“Theo?” I whispered, afraid that saying his name too loudly might break whatever this was.
For a long moment, he didn’t answer. Then he drew in a slow, uneven breath.
“I thought,” he said hoarsely, “that I would never hear my name in your voice again.”
The rawness in it cut straight through me.
“I’m scared to look at you,” I admitted.
He shifted beneath me. “Why?”
I felt him lean forward, the warmth of him close again, his lips brushed the crown of my head.
“I’m scared you’ll look happy,” I said quietly. “And that you’ll tell me you’ve moved on. That you don’t want me here anymore.” I swallowed. “And… I probably look awful. All red and puffy.”
A soft breath left him, almost a laugh.
“If that’s true,” he murmured, “then you’re the most beautiful red-nosed, puffy woman I’ve ever known.” His voice gentled. “As for the rest… I suppose you’ll have tolook at me to find out.”
I wiped at my cheeks and forced myself to sit up.
He was close, so close. Half a breath away. And somehow, impossibly, even more beautiful than I remembered. The light in his eyes shimmered, no longer the deep violet I knew, but something softer. Lilac.
Changed.
Just like us.
“Hello, trouble,” he said, smiling like he’d been waiting centuries to say it again.
My hand lifted on its own, fingers threading into his hair, tracing the familiar line of his jaw, the roughness of his stubble grounding me.
“Hello,” I breathed.
He lifted his hand and touched my face, as if to make sure I wasn’t a mirage.
He took my hand into his and kissed the inside of my palm.
“This is not some cruel joke? Am I going to wake up and find this is all a dream? Have you truly come back to me?” He breathed and I could see tears rolling down his cheeks.
My own emotional outburst had forced him to restrain his own shock and it seemed to overwhelm him now. I leaned forward and pulled his head into the crook of my neck. I held him as he sobbed and although he didn’t cry for nearly as long as I did, he had puffy eyes when we pulled back.
“I want to hear what happened to you, and how you are here now. But first, I have to test something important” he said.
He leaned over to me and pulled me closer on his lap again. His hand palmed my cheek while the other one was reaching behind my head. He gently angled my head upwards andpressed the softest of kisses on my lips. He remained there for a couple of seconds and drew his lips back, only to bring them back down on mine again, this time kissing the side of my mouth. First on the right, then on the left and then back to a full kiss on the lips.
I moaned softly, getting lost in the feeling of his beautiful lips on me.
He was still going slowly, pressing kiss after kiss onto my lips, but putting more force behind them with every touch. He growled and I felt his tongue slide over my lips. I opened my mouth to his, our tongues touched and all the pain and tiredness I had felt before dissolved into nothing. There was only us, him and me and this moment.
He drew back and his eyes were shining brighter than anything I had seen before.
“It’s truly you, Molly Mae,” he breathed and smiled so broadly that it ripped my heart open. “How are you here? I am so happy but so confused. When I didn’t hear back from you after Veridus visited you last, I was sure you were truly gone,” he breathed.
“I know you love long and boring stories, God of Wisdom. But I am going to cut this one short: You were right,” I said quietly. “I had to choose. My whole life, I waited for someone else to make the decisions — the Fates, duty, the prophecy. I let myself be carried along, too afraid to choose for myself. But this time… it had to be me. I had to choose the life I wanted.”
I hesitated, just for a moment.
“The Fates brought us together. Their plan was for us to unite our powers, defeat the Heralds, and rule together. I was meant to become your consort, your equal. But theydidn’t see the one thing that changed everything.” My voice caught slightly.
