap around the confession. Skye had always been the strong one. The protector. Hearing, understanding now, that she made him feel like he needed to race to catch up when she’d already spent her whole life sprinting…

This wasn’t the time to be smug. She’d save that for later.

For now… “I have another question,” she said softly.

“Oh?”

“Is it awesome?”

He barked a laugh, leaning forward until their brows touched. “Yeah, it’s kind of awesome.”

“Can you do neat tricks?”

“You say that like I’m a dog.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Dogs are more trainable.”

His hands stroked down her back as hers slid to circle his neck. Nothing was fixed. She was still in pieces. But he held on like none of them were too sharp to touch.

When she went to her toes, he was already leaning down to meet her. The first kiss was gentle.

The second more needy.

By the third, his tongue was plundering her mouth, and she was clawing at his hair, his shoulders, any place her fingers could find purchase.

And though she wasn’t sure why she did it, what possessed her, when she broke for air, she saw that smear of blood drying just below his jaw, leaned forward, and licked a long, slow line up the strong column of his throat.

Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head. Burning, bloody Shards, he tasted like aether. Like pure, unadulterated magic, and for the first time in her life, shegot it. Blood sharing. It was one of those things about the Fey she’d always dismissed as being other and strange, something she would never be able to understand, but now...