Page 3 of Of Blackened Blood (The Blackened Blade #3)

MICAI

E zra ... is Zrael? My Zrael?

My breath seeps from my lips, my hand shaking as it reaches toward the soft turquoise and lilac eyes watching me.

My heart races, beating so hard and fast, it feels like it could burst free.

My thoughts jump back and forth, emotion flooding me, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, to jump into his arms, or to pinch myself.

But this couldn’t be a dream ... this was Ezra.

He was here.

My Zrael is here . He had been beside me all along.

My lost love, my soulmate, my Siren.

How had I never noticed it before?

My fingers brush across his soft cheek, the feeling warm beneath my fingertips as I take in this moment, wanting time to stop so I can bask in it solely with him.

Ezra was Zrael. And he was here, sitting right beside me, his beautiful gaze and warm smile so bright and breathtaking as he watches me. He was moving and breathing ... and alive again.

I feel tears well up in my eyes, my voice stuck in my throat as I gaze at the man I’d spent years dreaming of.

I prayed so hard in that small, dirty cell, that one day we would get to meet properly—beyond the cold cement walls holding us prisoner and those nightmarish days trapped in that hell.

I dreamed of holding him in my arms, of telling him face-to-face how much I love him, how he had saved me and kept me floating when I was drowning in pain and misery.

He was the only light and balm that existed in that bleak life, and the only one capable of soothing and warming my stiff and darkened soul when it was slowly withering away inside me.

Zrael was the only one to bring a true smile to my face with just the sound of his gravelly voice or knowing he was near.

And he was the only one who truly accepted and loved me in that life. And all without ever even seeing my face.

In this life, I had planned to find him, to get to him before The Facility could, and protect him from the pain and physical agony and scars of our past life.

I wanted to spend every waking moment together with him and hoped we would live a long life this time, away from everything and everyone who wanted to hurt us.

But he had been beside me all along.

Tears fall, streaming down my cheeks as I look into the loving gaze of my beautiful Siren. An overwhelming feeling of love, relief, and happiness takes hold of me as his gaze becomes more filled with worry watching me.

Another shaky breath leaves my lips as my fingertips graze softly across every dip and curve of Ezra’s beautiful face. The one that was hidden and locked away behind a cold, dark cement wall that sat mere inches from me for years, but one I could never see or touch before.

An ache swells inside my chest with the memory before I push it away.

I had cursed the world for imprisoning us and putting us so close to one another but never allowing us to properly be together.

It was the worst kind of torture, even harder than the physical pain they put us through each day in there.

Never being able to hold one another or help each other while we were in pain. A helpless torture that spanned years.

“ Micai ...” Ezra murmurs, pulling me back to him as his worry bleeds through his soft-spoken tone and anxious gaze.

But his voice—even filled with worry—sounds like a soft-spoken melody to my ears, feeling almost like a new sound to me now. The deep timbre of his beautiful, unwounded, and gravelly words have me leaning in and capturing his lips before he can continue.

My fingers brush along his cheek again before flowing into his hair, pulling him in closer as I deepen the kiss, wanting to taste and touch every part of him. It was as if each feeling and touch was a new sensation, and I wanted to explore it fully—every inch, every dip, and every curve of him.

I want it all.

I want to burn it all to my memory, every part of him. I want to hold it tight to my chest, memorise every small piece of him I didn’t see or feel before and hoard it in my heart. And never let him go again.

I had dreamt too long of what his eyes would look like, of how his hair would feel beneath my fingers and of how bright his smile would be ... but my dreams never did his beauty any justice.

My tongue twists and swirls around his, exploring every seam of him as my hands slide down his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his clothes as I tug him tighter against me.

I push in closer too, wanting more of his warmth. And of him.

This is what it should have always been like.

How long had I yearned to touch him when were locked away in there? Both of us trapped and only ever able to comfort one another with the sounds of our voices or through song. But never truly being together .

How long had we been kept apart from each other, only to be torn from each other in death?

But not anymore ... not in this life.

My hand slides lower down his chest, wanting to savour every part of him as my movements become more fevered. I wanted to imprint every touch and taste of him, brand it to my very soul. And I can’t wait another moment.

My hand reaches for his trousers, but suddenly, his large hand falls on top of mine, stilling my movements.

He pulls away slightly, his breath leaving him in sweet little rasps that sound like music to my ears as a look of pure lust burns in his eyes.

He shakes his head, quickly tamping it all down before leaning his forehead against mine, his breathing calming slightly and becoming more steady as his soft, plump lips part.

“Trust me when I say it’s taking everything I have not to push you back down on that bed and continue this .

..” His gaze softens. “But you need your rest after everything that’s happened.

” His hand reaches up, brushing my hair back before placing a soft peck against my lips.

“You’ve been unconscious for three days, Micai. ”

His expression darkens, a slight flicker of fear entering his eyes before he glances toward the door.

“The attack and you getting hurt ... again .” He shakes his head.

“Your health and safety come first. You’ve finally woken up .

..” His hand slides down my shoulder, his eyes glancing me up and down as if making sure everything is fine and working properly.

“So, let’s take things a little slower just for today.

” He gives me a sexy, knowing smirk, and my chest swells again.

It’s like every small movement and word from Zrael—I mean, Ezra—has my gaze lingering longer, my smile stretching wider, and my heart thumping faster.

It’s the small things I didn’t notice or truly appreciate before: the bright twinkle of affection in his eyes; the sexy, husky tone of his smooth voice; the way his large, warm hands feel against my skin when they touch me.

I lean closer again, my heart calming a little as I see the affection and unease in his gaze.

He is worried about me, and that’s not what I want to see in his eyes right now. I don’t want to see him worried or fearful for me. We did enough of that for each other in that hellhole of a prison.

As much as I want him now, I could wait a little longer, if that’s what he wanted. I would give him time and anything and everything he wants in this life. And I won’t let our time together or him be stolen from me again.

I reach out and wrap my arms around him, placing my head against his chest. His arms follow suit as well, embracing me in his warmth.

I take a deep breath, listening to the sound of his heart thumping beneath my ears as I feel his lips kiss the top of my head, a sexy chuckle following it that vibrates throughout his chest and tugs gently at my heart.

It seems even the fates took pity on me this time.

They had brought us together years before either of us were taken by The Facility. And now that we’re together, I won’t let anyone pull us apart.

A small smile stretches my lips as I nuzzle softly into him, his heartbeat dancing softly in my ears and joining the melodic hum of his laughter.

“Micai.” Ezra begins, my name falling from his lips in a soft whisper before he hesitates for a brief moment.

“About the attack ... You saved me, and I’m beyond grateful .

..” A small tremble starts up in his hands as they hold me.

“But you could have died .” His voice cracks as he shakes his head as if trying to push the memory from his mind with the movement.

“My life isn’t worth you giving up yours.

” The hand holding me pulls me slightly tighter as he continues.

“I can’t—No, I won’t lose another person I love.

You mean everything to me, Micai. Please don’t put yourself in danger for me?—”

“I can’t promise you that, Ezra.” I pull back slightly from his embrace as I cut his words short.

I couldn’t make such a promise to him. It would only be a lie. Because I won’t hold back if he’s in danger. I’ll run toward every blazing fire and leap from whatever height or cliff if he needed me to.

I would do anything to protect him. And not even he could stop me.

“If I see you—or any of the people I love in danger—I won’t hesitate to help.

” I gaze into his conflicted eyes before reaching up and cupping his cheek in my palm.

“I can’t and won’t lose you either. To lose you .

..” A shiver runs up my spine with just the thought.

And dark memories follow the words leaving my lips: the empty abyss that was my life after Zrael’s death, the cold days that passed like a blur—each one more agonisingly longer than the next—and the numb void that filled each moment without his voice and presence near me.

I glance back toward Ezra’s pained turquoise and lilac-flecked eyes and quickly pull myself from those memories.