“Perhaps we will… but then again, perhaps we won’t.” Lessia’s soft voice joined them, and while Loche’s hands dropped from Iviry’s face, he pulled the Fae leader to his side, still shielding her as all their friends gathered around them. Merrick and Lessia with their backs to the people. Raine and Frelina beside them. Ardow and Amalise and Venko and Zaddock coming to Loche’s side, with Kerym and the sisters taking the final spots in the circle.
“While we might not be able to use those souls the entire time, we can hopefully do it once,” Lessia continued. “The wyverns’ bonds make us stronger. We… we will ride with them, save our energy for when we’ll all need it the most. Maybe that will mean the end, but I hope… I hope it will be a new beginning instead.”
Merrick nodded, his eyes glued to his new wife. “We came back to help you. We’ll do what we can, when we can.”
His voice was strong, even though everyone knew that this wasn’t his choice.
This wasn’t what Merrick wanted for them—for her. But like he’d fallen to his knees before her just moments ago—like she looked like his queen right now—Merrick would always surrender to her wishes. Even if they died for it, he would follow her wherever she decided to go.
Lessia smiled up at the Death Whisperer, probably sensing what Loche just had. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Such small words, but they seemed to pierce the hearts of everyone around them.
“Thank you all,” Lessia said again, louder this time, finding the eyes of the people around them, and Loche nodded when she reached him. “I didn’t know… I don’t have words for what tonight means, but thank you.”
No one said anything, because while Lessia’s voice didn’t waver, it was too close to a goodbye.
Raine’s grip on Frelina tightened as he shared a look with Merrick over her head.
Kerym pulled both sisters to him, his blue eyes darkening.
The humans by Loche remained stoic, standing together, knowing that for them it might be over sooner than for the others.
“Fuck, I need a drink,” Loche exclaimed when the crackling in the air became too much. “Come on, wife. I think we deserve to take a break from being leaders for a while and behave like absolute idiots.”
Iviry’s cheeks burned as she glared up at him. “I am no i?—”
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about you,” Loche said, unsure why his voice lowered and became so raspy. “I am certainly the idiot in this marriage.”
“I didn’t know you got married!” Lessia’s eyes were wide as she stared between them. “Congratulations! But… we didn’t steal?—”
“No,” Iviry snapped. “You deserved a real celebration. The love between you two…” One of her hands flew out over the crowds—over the ships where people danced and laughed and ate and drank like there would be no tomorrow. “Look what you inspired. Loche and I… we?—”
Fuck this.
Loche wrapped his hand around her arm, and as she was about to stomp away, he used the momentum todrag her to him, her chest slamming into his as he crashed his lips against hers.
He was fully prepared for her to slap him, push him away, maybe even gouge out his eyes, but Iviry did no such thing. Instead a small noise sounded in her throat, and her arms found their way around his neck as she melted into the kiss.
He groaned right into her hot mouth, not giving a shit who was around them, although based on the low laughs and the receding footsteps, the people who had surrounded them were backing away.
Thank fuck for that, because otherwise he might have had to order them to.
Loche couldn’t tear himself away. It was as if his entire body was being burned down, only to be rebuilt again—like the phoenix he’d once seen Geyia shift into, the firebird that didn’t exist in their world but in some other realm he would probably never visit.
Iviry’s lips were warm, welcoming, fucking perfect, and he couldn’t help but steer her against the wall, pressing himself against her soft body as he gently nudged her lips open, finally getting to taste her.
“Fuck,” he cursed when she tugged at his hair, a wanton noise—a fucking whimpering—shaking through her. His hands slid down her back, and he grasped her ass, pulling her hips against his growing cock, feeling as if he were dying when she ground against him.
“W-wait,” Iviry panted, and he pulled back immediately.
Even though he’d steered them into the shadows, the worry in her eyes was as clear as the sounds of happinessbehind them, and it was as if someone had emptied a bucket of cold seawater over him.
“Why are you doing this?” Iviry asked.
Why was he?—
“Because I’ve really been a fucking idiot.” Loche shot a look around them, lowering his voice. “I should have done this the first time I saw you. I have no idea why I thought I should stay away… Now it?—”
