Page 49

The quill clattered to the table as I rushed back to Wren and pushed the note in his hand.

Wet curls flew over my shoulder as I turned from him, hurrying to my bedchamber and pulling on any clothes I could see.

Snatching my belt of daggers from my bedside table, I began strapping them to my chest as I rushed back to the doorway.

Wren looked even more perplexed now than before, the lines of his tired face deepening as he opened his mouth to speak again, but I shushed him.

My fingers wrapped around his forearm as I tethered us to Nithra’s stable, and scanned our surroundings for anything— everything that could be used against us. The blade of Wren’s sword shimmered in the light and I groaned.

Weapons weren’t even safe .

My fingers worked at a rapid pace to unbuckle my belt of daggers as I snatched the sword from Wren’s side.

“Cin, what are yo—”

“Shhh,” I hissed, as I stalked over to the worn wooden doors and tossed the weapons out.

The doors slammed at my back as a weighted breath slipped from my mouth.

“We can talk now,” I said, pacing back and forth in front of him, unable to stand still.

“What is going on? Who the hell is Cain?” He waved his hand toward me in confusion.

My hands dragged over my face, rubbing into my skin as I tried to focus.

There was so much information split between our group that needed sharing.

“Landers’s brother. And, apparently, my mate.

” The words were bitter as they rolled off my tongue, my tone a perfect reflection of the taste.

“He was with the Fallen Ones when we woke them. I don’t know what sick joke the universe is getting at but when he stepped out of the passage our mating bond snapped into place. ”

Wren’s brows furrowed, his head shaking back and forth as he took a step toward me. “Okay . . .” I could hear the gears turning in his head just from looking at him. “And all the sheets over everything in your rooms? What was that about?”

“He showed up in my mirror.” I threw my hands up and scoffed as I kept walking back and forth in front of him, clouds of dust gathering under my boots. “He just appeared there, said it had something to do with the bond—listening to its pull and using some type of magic to appear to me.”

“Okay, Cin,” Wren said, his voice stern as he clapped his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to stop pacing. “Take a breath.”

I stared back at him as he lifted a brow then closed my eyes and listened to his request. I sucked in a sharp breath through my nose, letting my cheeks balloon out as I blew the air out of my mouth.

“Now,” he started again, letting his hands fall from my shoulders. “Where are the others?”

“I don’t know, I have only seen Ata and Asrai since Dukovich and I got back. I sent Asrai to the infirmary maybe two hours ago to check on Ata, and Landers and Andrues should be back soon. The moment they get back we—”

“Why is Ata at the infirmary?” he interrupted, worry dancing across his features as his brow creased.

My pacing started again at his question.

“She was attacked last night. She is safe now—stable.” I could feel the words catching in my throat as the sight of her mangled body came back into view.

There were memories that I knew would haunt me the rest of my life, but I never expected so many of them to be filled with Ata’s suffering.

There was something in her eyes that I had never seen there before. After everything she had been through—everything she had lost—I’d never seen such an extraordinary amount of fear and pain screaming behind her eyes.

My feet had stopped moving as my mind plummeted, spiraling into thoughts of her and when I looked back up at Wren.

He didn’t say anything, didn’t ask any questions.

He just reached out, coiling his fingers around my arm and pulled my body against his chest. Tears slipped from my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him and I could feel that healing energy, that calmness seep into my skin like a balm—soothing my aching heart with every breath I took.

The sound of tethering whooshed through the stables and my eyes shot open to see Landers and Andrues standing in the doorway.

My heart ceased to beat for one moment.

A sob lodged itself inside my tightening throat as I stared back at him.

Then I ran .

Curls whipped over my shoulders as I careened into him.

He caught me effortlessly, his body an immovable force as my chest slammed against his and he lifted me from the ground.

My legs wrapped around his waist as his arms enveloped me, pulling me tight against his body.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck as the familiar scent of leather and moss and woods filled my senses.

And for the first time since stepping back into Locdragoon, I could breathe.

He pulled me impossibly closer, one hand cradling the back of my head while the other locked around my waist and I clung to him desperately. Hot tears streamed down my face as my fists clenched the fabric of his tunic.

His heart beat strong and steady against my own racing pulse.

I was trying to keep it together, trying to stay strong while everything seemed to be crumbling around me and I needed him.

I needed his touch. It hadn’t even been a full day since we split up, and though we had spent many days apart over these last couple months—this time felt different.

It felt . . . dangerous to not have him here.

We stood there for what felt like an eternity, lost in each other’s hold, the rest of the world fading away.

Andrues cleared his throat, a gentle reminder that we were not alone, and my eyes flashed to his over Landers’s shoulder to see a soft smile growing onto his lips. Landers lowered me to the ground and I pulled back just enough to look up at him, searching his face.

He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes and a weariness that seemed to emanate from his very soul. But there was also a gentleness in his gaze as he looked down at me, a tenderness that always seemed to ease whatever emotion was stirring in me.

“I love you,” I whispered, and a smile split onto his lips.

That unholy gorgeous smile.

His eyes lit up, drowning out the fatigue that had settled there.

“I love you, Darkness.” He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead before pulling away and looking at Wren. “What did we miss?”

Silence fell over the four of us as I finished telling them everything that had happened and I could see the unmistakable shade of rage flood Andrues’s features.

“How did you find her?” Andrues asked through clenched teeth.

“A raven flew into the banquet hall while Dukovich and I were eating together. That raven turned into a wolf as it landed at our feet and luckily, Dukovich knew Ata had a familiar or else I think I would have killed it. It led us to her.” Andrues only nodded as his thumb began to rapidly twist the ring on his forefinger. “Did you know she had a familiar?”

“Yes.” He hesitated, his eyes flickering over the three of us. “I also believe that she is a seer.”

My eyes snapped wide.

“What?” The question was a growl as it left Landers’s throat.

“What else is she hiding from us that you know about?” Wren scolded.

Andrues’s eyes flared. “She is not hiding anything; she has been in denial. She found out about her familiar only twenty-four hours before she left for Ammord.” Andrues bit out the words.

“While in Ammord, Dukovich was helping her sort out the dreams we believed came from Svech left in her mind, only to find out that they are visions.”

I stared back at him, panic sinking in as I realized what this could mean.

“S-she saw me burning . . . so that means I’m—”

“No,” Landers interjected, knowing the conclusion I’d come to before I said it. He dragged a hand over his face as he took a step closer to me and pinned his eyes on Andrues. “Gather everyone. Tonight.”

“I shouldn’t be there, not with Cain . . . lurking. Now that we know he’s found a way around the wards, and until we figure out how to fix this bond issue, I shouldn’t be near any talk of plans.”

A smile flickered across Landers’s face as he fully turned toward me. “Luckily, we have a solution to the bond. And as for tonight, we need you there. There are spells that can be cast to protect the room from uninvited ears.”

“What is it?” I asked, my brows knitting together.

“Gentleman, will you give us the room please?” Landers asked as Andrues grinned back at him.

Wren and I glanced at each other in confusion as Andrues shuffled him out of the stable. I watched as the door closed at their backs, the sounds of their weapons being strapped to their bodies fading as they tethered from the grounds.

I turned my head slowly back to Landers to see him beaming down at me, his eyes glittering with excitement.

He gestured his head to the large opening at the other end of the stables, extending his hand to me. “Walk with me?”

I nodded, taking his outstretched hand as we stepped out into the crisp winter air. The snow swirled around us in gentle flurries, blanketing the world in a serene silence. Warmth radiated from him, flowing through my arm and settling into my body like a heated blanket.

He had warmed me with his touch so many times before, dried me from the water that soaked my skin, and as the heat seeped into my bones I finally understood how he did it.

The dragon fire in his veins.

There had been so many signs that I missed, so many things I should have put together sooner. But as I stared down at our hands, I didn’t care. He was mine, and I was his, and in my soul, I knew that there was nothing that, together, we could not navigate.

Landers guided me along a path that twisted through the snow-covered trees, our footsteps disappearing as a fresh layer of snow fell. The silence between us was comfortable, yet filled with a palpable energy. He seemed nervous, his grip on my hand tightening ever so slightly as we walked.

I glanced up at him, studying his profile in the soft light filtering through the trees. His jaw was set, his brow furrowed in concentration as if he were gathering his thoughts.

The path opened into a small clearing, where a frozen pond glistened under the early afternoon sun. A smile crept onto my mouth at the sight of it. It was gorgeous, like diamonds sparkling against the glow of the winter backdrop.

Landers stopped and turned to face me, his breath forming small clouds in the air as he reached out and brushed a snowflake from my cheek.

His fingers lingered on my skin and I leaned into his touch.

His eyes, usually so serious, were now filled with such sincerity that my heart gasped against the hold they had on me.

“There is a question I need to ask you before I explain how to break the mating bond because I want it to be your choice, not something you do out of obligation to me or your family or for the realms. It has to be what you want.” His voice was soft and earnest but there was a thread of intensity vibrating through every word.

My brows furrowed. “What is it?”

He let out a deep breath as he pulled my other hand into his and my body stilled.

“I love you, Hyacinth. And it is not a quiet love. It is the rage of every sea and the heart of every storm. My existence in this world has never been soft, has never been gentle, and I fear that it will never be. But you—you have ignited a hope in me that maybe, I am not doomed to an eternity of violence. In the hundreds of lifetimes that I have lived, you are the only thing that has felt right. The only thing that has ever calmed the fury in my veins. You are my home, Hyacinth. My compass.”

The world spun around me as I stared back at him, his words colliding with my heart in an explosion of pure, exquisite love.

“So I stand before you today, not as a King, not as a beast, but as a man. A simple man that wants nothing more than for you to love him—to marry him.”

The air vanished from my lungs as Landers’s words echoed through the stillness of the clearing.

Snowflakes danced around us, catching the sunlight like tiny jewels, but all I could see was the raw vulnerability shimmering in his eyes.

Those eyes that had seen countless lifetimes and witnessed unspeakable horrors, now gazed at me with a love so profound it stole my breath.

My heart thundered in my chest as Landers dropped to one knee before me, his eyes never leaving mine.

With a steady hand, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small velvet box.

He opened the lid slowly to reveal the most stunning ring I had ever seen.

Crushed emerald, the exact shade of his eyes, was set atop a delicate gold band.

“Hyacinth,” he whispered, his voice a thunderstorm of emotion against the quiet. “May I have the extraordinary honor of becoming your husband?”

Tears blurred my vision as I gazed down at this man, this King , who had shown me what it was to truly be loved, to be seen .

In that moment, the world fell away—the realms, the mating bond, the obligations that weighed so heavily upon us both. There was only me and him and the life that we could have.

“Yes,” I breathed, the word escaping my lips in a joyful sob. “Yes, Landers, I’ll marry you.”

Landers’s lips split into a grin that was the very reflection of untainted happiness as he slipped the ring onto my finger and rose to his feet. I flung my arms around his neck, our lips meeting in a kiss that seared into my soul.

“I love you,” I whispered against his lips, my heart so full it felt as though it might rip from my chest. “In this life and every one to come, I am yours.”

A growl vibrated in his throat at the sound of my words, like they had unleashed a carnal need in him. Before I knew it we were tethering, tearing through the darkness, a mess of twisted limbs as our hands clawed at each other in desperation.