Page 10

“Then you wait for the signal to, ‘go’,” I said, relaxing out of my stance. “Starting like that enhances the speed of your take- off. The first step is the most important. It’s how you shoot out that really sets the tone of the race.”

Rowen mirrored my positions. “How do I look?” he asked with a crooked smirk.

His massive thighs and firm ass flexed as he lifted his hips, and the tendons in his forearms bulged as he distributed his weight. I couldn’t help but admire his form. “You make a perfect student.”

“Don’t let me distract you now,” he said, jolting me from my admiring.

“You wish,” I said, situating myself back into position. “On my mark . . . set . . . Go!”

I exploded from my stance as muscle memory kicked into place.

As much as I loved running, it also filled me with terror.

I had conditioned myself to believe that I was safe when I ran, that fleeing from everyone and everything was the only way to escape the threats closing in around me.

But now, as the rhythm of my footfalls harmonized with the man beside me, running changed.

It was no longer a solitary journey but a shared path with the man I loved.

Rowen was a formidable opponent, but I beat him to the tree with a few moments to spare.

“Best two out of three?” he asked with a wild grin.

“I know what the loser gets to do,” I panted.

“What’s that?”

“Sleep on the floor.”

“Absolutely not,” Rowen said as if the suggestion were criminal.

“What if I accidentally touch you? Takoda said one more touch from me could stop your heart.”

“I’ve had to live believing I lost you. Twice now. Living through that type of anguish shredded my soul. I don’t think I could live through that again. And I’ll be spirits-damned if I won’t be as close to you as I possibly can.”

My eyes trailed up the tree that Rowen had selected so quickly.

But it wasn’t one tree at all; it was two, spiraling around each other in a tender duet.

“This is the entwined souls tree,” I said, recalling the story Ven had shared with me on one of our adventures.

He spoke of how, when Rowen first came to live in the village, many elves invited him to the tree that looked like two lovers embracing, growing together, and supporting one another. Forever intertwined.

He had declined every invitation, and I could see why. The entwined souls tree was a symbol of love, unity, and everlasting commitment.

“It is,” he replied, a deep fire burning in his eyes.

“Oh. We can go. I know you like to avoid this tree.”

“I want to be here,” he said, his expression sincere and anchoring. “With my soul flame.”

My breath caught in my throat. “You and Takoda have said those words before. Soul flame .”

My eyes locked with Rowen’s, and our breaths quickened.

We were nearing the precipice we’d been edging toward since that first day in the forest. The anticipation thickened in the air like honey, sweet and heavy, knowing that once we fell, there would be no turning back.

“Yes,” he said in a low rumble. “How does that make you feel?”

“It sounds pretty intense,” I whispered.

“You had to travel from another world for me to find you. That’s as intense as it gets.”

“What . . . what is it?” I asked, gulping as I read the look in his eyes that, in one glance, shot across the universe as it landed on me.

“You know,” he said, his voice like a finger trailing down my spine .

“I know we are something ,” I replied, my knees trembling.

“We are most assuredly more than something,” he said as his gaze held mine infinitely, and I shivered.

“ You are not just my perfect match but the beacon to my soul. And I to you. We each carry a piece of each other’s innermost flame, forging a celestial bond that transcends worldly limitations.

It’s the deepest connection two souls can make.

I always suspected, but it wasn’t until I joined you in the Hymma that I knew for sure. ”

“The Hymma joining,” I barely breathed. “Takoda said it’s dangerous to join another’s Hymma, that…”

“That only soul flames are capable of such a thing.”

The golden fire that lived deep within me flared. “That was a pretty big risk you took on a hunch. We could have both been lost. Trapped within the darkness of my mind.”

A wounded grunt escaped his lips. “I’d do it all again, Keira.

I never thought I would be able to claim you as my soul flame, but I’d be spirits-damned if I was going to watch you shatter,” he said, so raw, open, and honest with no traces of the mask he’d once hidden behind.

“I was a soulless corpse before I found you. I would rather walk lost within the darkness of your mind than take one step upon this earth without you.”

“If anything happened to me, you could find another.”

“Never say that. Never think it. There would be no one else. Ever. Soul flames are so rare, they were thought to no longer exist. That’s why I took you to the entwined souls tree. I want you to know, you are, and will forever be, my soul’s flame.”

That golden light erupted through my body, and I smiled, bursting with happiness. Rowen leaned in closer, his breath sweeping across my neck, causing a drip of desire to shiver down my spine.

“I felt the flare of our bond the second I stepped out of the Hymma,” I said, reveling in the one thing that felt safe—my connection with Rowen .

“As did I,” he said, looking like the last piece of his soul had found its way home.

“It was one of the best and worst days of my life. Knowing you were mine but unable to take you in my arms and hold you forever.” His incandescent expression slowly shifted, and his brows furrowed.

“Keira, you need to know. Though our bond fully snapped into place that day, something has happened to it.”

My heart plummeted. “How do you know?”

“When Aliphoura held you prisoner, I should have been able to locate you immediately,” he said, the words mangled as they left his lips. “Our connection should have surpassed her curse on me, but it didn’t. And again, when you were with Erovos. I should have found you much faster.”

“Is it my fault?” I asked, my hand flying to my chest to protect our bond.

His gaze softened. “I don’t believe so. But we will figure it out.”

The golden light within me shattered and rained down on my insides.

Even though our bond was strong and enforced with celestial light, there was the possibility that we might never touch again.

“What if I can’t get myself under control?

What if I’m always on the brink of an attack that could stop your heart and snuff out your flame forever? ”

“I’m not going to let that happen,” Rowen vowed.

“How?” I whispered, my eyes trailing up his towering frame, locking onto the green pools of his eyes.

“We will find our way back to each other. We always do,” he said, his voice low and unwavering, like a promise forged in the depths of his soul.

“I will hold you again. Have you call out my name in ecstasy as my fingers and tongue are deep inside of you.” He looked me up and down, clearly recalling the way he could make my body writhe and beg beneath him.

I nodded, trusting that our bond was strong enough to bring us back together. That our shared beacon of light would guide me back to myself, to him.

Eventually, the best two out of three races turned into the best three out of five, and so on, until we both lost count of how many times I’d beaten him.

Sweat poured off Rowen’s body as he held the stitch at his side, laughing through the pain. Whereas I had barely broken a sweat. Which was odd. I’d always been a sprinter and hated running for miles on end.

“Do you have the waterskin?” I asked, my throat mildly parched after hours of running.

“Yes, but drink sparingly,” he replied, handing me the water.

My eyebrows creased as I took a small gulp. “Why?”

“Since your absence, the condition of the village has worsened. Our water supply is dwindling as the rivers run dry. We have been suffering from drought.”

My face paled. No wonder Nepta looked so worried. The blight she’d managed to keep at bay had finally breached her home.

I stood in disbelief, weighing the canteen that wasn’t even half full.

“We all knew this could happen, yet now that it’s here, it feels unreal,” I said, somehow believing the Wyn village was immune. “But when it comes to a world eater, nowhere is safe."

Rowen’s eyes glistened with understanding. “Let’s get you cleaned up. There is still water to wash up with, though not much.”

“I barely broke a sweat,” I said, wanting to preserve as much water as possible. “I can meet you after.”

“Keira, I think it would be best if you came to the bathing suite,” he said, straightening from his crouch. His eyes traced my body with the same look he’d given me the night I’d returned. “There are things you need to see. ”

I nodded, knowing he was right. But it was comforting to pretend everything was fine, if only for one afternoon. Once I looked in the mirror and faced myself, it would all be real.

We made our way to the bathing suite when suddenly, the ground trembled beneath our feet. I grasped onto the nearest tree to keep from falling into Rowen’s arms.

The violent tremors seemed endless as they shook the earth in a deafening grumble. When the ground finally settled, my eyes narrowed. “Erovos.”

“Yes, he has been doing that for months, and they grow stronger still.”

Anger flooded my veins. “It’s as Alvar said: Erovos is fighting for release from the crevice.”

“And from the feeling of that quake, I’d say it won’t be too much longer until he escapes.”

“I need to be ready for when he does,” I said, still holding onto the tree.

Rowen’s gaze lowered to the spots where my fingers dug into the bark; my grip formed two scorched handholds within the wood. Strength appeared to be yet another gift bestowed upon me by the Light.

His eyes met mine, brimming with concern and wonder.

I withdrew my hands from the trunk and continued on in silence, wanting to pretend just a little longer that I was still human.