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And Thea stood at the heart of it all, panting, lightning still adorning her fingers.

She didn’t hear him when he called.

Wilder staggered to her, dropping his bloodied blades in the leaf litter and gripping her gently by the arms. ‘Thea…’

The storm in her eyes quietened and her gaze locked onto his, as though she were seeing him for the first time. She drew a ragged breath, her magic winking out.

‘There you are,’ he said softly.

Still dazed, she scanned him from head to toe, taking in the blood and gore that coated him before searching for the others. He watched as she assessed Wren, Kipp, Cal and Torj one by one, no doubt looking for signs of injury, signs that she’d failed them.

Wilder let her see that everyone was alright, safe and whole. Then he turned to Torj as he approached with Cal, both as filthy and battered as Wilder, but otherwise unharmed. ‘We need to find the horses,’ Wilder said, his voice a low rumble that left no room for argument. ‘We’ll look this way.’

Without another word, he took Thea by the hand and dragged her through the woods, away from the others, his chest tightening with each step, every ounce of fear he’d beaten down in the heart of the battle now surging to the surface.

She followed him without objection as he wove them between the trees, as he took them deeper and deeper into the forest until he heard the sound of rushing water and then the roar of a waterfall. Beside it was a spring, ribbons of steam rippling from glassy water.

The missing horses were the furthest thing from Wilder’s mind.

When he was sure they were alone, he whirled around to face her. The gates that had kept everything at bay sprung apart and suddenly, he was yelling.

‘How could you have been so senseless? So foolish? So careless with your own fucking life, Thea?’ His chest hurt as the words tumbled from his lips, as he struggled to get air into his lungs.

Thea blinked at him, and it only served as fuel to the fire of terror raging within.

‘I have told you that fate stone doesn’t make you invincible. I have told you not to throw yourself into danger without a thought. I have told you there are fates far fucking worse than death.’ He rattled off everything he had ever said to her, part reprimand, part plea. All the while, that fracture in his chest deepened.

Thea stared at him, shaking beneath his grip.

He kept his gaze locked on her, his own body trembling just as much as hers. ‘It doesn’t fucking matter if you’re a shieldbearer, a Guardian, a fucking storm wielder or a Warsword. You cannot keep doing this. I won’t allow it.’

‘You won’t allow it?’ Her first words to him were as sharp as a blade. ‘You won’tallow it?’

That tempest in her eyes was back, surging right for him. But Wilder was done. He hadn’t allowed the darkness to take her back in the Bloodwoods and he sure as fuck wouldn’t let her own darkness consume her now.

‘No,’ he ground out. ‘I won’t allow it.’

She took a step towards him, closing what little space remained between them, staring up at him with fire in her gaze. ‘Why?’ she snarled.

Wilder couldn’t stand the inferno within for a second longer – couldn’t take the strain on his heart, on his soul, for a moment more.

‘Because I fucking love you,’ he said.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

THEA

Time slowed, stilled entirely.

Because I fucking love you.

The rough words hung between them, seizing Thea’s heart in an unforgiving fist.

The only truth she needed to hear from him.

‘You… you love me?’ she murmured, her chest caving in.

Wilder gazed down at her, still covered in blood and gore, his silver stare unwavering. ‘You know I do.’ He pressed the flat of his palm to her chest gently. ‘You feel it, here.’