Page 66 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

Remy rounded the rock wall just as the last whisper of magic dissipated.

“What’s going on?” he asked, eyes scanning the spot where she’d stood, his hand already reaching for his sword.

I was still breathing hard, blade trembling faintly in my grip.

“I don’t know,” I lied. “She was just… gone.”

His eyes locked onto mine, intense and searching. “Ashlyn, please. You have to trust me.”

I stared at him, heart pounding, blood still humming with adrenaline.

“I can’t,” I whispered. “Not ever again.”

He looked like I’d struck him with something deeper than a blade.

He didn’t say anything at first, just stood beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of him, close enough to remember what it felt like to be wrapped in his arms and believe it meant something.

“I’ll wait,” he said finally, voice low. Calm. “Forever, if that’s what it takes.”

I didn’t turn. The ocean wind tangled through my hair, the scent of salt and dragon fire clinging to the air between us.

“You don’t have to,” I murmured.

“I do,” he replied, and this time, I did look at him.

His eyes were tired, softer than I’d seen them since his return. Not the soldier. Not the liar. Just… Remy.

“I know I had no business being with you,” he said. “What we had, it wasn’t supposed to happen. You were never the mission.”

I scoffed, crossing my arms. “Then what was the mission?”

He swallowed, gaze dropping. “To infiltrate the Order. To gain intelligence. To track the Blood Fae’s interest in halfbloods.” He looked back at me. “I took something I had no right to take.”

“My virginity,” I said, the words flat but burning.

He flinched, but shook his head. “No. I mean your heart.”

Silence stretched like a blade between us.

“I took it under false pretenses,” he said, quieter now. “With a false name, a false life. But when I proposed… that was real, Ashlyn. I meant every word of it. I was going to come back for you.”

“When it was safe,” I echoed bitterly.

He nodded. “I thought I could protect you better by staying away. I had no idea you’d end up in the guild. Let alone a dragon rider.” His mouth twisted. “You weren’t supposed to be part of this.”

“But I am,” I said. “You don’t get to rewrite the story now just because it hurts.”

“I’m not trying to rewrite it.” His voice cracked. “I’m trying to be in it again. If you’ll let me.”

I looked at him, truly looked, and for a second, I saw the man I loved behind the one who lied.

But love wasn’t always enough.

Not when the truth came too late.

I took a deep breath, watching the horizon where the sun dipped into the sea like it, too, was trying to escape this mess. My heart ached with the weight of too many truths and not enough time to carry them all.

“I’ll trust you as a rider,” I said finally, turning toward Remy. “You’ve earned that...”