Her mouth twisted into a grin. ‘Undoubtedly.’
She stepped back and held out her hand for the blade. Will handed it over and extended his left hand, his other curling around her waist. He didn’t flinch as she ran the knife across his palm. He merely kept his gaze locked on her, his gray eyes blazing as he said, ‘By my blood and before the gods, I pledge my life to protect you. To fight beside you.’ The corner of his lips tipped into a soft smile as he added, ‘No matter how far the fall.’
He leaned in, his lips warm against her skin as he kissed away the tears that had slipped down her cheeks. She handed him the knife, and he ran his thumb over the bare skin of her palm, giving her one final chance – one last out. She answered by capturing his lips with her own, the sting of the blade hardly noticeable beneath the tempest of desire surging inside her as his lips moved against hers. She managed to pull away just far enough to press her forehead to his, her voice steady as she made her oath.
‘By my blood and before the gods, I pledge my life to protect you. To fight beside you. No matter how far the fall.’
The green flecks in Will’s eyes sparkled like stars as he brushed his lips against hers once. Twice. And then he was deepening the kiss as he moved their hands over the rail, letting drops of their blood fall into the ocean below.
The final seal of the oath. Bound by nature itself.
There was so much left to sort through. Gianna. The veil. The pending war.
But Aya felt anchored as she stared into the water, Will a warm and steady presence at her back.
Together. They would get through it together.
No matter how far the fall.
Epilogue
The pain had returned. Or perhaps it had never left. She hardly remembered which moments were real and which were part of her nightmares, so it was difficult to tell where the fake pain started and the real began.
Perhaps it was all one big nightmare.
Perhaps it was all real pain.
She screamed as it lashed through her, her throat raw. When was the last time they’d given her water?
She’d long since stopped trying to keep track of time. The moments all blurred together anyway.
She was going to die here. She was sure of it.
The pain disappeared, and she was left gasping.
‘This doesn’t have to go this way,’ the voice chided. She hated that voice. Its softness had once been warm and kind. Now it just meant more pain, more visions, more terror.
She’s after her, and I am trying to help her.
She clung to that memory. The one where he had held back as much as he could; where he cried with her as they both realized they would do unspeakable things to protect those they loved.
She was safe. They were safe.
It was the only reason this woman could not break her.
They had gotten her out. She was safe. They were safe.
Soft footsteps scuffed against the stone floor, almost in time with the drip drip drip of the blood from her nose as it splattered onto the ground. The footsteps stopped just before where she lay, her body broken.
She dragged her eyes across the swirling stone pattern to those silver shoes, up that white dress, to the face that was all softness and light and wicked deception. Her light brown hair glinted in the soft firelight that lit the cell. She crouched down, her brown eyes solemn as they met her own.
‘Would you really prefer to wait for my Enforcer?’
A laugh ripped from her, the sound merely a wheeze as her lungs clenched. Blood splattered onto those silver shoes, but she didn’t stop –couldn’tstop the hysteria that rose from that threat.
A perfectly arched brow rose. ‘Is something funny?’
‘You think he’s yours,’ she rasped.
