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She really doesn’t care about the monster I am, and I don’t mean my beast.

“I do. I don’t deserve your love, Serena, but I won’t deny I crave it all the same. My father made me a monster so that he could be stronger. He never believed I could use it against him, that I would ever even think about it, and I didn’t. Not until you.” A tear rolls down her cheek, and I reach up to brush it away.

“Let me do this for you. Let me save your mate.”

“But I need you too,” she argues, reaching out and fisting her hand in my shirt as if she’s afraid I might disappear.

I shake my head, half wishing that was true but knowing it’s not. “Not the way they are, the way Lyle is. We’ve shared our darkness, I’ve seen inside your mind. There’s something there, but it’s not the same, no matter how much we both wish it were.”

She chokes on a sob, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip to try to hold it in, but it’s no use.

Seeing her like this is torture, and I find myself having to fight against my own emotions as I watch her fall apart… over me. “Let me save him, let me be deserving of you in this way if nothing else, my Darling.”

She’s right to worry. I can’t waste much more time, not with Lyle after us, but I just need another moment.

I hesitate, unsure of myself, before I force myself to move, pressing my lips to hers. All my worries disappear as she melts into me.

The rest of the world feels as though it falls away, and for a moment, it’s just us, here together in this moment.

A goodbye.

Her fingers dig into my shirt as she holds on for dear life. Tears well in her eyes as she shakes her head almost violently. I knew she would never agree to this, but it was worth a shot. “No! I can’t. I can’t lose you any more than I can lose him. It would be like losing a limb. Please don’t ask me to…” Another sob cuts her off as she tries and fails to get her breathing under control.

Slowly, her shadows begin to recede. Her eyes once again return to that beautiful blue as the inky black veins slowly shrink until they don’t even go past her wrists; her horns disappear, but still her wings remain.

It doesn’t matter what form Serena takes my breath away.

A roar sounds not too far in the distance, and I know it’s him. The way Serena’s eyes go wide tells me she does, too.

Movement at the door catches my eye, and I look up to find Garrett watching us, his lips pulled down in a frown.

Garrett moves toward us, his eyes darting toward the door, and I know without words he’s worried about Lyle. He’d be stupid not to be. I look down at Serena, and he follows my gaze as he moves to stand behind her.

She doesn’t spare him a glance, doesn’t even act as if she knows he’s there. Not for the first time, I’m grateful for the gift from my mother, even if I wasn’t aware it was from her until recently.

Garrett comes up behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist before he starts to glow.

“I’m not asking,” I tell her as Garrett chases away the rest of her shadows and making this even harder.

I don’t want to leave her.

“No! Please, Ryker, don’t do this!” she begs, her shouts echoing around the tiny cabin, each word feeling like a physical blow as I grab the tiny pink vine from the table.

Her eyes go wide, the fear in them unmistakable as she watches me, fighting against Garrett’s hold. But it’s no use; she’s used up too much energy, and I almost feel bad for how grateful I am for that.

If not for the fight, she would have easily been able to stop all of us, let alone just Garrett.

“Ryker, please. There has to be another way! I know you don’t think you’re worthy, but I love you! Please don’t do this…” I feel the others just outside the cabin, but they don’t come in, not that they need to.

Serena’s heartbreak is loud enough that it feels as if the whole realm will hear it.

“I told you not to,” I tell her before I let myself fade into the shadows, too much of a coward to keep talking to her for fear I’ll fold.

I move out past the guys into the small clearing where I used to cut up the logs for the fire.

Blair’s the first to notice me, his gaze darting down to my clenched fist at my side that hides the vine. “Whatever this is, are you sure it’s going to work?” he asks, his gaze calculating, as if trying to figure out what I’m doing without asking.

He won’t have to wait long.