Page 35 of Black Hearted (Cursed Fae #4)

Zane

Lorelei was everything I thought my mate would be and so much more. I could fill pages with what delighted and intrigued me about her, but even so, I hadn’t been prepared for the intensity and depth of our kiss.

Having my mouth pressed against the soft pillow of her lips and seeing the midnight sparkles appear afterward—the undeniable evidence of our mate bond—had been nothing short of the most defining moment of my life.

I’d never felt anything so strong, pure, and right before.

And yet, my heart broke for what I now knew would never be.

Because I had learned the truth she’d been hiding from me.

After she’d been dragged across the forest floor and we sat by the fire together, I’d seen her pull the note from the Wise Ones out of her pack. As her gaze swept over the words, something shifted in her expression—a deep melancholy that hadn’t been there a moment before.

I must have caught her rereading that note at least a half-dozen times since we set out for the Tree of Transformation.

Each time, that same sadness overtook her.

She wouldn’t let me see the contents, and I wanted to respect her wishes, but earlier tonight, as she read it by the fire, I knew something wasn’t right.

So when she finally fell asleep, I stole the rolled scroll and read it for myself.

Sitting awake by the fire as Lorelei slept beside me, I spent half the night cursing those Wise Ones.

I even contemplated throwing the vial into the flames, but if this was the only way to stop the curse, destroying it would doom two worlds and all the souls in them. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

My brothers, their wives, Dawn’s unborn babies—they were all counting on us. So I did the only thing I could think of to make this outcome bearable: I stole the vial and resolved to drink it myself.

There was no world in which I could watch Lorelei die. If she died, I would die with her. If not in body, then certainly in spirit.

It was clear now why she’d been so hot and cold, why sadness lingered in her eyes after we shared that incredible kiss.

And why, now, as we walked toward the Tree of Transformation, she was once again quiet and withdrawn.

She was preparing to die.

And I wasn’t going to let that happen.