He wasn’t gentle, but he was careful in all the ways that mattered. Each time he broke apart with me, it left me breathless, grinning stupidly.
I couldn’t believe this was real.
When we finally collapsed, I was shaking with exhaustion. Wrapped in him, held tight, I was?—
Mine.
The word dropped into my mind like a stone in a lake, and my eyes snapped open.
All mine.
His voice again, but it wasn’t in the room. It wasinside me.
I raised my head from his shoulder.
He watched me softly, the hard lines of his face eased as his mist drifted around us like suspended moonlight. He lookedserene. In awe.
“Kairos?” I whispered.
His hand slid up my spine, stopping between my shoulder blades as if to anchor himself. “I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“Aelie, I love you.”
My eyes filled with tears, and I blinked rapidly.
“I don’t do pretty words,” he muttered. “Never have. So I’m just going to say it plain. I was enslaved for more than a century, and revenge was the only thing I understood. I woke up every day knowing exactly who I wanted to kill and how I’d do it. That rage kept me alive…and then I saw you in that alley.”
My heart lurched.
“You’d fallen in the snow. Trembling, scared, but staring down someone who could snap you in half.” He exhaled, pained. “Something inside me tightened like a chain pulling the wrong way. I wasn’t supposed tofeelanything, but I did.”
A rough breath escaped him.
“When I took you, I thought it’d break whatever it was. Instead, it got worse. I stopped measuring my life in grudges. I started measuring it in whether you were safe. Warm. Eating enough. Whether you’d ever look at me without fear.”
His hand slid to mine, dragging it to his chest.
“You made me realize I don’t want vengeance. I want to be a male who deserves you.”
Oh my gods.
“I love you, Aelie. And all I want is to protect you, cherish you, and give you a life where you never have to hurt again.”
My lungs forgot how to work as tears spilled down my cheeks. I pressed my hand to my mouth, trying to contain it. Every lock I’d put on my heart, he’d just shattered. I touched his chest, pressing my palm against the jagged rune where his heart pounded wildly.
“I love you too,” I whispered. “I didn’t think I could anymore. I’ve spent my whole life focused on surviving the next day. Finding food, shelter, a way out. But I never knew where I was going until I met you.”
He smiled, his face softening.
“Every fae was the same. Cruel. Selfish. Eager to take whatever they wanted. I thought letting one close again would destroy me.” I laughed brokenly. “But you…you panic when I blister my hand.”
Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t bother wiping them.
“You’ve shown me that not all fae are monsters. That strength can be gentle, and protecting someone isn’t the same as owning them. That I don’t have to keep running, and…” My throat closed, but I forced the words out. “I’m allowed to want more than survival.”
Another tear fell.
