Page 43 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

My heart pounded against my ribcage as he rose to his feet and sat beside me. “Thank you,” I breathed as I inhaled the sweet, floral scent of the petals. “This garden is truly ethereal, Declan. Peonies must have been your mother’s favorite. There’s a bush in every color imaginable.”

“They were.” He spoke softly as his eyes roved over the bushes.

“She once told me that they were the greatest symbol of the transformation of our spirit—the way that they take their time to bloom, unfurl their petals a little at a time, until finally they’re full of life, ready to show the world their vibrance.

When I look at them now, I must agree. There’s no better representation of enduring life in all its stages. ”

“That’s beautiful, Declan,” I whispered. “It’s no wonder why this garden is so special to you.”

“I truly thought nothing could ever outshine its beauty.” He paused, the silence unnerving, as he rubbed his palms over the top of his pants. “However, seeing you bathed in golden light, surrounded by all the things I hold dear…” He swallowed deeply. “Nothing will ever compare.”

Declan’s eyes fluttered closed, as if he was painting a mental picture of this very moment inside his mind. My heart swelled, feeling the tug in my chest from that invisible string that always seemed to pull whenever we were near each other.

The night sky beckoned my gaze. I inhaled a deep, calming breath as my eyes roved over the shadowed sky illuminated by thousands of twinkling stars. This was my favorite place, underneath the stars.

“What are you thinking about, Wildfire?” His deep voice rumbled beside me.

My mouth became void of moisture, and my tongue rolled over my bottom lip. Declan’s pupils widened underneath his thick lashes. As I bit my lip, he clenched his jaw. The air around us thickened with tension.

“I was thinking about what we were talking about earlier.”

“Mmhmm,” he hummed.

I glanced back up at the sky and his gaze trailed mine.

“Something about the night sky has always entranced me. Nobody knows this, but I’ve always feared the dark, even to this day.

” I shrugged my shoulders as I divulged my secret, catching Declan’s grin out of the corner of my eye.

“However, every night I gathered the courage to climb on the roof of our house and look up at the stars. The stillness of night has always felt peaceful.” I sighed, twirling the ends of my hair.

“Alone, just me and the stars, I’d tell them about my day.

Pouring out every secret, every fear, every happy or sad moment became a nightly ritual.

As silly as it sounds, it always gave me a sense of peace, maybe even hope that the gods were up there listening to me, that I was still on the right path in my life.

I’m reminded of that hope every time I look up at the sky.

It’s really the perfect balance of light and dark.

” I paused to steady my rapid heartbeat.

“Maybe you and I are like the night sky, a perfect balance of both…”

When I glanced back towards Declan, I met his hopeful eyes, glistening with wonder, as if he already knew what I was about to say next.

“You can’t have the light without the darkness, Declan.

Without the darkness of the night, we would never notice the brilliance of the stars.

Someone wise once told me that it’s through our fears and weaknesses that we discover our strengths.

I agree, because it’s in the darkness that our light shines the brightest.”

At the sound of his breath hitching, something inside of me broke. Every shield I’d built within myself for years came tumbling down.

Twisting my trembling hand in his tunic, I pulled him towards me. With a heart beating outside of my chest, I slid my hand around the back of his neck as I hovered my lips above his. It was now or never. Was I to be smart and think with my head, or was I going to give into the pull of my heart?

“Oh, Hells…fuck it.”

As our mouths collided, I could feel his smile spread across my lips.

Our kiss was slow and tender as he explored every curve of my lips.

He treated my mouth like an uncharted land that he was desperate to discover.

A low rumble rose from his chest as he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me tighter.

I gasped at his touch, and he pulled me on top of his lap.

Every kiss became more needy, passion blooming within every caress.

Grabbing the back of my head and tilting it up, he deepened our kiss.

His tongue invaded my mouth, swirling with the same intensity as his lips as they crashed against mine.

The earthy scent of forest and spice invaded my nose, and he tasted like sweet whiskey, a seductive combination that overloaded my senses.

There was nothing I wanted more than to devour a whole bottle of him, to be intoxicated by his entire being.

If I was honest, I’d wanted this from the moment he’d slammed me against that tree in the forest. Everything about this moment was all-consuming. I craved to feel this good everywhere .

As if reading my mind, fingers tightened around my hips, and my entire body felt aflame.

Declan’s hand slid its way up my back, tracing along the ridges of my spine.

He tugged at my hair, exposing my neck to him.

Lips wrapped around my earlobe, followed by the sting of his teeth as they scraped over the smooth surface of my skin.

There was no stopping my thighs as they clenched around him, and his hands dug deeper into my body in response. Each delicate kiss he pressed into my neck sent my emotions spiraling even further. Sharp pain pierced my body as the thrum of dynamis shivered against my skin.

It was all too much, yet not enough. I never wanted the moment to stop, but I knew it needed to. No matter how much I wanted Declan, deep down I knew it could never be, and the emotions created by those fears were crushing me.

“Dec,” I panted, placing my hands on his chest, struggling to push away from him.

My swollen lips quivered, tears building behind my eyes.

This was the most incredible moment of my life, and here I was ruining it.

Declan made me feel like no one else had ever made me feel.

Whether I liked it or not, he always told me the truth.

He’d seen me at my worst, most vulnerable moments, and still pursued me at every turn.

A strange sense of familiarity arose every time he was near.

Sometimes when he was around me, I even caught myself feeling like we’d been here before.

However, the overwhelming guilt of what I had just done was dragging me under.

The king and Lord Alastor would never allow anything to happen between us.

Gods, if they ever found out what happened tonight, I could only imagine what terrible things they might do to Declan or the people in the city he cared so much for.

Guilt tugged at my stomach as my mind wandered to the first boy to have tempted my heart, Will. The tear he’d sliced in my heart still felt raw and unresolved. Yet here I was, on the lap of another man. Lately, I was starting to not recognize the person I was turning into.

Each sting throbbing inside me was a reminder to stop being so selfish and remember what I was truly here for.

Silly romantic feelings weren’t important, and I should never have let them get in the way.

If the king followed through with his deal, I’d be free to go back to my town.

All I needed to do was follow his orders, and I’d be able to go back to protect the ones I loved.

As delusional as that idea might be, it was a hope that I clung to.

“What’s wrong, beautiful?” Declan tilted my chin with the tip of his finger.

“I—I’m so sorry…” My voice trembled as I spoke. “I want to, but I—I just can’t,” I whispered, choking down a sob, a tear running down my cheek.

Swiping it away tenderly with his thumb, he looked at me with such a sincere and heartfelt grin that I almost abandoned all common sense and kissed him all over again.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Wildfire, you have completely entranced me. I fear you have sassed your way into my cold, brooding heart and I can no longer evade my feelings.”

My lips twitched at his attempt at humor.

His forehead pressed against my temple as he continued to whisper. “Patience is not something I’m well known for, but for you, I would do anything. Especially when it’s something I’ve grown to value more than all the wonders of this realm.” A mischievous smirk tugged against his lips.

“So, Elena. I’ll wait. For you, and only you.

No matter how long it may take. In this life or the next, I’ll be waiting.

” He placed his hand over my thundering heart.

“When you are ready to open this to me”—he tapped my chest, then placed my palm over his—“I’ll be there with open arms ready to protect it with all of mine. ”

If those words weren’t enough to shatter me completely, he leaned forward and placed a tender kiss upon my forehead.

The same warmth that had enveloped me at dinner with the king cascaded over me.

All at once, the pain that penetrated my body from my emotions ceased.

Hushed were the endless rambling thoughts of my mind.

“Let’s get you back to your room. You’ve got to sleep off all that alcohol before we train tomorrow.” He waggled his eyebrows and I couldn’t bury the laugh that welled out of me.

Shoulder to shoulder, we walked all the way back to my room. Each brush of his body against mine ignited shivers through my already sensitive skin. When we came to my door, he lifted my hand and pressed a kiss into my palm. “Sweet dreams, Elena.”

With a nod goodbye, he strolled down to his room, opening and closing the door behind him as I watched, frozen in the moment. Every instinct in my body shouted at me to run after him and jump straight into his arms.

Instead, I forced my legs to carry me into my room. Once inside, I leapt into my bed, clothes and all, and curled into a ball.

Tears tore out of me until I faded to sleep from exhaustion.