Page 64 of Exquisite Monster

My heart pounded as we descended. They were here. I was here. I desperately wanted us to be alone, but I wanted them more. My body was moving before Belleo had fully settled.

I slid to the ground, looked up, and found Sirrus storming toward me. He didn’t stop, hauling me into his arms and embracing me. Sheerreliefflooded our bond. An easing that was so much more than simply being near one another. I’d barely noticed how much pain I was in until they were all here with me. Until they could touch me.

He pressed his forehead to mine. Slid his hands over me like he needed to feel every piece to make sure I was whole. “Lena.”

My name was a broken whisper.

I couldn’t stop myself. Tears filled my eyes and spilled over. They were here. They were alive.

Zovai pulled me into his arms and held me close, breathing me in. He feltraw. Like he would pin me to the ground here and make sure we would never forget the feel of each other’s bodies. I wasn’t entirely opposed to that.

But at the moment? I just wanted them to hold me.

Endre—

I looked over my shoulder and found him a dozen paces away, staring at me like I wasn’t real. He wore nothing but ragged pants, the glimmering scar on his chest shining in the morning light.

With as much gentleness as I could manage, I touched the bond in my chest. Words seemed like too much.

He broke, crossing the distance and gathering me up so my feet didn’t touch the ground. One hand tangled in my braided hair, hisface buried in my neck. The others joined us. All three of them pressed close, and I never wanted to move again.

I didn’t know how long we stayed there in silence, listening to each other through our bonds. We’d barely been able to experience the bond before we were torn apart. It still felt like a miracle. And there was so much more than words passing between us. Every moment of grief and fear. We would talk about it later after I was used to feeling them alive.

A soft clearing of a throat brought me out of the fog in my mind. Idroal. They spoke softly. “I am truly sorry to interrupt. We cannot linger here. Bathe and eat, then we must continue.”

Arms tightened around me. Letting go of them felt unthinkable. I knew Idroal was right, and yet…

More tears flowed, staining Sirrus’s shirt where he’d tucked me into his chest. I couldn’t let go.

“Thank you, Idroal,” Zovai said.

Let me carry you, Princess.Sirrus whispered in my head.We’re not leaving.

He shifted, and I let him lift me into his arms and carry me around the curve of thesheytento the edge of the river. It widened and deepened here. I hadn’t seen it the first time. Endre dove into the water without hesitation. Zovai too. Sirrus still held me, thumbs stroking my skin where he could.

When Zovai emerged from the water and donned fresh clothes the others had provided, he took me from Sirrus’s arms. Cradled as I was, I could hear the pounding of his heart. I loved that sound.

“Where are we going?” I asked quietly. In the frantic mess of rescuing them, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Hadn’t cared to worry about it until we’d succeeded.

“Home.”

“Skalisméra?”

He lifted me high enough to kiss my forehead. “No. Our home. We rarely get to stay there, but it is protected. We’ll be safe there for the moment, so we can rest and plan.”

Being safe sounded nice.Restsounded nice. Just being with them sounded nice. It also didn’t sound real. I wouldn’t believe it until we were there.

“How far?”

“If only the three of us were flying, maybe a day. With all of us as we are, more likely two days.”

I closed my eyes and leaned against him. “All right.”

All the words pressed against my lips, but I didn’t let them out. Not here where anyone could find us and attack us.

Tears built behind my eyes, so I kept them closed. Exhaustion clung to me the same way I clung to them. But I still couldn’t let goyet. The only thing that had kept me going this long was getting to them. Now they were here, and my body simply wouldn’t cooperate. It was too much and?—

“You should eat something,” Zovai said, taking me with him closer to the others.