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There was a soft thud as a tattered pack of cards tumbled from one of her pockets. Thea didn’t play cards. Not that he knew of. He caught a glimpse of the text on one card, which was barely legible:strong of mind, strong of body, strong of heart. The words sent a shiver down his spine. There was something strangely familiar about them, something that made the hair at his nape stand on end.

But with Enovius, the god of death, waiting in the wings for Thea, a deck of cards was the least of Wilder’s concerns. Finding the key to his manacles in one of her pockets, he undid his irons and spread his cloak down on the cave floor. Then, he removed his own clothing. Leaving only his undershorts on, he created a bed of insulation with his still-warm layers. Laying Thea down, facing the fire, he settled behind her, wincing as her icy skin pressed against him. But he would give her all his warmth, everything he had in a heartbeat. Ignoring the damp press of her undergarments, he wrapped himself around her and covered them with his cloak, willing the heat of his body to soak into her.

He clung to her, pulling her as close as possible. ‘I wish we had stayed in those hot springs in the forest,’ he told her, pressing a kiss to her hair. ‘I wish that every day.’

Thea didn’t reply.

CHAPTER NINE

THEA

Asolid wall of heat engulfed her. Tremors wracked Thea’s body, but someone held her tightly, wrapping her in warmth, and the comforting scent of rosewood and leather.

Wilder.

She took a trembling breath, her whole body aching.What happened?she wondered sluggishly.How did I end up here?She remembered walking, listening to Hawthorne explain about the shadow wraiths, about his mentor, but…

She was almostnaked.Hewas almost naked.

‘Thea?’ he murmured against her bare skin, his grip tightening ever so slightly.

She was still shaking, her mind foggy with what she now realised was delirium, fever. Her breaths became short, shallow gasps, each one burning her lungs.

‘You’re alright,’ the warrior told her, the rich sound of his voice vibrating against her back. ‘I’ve got you.’

Thea couldn’t open her eyes, but the colours behind her lids were vivid as they took the shape of memories: finding Malik’sdagger on the Mourner’s Trail, spying on the Warswords atop the cliffs, Wilder twirling her dagger between his fingers.

‘Looking for this?’

Each memory barrelled into her with an intensity to match the fever that had her in its grasp. Kissing Wilder on the doorstep of his cabin, the kiss that had obliterated every other experience before it. That first time in the Bloodwoods, where she’d gripped the arrow as he drove into her. Carving out the reaper’s heart after the initiation test. Training with him in the arena, his hands guiding hers. Those same hands strapping on her armour. Every kiss, every intimate moment swam in Thea’s spotted vision.

Because I fucking love you.

This thing between us is endless.

Every part of me belongs to you.

A sob shuddered through Thea, at the pain, at the fever, at everything. ‘Was any of it real?’ she croaked, her voice raw and trembling. ‘Did any of it mean anything?’

Her shivering eased as those powerful arms tensed around her. ‘How do you think you survived that reaper attack in the Bloodwoods?’

Thea opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come, a fresh wave of tremors taking her.

‘Aveum springwater can only do so much on its own,’ the melodic voice replied, sounding suddenly distant.

She remembered the sweet trickle of water, crisp and fresh on her parched tongue, how her whole body had tingled as its magical properties surged through her. She remembered watching in awe as the deepest of her wounds knitted together, leaving only faint pink scars behind. As the network of black veins across her skin retreated, disappearing entirely within mere moments.

‘But when it’s used on someone you love?’ he said. ‘There is nothing more powerful.’

Thea clung to those words with all her remaining strength, but it wasn’t enough. The visions before her ceased, and she slipped beneath the veil of consciousness.

Thea stirred, nestling into the delicious heat that pressed against her front. Warm, comforting and solid, a heartbeat drumming steadily against her own, the gentle pressure of a broad palm across her bare back.

She inhaled deeply, her breathing free of tremors, free to lose herself in the familiarity of his smell. She could almost taste him.

Him.

Thea’s eyes flew open, meeting a bare, tattooed chest.