Everett never warned me about this. Does that mean we altered the future Everett saw?
“It’s okay,” I tell Tristen. “You’ll be okay.”
I’m happy he’s unconscious; I’d hate to lie to his face.
The land shook for miles when Elderan vanished. Adrian saw a flash of blinding light and rushed to the library. I ordered him to bring Tristen to my bed; the location was private and secure, rather than the medical wing.
Adrian’s questions were a relentless whip, digging into my spine. I had no answer that made sense.
No treatment has helped alleviate Tristen’s fever. They started an IV with human blood in hopes that his magic would help keep him strong.A second IV has vampire blood to help heal the unseen damage.
I pace the room, too scared to stop, and sit by Tristen’s side. Adrian hasn’t received word from Titus, but his men come and go with updates on securing the castle.
“Where?” Titus shouts.
I’ve been in such a numb state that I didn’t feel the bond tug me until now. I halt, stomach plummeting as I look at Tristen; chest bare, only a thin sheet and his boxers cover him as his body sweats with fever.
How do I explain this? I failed to keep your brother safe.
Will Tristen even be the same person when he wakes?
Reaching out, I touch the wall as the room spins. A pull jerks my eyes to the door. Titus rushes inside, eyes wide as chasms. They lock onto me like a hook in my cheek, breath flees from my lungs, needing his to replace it.
I sway, stumbling forward, rushing to him. A cry of relief fills the room as his hot exhale stirs my hair.
“Mate,” he murmurs. His hands hold me as tightly as skin clings to my bones, but it doesn’t feel close enough. There ineach other’s arms we linger, forgetting time, our problems, and tomorrow. Everything feels whole. Secure.
“I love you.” He presses a kiss to my head.
I sniffle, pressing my ear to his heart. “I love you, too.”Thump, thump; perfect and steady. He’s alive!
“I’m sorry,” he confesses.
Time breaks. We’re forced to confess our sins. I look into his eyes, swirls of brown, like wood split open by smoldering embers. His face is covered in smoke and dirt.
He raises his blood-covered hands to cradle my face, then lowers them upon seeing the grime.
I grab his hands. “You killed Galen.” All those nights I slept with Galen, put up with him, tried to make this sham of a marriage work, it’s all for naught.
I’m disillusioned with myself, with life, and with a woman’s role in general. I want a world where my daughter is not a coin to be bartered. How did females who can make a child and ensure the survival of our kind become so powerless?
Galen’s rule is truly over. Repeating it doesn’t make it feel real. I need to etch it in stone, burn his throne. Better yet, I’ll parade it through the street so the people he never viewed as worthy can take a seat in it.
But Galen is one king, and if the future Everett foretold must unfold, it means Titus and I need to dethrone many kings. I want to relish the sweet taste of victory, but the sour tang of reality overpowers it.
“I had to,” he replies with a mixture of pride and remorse. “I know you lusted to be there, but I had to do this, Selene. I couldn’t think with you at my side. I needed you here with Tristen, safe as the world crumbled.”
I swipe my thumb over a deep indent in his palm, thick with Galen’s blood. “I should have been by your side, helping you find purchase to stand. Withyou, Titus, not your brother. Donot betray me again. If your feet are not on firm ground, then mine are not. Distance does not create an illusion.” I swallow my resentment. “I am not a bird to be caged. I am a creature that longs to fly with my mate by my side.”
“I can not make a promise like that. You are my heart; I cannot expose it to death.” He presses his forehead to mine. My lips press into a flat line. He’s smart enough not to kiss away our problems. “Hate me for this. I can bear it. I cannot endure a life without you.”
I want to fight, but it would be like shattering a mirror. I would do the same if his life were on the line. I’d lie, escape, and slay any beast who tried to harm him. I’d give my life if it meant he was tucked safely away.
Words stick in my throat. Great effort shoves them free. He needs to hear it. “I understand.”
Like a fish jumping upstream, escaping the claws of a bear, the grief swims out of his eyes. I cup his face and guide his lips to mine. Love forgives. Hate does not.
I show him the meaning of this as my lips glide over his, exchanging our sighs of relief before I seal our mouths together. A heat of desire rushes down me. My hands slide down his neck, trying to anchor him to me.
