“Alive.”
I chuckle, letting my hand fall to the side.Willow slides her legs apart before wrapping them around my waist.Her arms snake around my neck.Pressing her body against mine, she places a soft kiss on my lips.
“Take me to bed,” she commands.
Like any good servant, I obey immediately.Hefting her into my arms, I walk her slowly into the chambers she inhabited earlier.Settling us both atop the thin cot, I curl her into my chest and cover us with a blanket.Willow doesn’t say another word as she snuggles back against me.
With the taste of her still faintly on my tongue, I know without any doubt that I’d endure a millennium trapped in stone if it led me to having her in my arms just like this.
5
WILLOW
When I had told Baezal to take me to bed, I hadn’t meant for rest.
Yet, that seems to be exactly what happened as my head hit the soft pillow and his warm body had settled in beside me.Now, as I blink open my eyes in the dim room, my body feels rejuvenated.Dozens of taper candles have been lit, casting the room in a warm glow.
Baezal’s arm is draped along my waist, and I can feel his strong chest against my back.The memories of what we’ve shared together this evening come flooding back.I do not regret any of it—quite the opposite.I long for more and hope he isn’t resting too deeply so that he cannot be roused for another round.
This was all moving fairly quickly.I’m sure plenty would call me a fool for allowing this to transpire the way it has, but those people are wrong.Baezal and I have not spent much time together, yet I feel as though I know him better than anyone.He has seen me in a way no one else has—cared for me as if it were his sole purpose in life.
Our time together has been short, but precious nonetheless.I know in my heart what we have is true.It is my heart that led me to him, as if it had been searching for his all this time.Now, as I feel it pounding against my shoulder, I feel complete.
My soul itches to be entwined with his.
In one of my stolen novels, I had read about this exact situation.The knight had come to rescue the princess, locked away for years in a tower by her evil father, the king.The moment the knight removed his helmet, and she saw his beautiful scarred face, she knew it was true love.It was a reckless declaration, but no less true.
Is Baezal not the same for me?He is made of scales, claws, and wings instead of scars, but I recognize him just as the princess had her knight.Just as she did, I did not need months of courtship to reach the conclusion my heart had already come to.
The knight, for his part, had fallen instantly in love with the princess and confessed to it before bedding her for the first time.That was how all the best love stories went.While I was certain of my own feelings, I could not be sure of Baezal’s.
He had called me a goddess, said he would worship me devoutly, but was that the same as love?The demons in his past could make him wary of trusting me.They had already set our first hurdle.He had been heartbroken before.The pain of that other Sister’s rejection made him unworthy of love.
Maybe he just needs more time for me to prove her wrong.I already love him.I can be patient and wait for him to love me back.My future is now one of endless possibilities.
I may not know much of the world, but I know myself.What I had told Baezal had been true.The One True Faith tried to keep me caged.For years, I was forced to repress who I truly was.Even still, I knew what love was—real love.Not the forced devotion they thrust upon us.
I had read about it for years, glimpsed it on our rare trips into the neighboring town.
Baezal’s kisses felt different from all the other males because I love him.The local men would’ve helped me escape from the monastery, but I never asked them.I knew it was because, had I done so, they would expect something in return for their help.A wife at the very least.
I know that Baezal would have helped me if I offered him nothing in return.He’ll never seek to cage me.All he’s done since the moment we met is provide for me.How could I not love him?
Maybe I am a fool, but love makes fools of us all.
Baezal was meant to save me—even if I didn’t understand it at first, I was meant to come here.To awaken him from his curse was my fate, and his is to be my lover and protector.He is my present and my future all in one.
I’ve spent years being denied what I truly want, and I won’t waste another second without claiming my heart’s desire.
Claws skim along my sides, tickling just under my ribs.Goosebumps erupt on my naked flesh.Baezal’s warm breath tickles my neck.Sighing deeply, I roll onto my other side.I fall into the valley of his chest and stare up into his handsome face.
I had been wrong to fear him when we first met.There is more kindness in his gaze now than ever bestowed on me by anyone in the True Faith.
Tracing the planes of his face with my finger, his wings spread out beside us.
“How long have I been asleep?”
Baezal captures my hand and presses a kiss to my palm.
