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His hand slid between them and he pinched her clit, the sensation setting off a series of blinding ripples within.

‘Fuck,’ she whispered against his lips. ‘Do that again.’

He did, and she half sobbed with the sensitive pleasure of it.

‘Are you going to come, Thea?’ he murmured, circling the spot with his thumb, knowing exactly what he was doing to her.

‘Yes,’ she whimpered. ‘I’m going to —’

The force of it stole the rest of her words and she careened towards the edge of her climax, an unstoppable tempest hurtling over the precipice.

She didn’t take her eyes off Wilder, who, with her body clenching and shuddering around him, climbed to the point of no return with her. The cadence of his hips slowed, dragging out the last of their orgasms, one deliberate stroke after the next, his moan vibrating through her whole being.

Thea clung to him, her anchor through every storm.

‘Fuck, I love you,’ she told him, pressing his palm to her pounding heart.

Still inside her, he kissed her deeply. ‘I love you, too.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

WILDER

Wilder could never sleep after a battle, and together, they discovered it was the same for Thea. They fucked again as the watch changed outside, and then, in the quiet early hours just before a new dawn broke, they talked.

‘Do you ever wonder what the midrealms would look like with all the monsters gone?’ she asked him, her fingers tracing the lines of his tattoo.

‘I used to,’ he told her. ‘But not for a long while now… Do you?’

‘Sometimes… I wonder what would happen if, after having fought so hard to be a Warsword, the meaning of it changed. What does a Warsword do when there are no more monsters to fight? No more villains to hunt down?’

Wilder drew circles on her bare back, relishing the feel of her skin beneath his touch, marvelling at the intimacy of such a small act. ‘Did you come to a conclusion?’

Thea hummed with contentedness as he stroked the length of her spine. ‘I figured there will always be monsters in this world. And that I’d gladly hunt them with you forever.’

‘Forever is a long time.’

‘Even if I had forever, it would not be enough time with you.’

Wilder stiffened at the reference to the piece of jade resting against her skin. That damn thing was always between them, always reminding them that for all the love they shared, they could not fight fate.

‘Wilder?’ Thea said quietly.

‘Hmmm?’

‘I have to talk about it…’ Her hand cupped his face and forced his gaze to hers. ‘I have to be able to talk about my death with you. My name day is looming, and I feel like I might burst with all the thoughts churning in my mind. Let me share this with you. Please.’

He had been trying to ignore the milestone approaching. He could feel the resistance in his very bones, the overwhelming bodily need to shove the subject far away, into the distant reaches of his mind. What he felt, he realised, was fear – fear for the pain her absence would cause. He knew it would be unbearable, all-consuming. A world without her in it? He had no interest in that.

But to anticipate the grief so intensely… It meant he loved just as hard, just as fiercely. Wilder knew he was lucky to have experienced a love so great, however quickly it would be ripped from him.

Thea’s stormy eyes implored him now, and he remembered his reaction to the death notes she’d written. He’d taken that outlet from her, and so now, he needed to be that support for her.

‘Alright,’ he said, his voice cracking.

She sagged against him, her relief palpable. ‘Thank you.’

It hurt. It hurt so deeply to speak the words, but he did it for her. ‘Where do you want to be buried?’ he asked.