Page 69 of Awakening

“How can you tell?”

“Our—”

Marc cut him off. “Your connection.”

“Yes.” Emrys heard the wariness in Marc’s voice.

Trystan stared into the flames, mesmerized as they danced. Emrys was right. His emotions were strained, his heart torn in so many ways he couldn’t begin to piece it back together. He needed time to sort through all of it. Time they didn’t have.

“Trystan?” Emrys said, his voice soft and filled with concern.

Trystan looked at Emrys sitting across the fire from him and Marc. His heart begged him to go to him, pleading as if it needed his touch to continue beating. He shook his head slightly, willing the thoughts from his mind. Emrys wasn’t Myrddin—not the Myrddin he’d left behind. Emrys didn’t love him the way Myrddin had, but Marc did.

“I’m all right, Emrys.”

“What happened in there?” Marc asked, threading his fingers with Trystan’s.

Trystan puffed out his cheeks. “A false reality.”

“What do you mean?” Marc drew his brows together.

“I had a family. Fell in love. Both my fathers were alive. Even my—‘” Trystan gave his head a subtle shake. “I had everything, and I had to leave it all behind. I know it wasn’t real, but it felt real. It still feels real. I feel like I abandoned the people I love.”

Silence.

Marc shifted to face Trystan. “Trystan, love. Look at me.”

Trystan looked at him through damp lashes.

“I cannot bring your father back, but I can give you everything else if you’ll let me.” Marc leaned in and kissed Trystan with soft, tender nips, caressing his lips with his own.

Marc’s kiss soothed Trystan’s heart and eased the pain.

“It’s no coincidence you returned to us when you did,” Emrys said.

Marc ended their kiss, and both he and Trystan glanced at Emrys.

“Tonight is the Azure Moon. According to legend, lovers who take the vows at moonrise in nature’s truest form and mate at night beneath its glow will receive Selênê’sblessing.”

“Selênê?” Marc asked.

“The goddess of the moon,” Trystan answered.

“What does her blessing mean for us?”

“A gift of her own choosing. One that allows the goddess to bend fate to her will. And because you are soul bound mates, such a gift can give life where fate deemed death.”

“How long do we have before moonrise?”

Emrys glanced westward. “I would estimate several hours, at the last glow of twilight.”

“Then we’ve not much time.” Marc reached for his satchel and untied it from the belt around his waist. He emptied the contents—a silver ring—into his palm.

“This ring belonged to my mother. My father gave it to her years ago.”

Trystan gently picked up the ring and read the inscription inside the band. “My heart for eternity with you.”

“A trade I would make a thousand times,” Marc whispered.