Despite my best efforts to put on a brave face as I stared at the bright, swirling light of the lavender portal that led to the human’s world, nerves overtook me. Was I making a mistake? The wince that accompanied my deep breath from my sore ribs reminded me that I wasn’t. I just…I just needed to take the leap of faith as Gabe said.
“Come on, Kieran,” I muttered to myself, taking a step closer until only an inch separated my body from the magic that would not only darken my wings permanently but signal the start of the next chapter of my life too.
I swallowed hard before glancing back at the closed doors to the room, wondering how long I had before the guards knew something was up. Being the daughter of an Archangel provided me many privileges, and I hadn’t hesitated to pull on those strings tonight as I told the guards my father sent me to check the security of the portals. They hadn’t given me a second glance, also reaffirming that I wasn’t a suspect for what happened in the library. A breath huffed from my lips as I shook my head. I didn’t know how that was possible, considering my fuck up with the checked-out book, but I would take the small blessing.
An initial moment of panic slammed through me as alarms began to blare, making my ears perk up as I looked around. My shoulders tensed, preparing for a fight as my heart rate spiked. It wasn’t coming from the castle, though, and I forced myself to take steadying breaths as a few more moments passed with no one entering the room. The blaring alarms had to be coming from a place nearby to drift all the way through the walls separating me from the outside world.
Who would be bold enough to attack us? All warmth drained from my body as the obvious answer hit me.Gabe.
I turned on my heel, staring at the door. Had he risked coming back here to get the dagger? Had he brought reinforcements with him?Shit.If I thought of him as I went through the portal, where would it send me if he was here?
“Just magnificent,” I groaned, pinching my nose between my fingers as my eyes shut for a brief moment. “What to do, what to do, Kieran.”
The doors burst open then, and a disheveled looking Ronan and a growling Niz on his shoulder entered the room. My eyes searched for the guards who had been just beyond the doors, but there was no sign of them.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded as he ran toward me. Niz left his shoulder, making a beeline to me before crashing into my chest, forcing me to cradle the little wyvern’s bottom with a hand as his claws dug into my shirt. My brows furrowed on impact. “Niz, what’s wrong?”
Worry bled into my mind as Ronan’s rage became apparent. He closed the distance between us, grabbing my chin between his fingers. I opened my mouth to ask my question again, but he cut me off as his golden eyes bore into mine with so much intensity it felt like he was trying to see into my soul. While Ronan was an intense man, never before had I felt it at this level.
“The guards are preoccupied with a break from the prison, so we have some time, but not long,” he explained in a rush. “Are you sure about this, because if you go, we’re going with you, Beautiful.” His free hand came to rest on the small of my back, pulling me flush to his front. My cheeks burned at the contact and the way my curves pressed against his hard, chiseled front. It left no room to the imagination at how much he trained and took care of his body.
Wait, did he just say a break from the prison? My mind snapped back to the issues at hand. So, Gabe wasn’t here. It was just an escaped inmate that would be caught shortly.
My mouth dried up as it flapped open and shut, over and over again as the rest of Ronan’s words hit me. He just said they were going with me. “What…” I attempted to say, the words sticking in my mouth as I stared up at him. “What…do you mean?”
Hecouldn’tmean that they were going to leave this world behind to go to the land of humans with me.
Niz let out a soft cry before nuzzling into my chest, and tears pricked in my eyes at the sound. I’d never heard such a sound from a beast, and it broke my heart.
Ronan’s voice dipped an octave as he growled out, “I meant exactly what I said, Kieran. I know it sounds insane, considering we haven’t had a chance to explore what’s between us, but I can’t deny what my heart and what Niz’s soul is telling us to do right now. Tell me you want us by your side, and we’ll walk through that portal right now, together.”
A single tear leaked from my eye, rolling down my cheek until Ronan’s hand drifted up to brush it away. They’d give everything they knew up…for me.
“Tell me, Beautiful,” he whispered. “Tell me you want us at your side as badly as we want to be there.”
“You’d give your lives up?” I asked, my voice shaking as emotions overwhelmed me. “You have a place here. One that is well respected with your trajectory to rise to the top of your ranks, Ronan.” My gaze fell to the creature clutched to me. “And Niz, there would be no way for you to fly around and be a true wyvern like you deserve. The humans would try to hunt you down if you were ever seen. That’s not the life I want to see for you, little guy.”
I swear I saw indignation in his beady little eyes as they squinted at me, seemingly daring me to say that again.
Ronan’s chuckle brought my eyes back up to his as he smiled at his companion. “I’ll stay behind if you tell me to, but I don’t think Niz is giving you a choice here.”
“But he’s your bonded,” I argued, dropping my duffel bag to the ground to use both hands to try to untangle Niz from my shirt. I couldn't let him live his life cooped up and away from the world. It would be a selfish decision if I acted on the desire to have them both there with me. “No, you can’t. You both can’t.”
Pain flashed across both sets of their eyes as Niz’s little feet kicked around while I pulled him away from me before depositing him back on Ronan’s shoulder. I swallowed around the heavy lump of guilt that clogged my throat. The wyvern hissed at me before giving me his back as he sat down, spiked tail flicking over Ronan’s chest in agitation.
“Niz…” I started, hating that I’d hurt his feelings. I stood by what I said, though. That was not a quality way for him to live his life.
“Tell me why,” Ronan demanded, taking a step back from me and letting his hand fall to his side.
It may have only been a small step, but it felt like the entire span of both of the forests suddenly stretched between us. I wanted to take it all back, hating the coldness that filled their eyes.
“Tell me why you don’t want us with you,” he demanded again.
My hands flew out as I raised my voice, “It’s not that I don’t want you with me! It’s that you both deserve to live your lives here, where you already have a set future.” Niz careened his head around to glance at me out of his peripheral vision. My voice softened as my eyes fell to the floor where my duffel bag laid, “I won’t allow you to throw that all away to live in the unknowns that wait down with the humans. Not for me.”
He stepped closer and my heart soared as he jerked my chin up. I shouldn’t want his nearness—not if it meant him giving his life up—but I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit to myself that I did want them both with me. Of course I did.
“Don’t you think that decision should be up to us and not you?” he rebutted, tilting his head to the side as his eyes ran over the length of me, suddenly making me self-conscious of the bruising that was likely coming through the makeup as time passed. “Because the last time I checked, you were free to make the same choice for yourself.”
