“If you need me—don’t. I’ll be busy stretching my wings and snacking on sheep,” Lakota grumbled just moments before the familiar beat of his wings broke the air.
I looked up in time to see him glide overhead, his deep red scales catching the sun like fire-polished rubies. Noemi, Spear, and Echo followed in perfect formation.
Fallon had once told me the Crest was protected by the same ancient wards as the Dragon Keep in the Shadow Glade—safehavens where dragons could vanish into the clouds without fear of watchful eyes.
For the first time in days, I could breathe. And then I remembered who was waiting for our return.
Arrow.
Rhodes must have felt the tension lock my spine, because he leaned close, his voice curling around my ear like smoke. “If you want to run away, we can take to the skies.”
His breath against my neck made me shiver. I glanced at him over my shoulder for half a heartbeat before forcing my gaze forward again.
“You know we can’t run,” I murmured, just for him. “Neither of us would risk the people we love.”
“Oh, so you love me?” His smirk was audible.
My heart gave a traitorous jolt. I hadn’t meant to say it like that—the words had just… slipped out. I cleared my throat, forcing a casual shake of my head. “You know what I meant.”
Rhodes sighed as we reached the hitching post. “I do. But I’m choosing to believe you just said you love me.”
I swung off my saddle before he could see the flush creeping up my neck. The truth was, I’d been using the Mageia mission as a shield—a way to avoid the storm brewing inside me whenever he was near. When I’d first woken up in the Hollow, I’d done everything to push him away. I built walls out of sharp words and venom, braced for him to leave. But he never did.
He stayed.
It was as if he saw right through it—through me—and knew those walls weren’t to keep him out, but to keep myself from falling apart. He called my bluff, and he was right. So I let him in. Just a little. And that night in the tub… steam curling between us, his gaze burning hotter than the water—we’d tangled together in more ways than one.
And then came the truth. Mareki’s Curse. The revelation that Rhodes was a mage. In an instant, the walls slammed back into place, stronger than ever. I would never forget the look in his eyes when I told him not to give up—how, for the smallest heartbeat, he thought I meantdon’t give up on me.
But as much as I’ve tried to push him away, he has stayed.
And that fucking hurt. It hurt because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him to the curse. Because I knew I could never be the one to send him crashing and burning with the Forgotten Realm.
I couldn’t lose him, too.
So I kept him at arm’s length. Maybe a part of me was waiting for him to finally give up on me—just to make the inevitable hurt a little easier. Or maybe… I simply didn’t know how to accept love when it was real.
Maybe it was a little of both.
The rest of our group hitched their horses and dismounted, their voices mingling in easy chatter while I stayed trapped in my own thoughts. I turned to ask Fallon to show them around the Hollow—only to stop short.
Rhodes stood in front of me, something cradled carefully in one hand, the other tucked behind his back. “I didn’t know which one you’d stopped on,” he said softly. “So I grabbed the last four in the series. The others are in my pack.”
I looked down, and my heart stuttered.Throne of Steel.The series Laney had introduced me to. The fantasy world I clung to when reality threatened to drown me. The heroine whose courage had helped shape my own.
I reached out with trembling hands and gently took the book from his grasp. I never imagined I’d see these pages again, let alone have the chance to finish the story that had once given me strength when I had none.
Tears stung my eyes. I squeezed them shut, fighting the swell in my chest.
“These are my own copies,” he said softly. “I marked some of my favorite parts. I’ll leave them at your hut, okay?”
I tucked my chin to the side to avoid his gaze, but he tilted his head, trying to catch my attention, to steady me with that unwavering look of his.
And elements, this—this—wasn’t helping. This gentle, thoughtful side of him. The way he remembered the smallest pieces of me. The way he gave without asking for anything in return.
It was not helping me untangle the complicated, undeniably powerful feelings I had for him.
“Whoa. This place is fucking cool,” Davis’s voice stole the moment as he gaped at the view of the Hollow behind me.
