Page 59

59

Reyla

M orning light tiptoed into the room, soft and pale, brushing against my cheek. I stirred against a warmth that wasn’t the sun, my hand splaying over a chest I knew as well as my own. Lore’s breathing matched mine, and for a moment, I simply lay there, feeling his heart beating steadily.

I would not lose him. I would fight with everything I had in me to save him.

“Watching me sleep again, Wildfire?” Lore’s voice was like sliding through horig, smooth and sweet, with a touch of spice.

I didn’t answer right away, letting my gaze sweep over his face. His scarred, utterly beautiful face, a gorgeous mix of the two—now one—men I'd fallen irrevocably in love with. The lines of worry that sleepless nights had carved into his features seemed softer in this morning’s light. His eyes, though, carried the weight of the world and, maybe, a little hope. A fragile, flickering thing, born from something we’d both been too afraid to name until recently.

“I’ll watch you as much as I like.” I traced a slow line across his collarbone with my finger, his skin warm beneath my touch.

His hand came up, and he cradled the back of my neck. “You spoil me, Reyla.” There was no teasing in his voice now, just truth. Just him.

“If I could,” I said softly, leaning into his touch, “I’d give you the stars and the sun and the moon above. But for now, you’ll have to settle for me.”

“You’re all I need.” His fingers stroked the curve of my jaw, his eyes searching mine. “Everything, Reyla. You're everything.”

We stayed like that for an eternal heartbeat, the morning stretching thin around us before he broke the silence, his voice pulling me back into what lay ahead. “We need to leave soon.”

The power of his words settled in my chest. My fingers still lingered on his skin, tracing silent reassurances I wasn’t sure he’d believe.

“We’ll break the curse,” I whispered. He needed to hear it, to feel it. “You’ll live, Lore. I swear it. We’ll survive this, and when we do, we’ll grow old together. We’ll have a little girl.” My voice broke, but I forced out the rest. “And she’ll have your gorgeous green eyes.”

His breath caught, and I thought he might break apart. But no, this was Lore, stoic and unyielding, even when the world demanded pieces of his soul. A smile, a rare, true smile, tugged at the corner of his mouth, lightening his entire face in a way that stole the air from my lungs.

“A girl,” he echoed, his voice raw. He was tasting the promise for the first time and daring to believe it. “If that happens…” He pa used, his hand slipping around to my back to pull me closer, his forehead brushing mine. “It means…”

Even now, he couldn't say it. But I could. “It means the curse is broken. It’ll happen.” My words carried quiet steel. “I’ll make sure of it. We will, together.”

Rolling me over, he buried his face in my neck, his breathing ragged. He tightened his arms around me like I was a precious thing.

“Together,” he vowed.

The room felt colder the moment he eased back and let go.

Reluctantly, I slid to the edge of the bed, the blankets tangling around my legs as I rose. His hand lingered on my arm, sliding down until his fingertips reached mine. Even that fleeting contact buzzed through me like fire. I turned, catching the way he watched me as if I might disappear if he blinked too long.

“Get up,” I said, aiming for lightness I did not feel. “We’re going to be late to our destiny.”

Lore propped himself up on one elbow, his hair a wild, dark halo around his face. The bruised shadows beneath his eyes hadn’t faded overnight, but his expression held something else now. Determination. And hope, tenuous and breakable, but still there. For the girl we spoke of. For us.

“Bossy this morning, aren't you, wife?” he drawled, but a smile still played across his lips. It softened his sharp edges enough to make something twist and throb in my chest.

“Don’t make me drag you out of bed,” I said, though the words came out soft.

“I wouldn’t try to stop you,” he said.

“You would,” I shot back, smirking as I reached for my clean leathers Moira had draped over the chair beside the bed. “You’d flip me on my back and cage me with your body.”

“That I would. ”

As I dressed, the soft scrape of leather broke the fragile quiet between us. “You’re welcome to stay here,” I teased. “And dream about that little girl while I go find what we need to break this curse.”

My back was turned, but I could feel the shift in him, the way his mood dipped and then steadied again. “Reyla.” My name, wrapped in that low, gravelly voice, made me pause. “You really believe we’ll do this?”

I pulled my tunic over my head and as I fed my arms through the sleeves, I glanced over my shoulder. His silhouette in the dim morning light was a reminder of every battle he'd fought and every scar he’d once carried. His strength was undeniable, but his vulnerability, this terrifying crack he revealed only with me, was what made him real. It also made me love him all the more.

“I don’t only believe it, Lore.” I faced him fully now, the hem of my tunic brushing the tops of my thighs. “I know it. There’s no other option. Not for us.”

He nodded, drawing in a slow breath that seemed to still the storm churning behind his eyes.

“We fight,” he said, his voice steady.

“Side by side.”

I wanted to stay here forever, wrapped in the fragile hope that was more precious than any crown. But destiny wasn’t patient, and neither were the dangers waiting for us outside these walls.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose in a single, fluid motion. Seeing him pull on his leathers was like watching a blade being sheathed—and equally dangerous. He buckled his belt with practiced ease. Even now, with barely more than a thread of light slipping through the window, Lore was beautiful in the way only something forged in fire could be.

“You’re staring, Wildfire.” His voice was a low rumble, his teasing edge back enough to curve my lips into a smile .

“You’re worth staring at,” I said simply. The honesty of it caught him, and the muscles in his jaw loosened.

“Careful, or I might start believing you mean it,” he said, strapping on his last dagger.

“You should.” I fastened the sheaths for my own throwing knives to my thighs and calves. We grabbed pack from the closet, me taking the one I'd brought with me from the fortress, placing my precious things in a box on a shelf. This pack had served me well for a very long time, and I sensed it could bring me luck.

I even tucked the velvet bag with the tiny blade and the diary in my pack. Rushing to the bed, I lifted the mattress.

No Ember’s Shadow .

I pawed around beneath the mattress, but it wasn’t there. Not on the floor or anywhere around.

“What are you looking for?” he asked.

I explained about the book, and he helped me search the entire room, though we didn’t find it. Finally we both sighed.

“You said it only allows you to read it when it has something you need to hear,” he said. “Perchance it doesn’t want you to take it with us?”

I huffed out a growl. “Maybe.” My shoulders fell. We needed all the clues we could get, and I hated leaving anything that might help us behind. But he was probably right.

When we emerged into the sitting area, Farris stood near the door. A flicker in his eyes betrayed his concern.

In the hall, guards handed us the supplies Calista had collected, and they bowed as we took them and carefully tucked them into our packs.

Surren brought our breakfast tray into the room and placed it on the table. Turning, he studied us both. “You're sure we can't go with you? ”

“We have to do this alone,” I said, knowing it was true. “Help Lord Briscalar, please.”

Surren pressed his fist against his chest and bowed deeply, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

We ate quickly and left the tray on the table, rising, watching each other, saying absolutely nothing. We both worried about what was coming.

“I've been to Halendor Court before, though not inside the castle itself,” Lore said. “I'll flit us to the forest above the building.”

“Alright.” I tapped the hilts of my daggers. I'd leave my sword here, trusting the daggers he'd given me and my throwing blades would be enough. I was decent with a sword, but it was unwieldy in tight places, and I’d always been best with my knives. “What’s the plan?”

“Sneak in. Find the talisman. Flit back here. We’ll be lounging in bed by mid-afternoon.” He sounded like he was teasing, but the seriousness in his eyes told me how frightened he was. Not for himself but for me. I felt the same.

I walked over to stand near the fireplace with the dying coals warming my back, staring at the room that had become a haven, a place where I’d finally been able to piece myself back together. But more than that, it was the place where Lore had given me everything: his love, his trust, his truth. He'd healed me.

Now it was time to heal him.

Farris brushed against my legs. Restless and with his silver tail spiking back and forth, he must know something was about to happen. He refused to leave my side, his keen eyes fixed on every shadow, every flicker of movement I made. His unease mirrored my own. We were flitting into danger headfirst, and the stakes had never been higher.

“You’re quiet.” Lore joined me, his voice wrapping around me like smoke, distracting me from my thoughts .

“Thinking,” I said.

His dark eyes settled on mine, and I caught the faintest flicker of concern there.

“Dangerous pastime,” he murmured. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch lingering on my cheek. “Don’t worry.”

“Would you believe me if I said I’m not?” My attempt at joking fell flat, even to my own ears.

“No.” His voice came out low, with no room for argument. “You’re terrible at lying, Wildfire.”

My lips curved despite myself. “Because the fae can't lie.” Though I had, many times. “And you’re terrible at trying to make me feel better.”

“Am I?” He tilted his head, and his fingers stroked along my collarbone. “Let me try again.”

He cupped my face, his rough palms cradling me. His thumbs smoothed over my cheeks, his gaze boring into mine before he gave me a kiss that felt like a promise. He lifted his head. “I love you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe. Do you feel better now?” His lips curved in a smirk, but his eyes betrayed him. Storm-dark, they burned with a fire I knew was meant for whoever might dare to stand in our way.

I swallowed thickly, my heart stuttering. “A little.”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I melted into his touch. Then his lips found mine again, unhurried yet all-consuming. It wasn’t a frantic kiss, not the desperate kind reserved for farewells or battles. This was Lore’s way of showing me how much he cared.

When he eased back, his breath brushed my skin.

“Time to leave.” He tightened his arms around me.

As Lore flitted us to Halendor Court, Farris howled and leaped toward us.