“When they took you…” His voice broke, his words failing him. “When I thought I’d lost you, I regretted every word I hadn’t said, every chance I wasted. I love you, Cadence. I love you so fucking much it hurts to breathe. And I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it until there’s not a shred of doubt left in your mind.”
My throat ached as tears blurred my vision. This was all I’d ever wanted, for Ryker to seeme. Not his mate.Me.
And now he did.
I surged forward, slamming my lips against his. Ryker’s arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me to him. His tongue invaded my mouth, and he kissed me as if he’d never let me go.
“I love you too,” I whispered, and the smile that spread across his face was blinding.
“As touching as this is, maybe you can wait until after the battle to declare your undying love,” Riordan said from beside us.
Ryker didn’t look away from me. He just grinned, his teeth bloodied as his thumb stroked my cheek.
Then he leaned in and pressed one last kiss to my brow before letting go. “Stay behind me.”
“I’m here to fight, Ryker. I won’t hide. We do this together.”
His eyes narrowed for the briefest second before he gave a curt nod.
“Cadence!” The sound of my brother’s voice pulled my attention, and the instant our gazes locked, we couldn’t help but share the same wide grin.
Retrieving twin daggers from the floor, I cut, stabbed, and sliced my way through our enemies as I moved toward Callum.Warm blood sprayed across my face, and the metallic taste invaded my mouth.
But I didn’t stop. I kept fighting, kept killing, until there was no one left to stand between us. My brother flung his arms around me, and I buried my face in his tunic, breathing him in.
He was here. He was alive.
“Gods, Cadence. I thought…” His voice broke, choked by the lump in his throat.
“I thought the same of you,” I said, my voice trembling.
A vengeful screech snapped us out of the moment, and I stared up at my brother, my eyes widened in horror. Then darkness descended over us, and a violent sob wrenched its way free.
“C-Callum,” I whimpered, but he didn’t respond, his body stiff in my arms. “Callum!”
That deep, haunting wail I knew all too well rolled through the air, and I pressed my hands to my ears, as if I could keep it from reaching my brother.
“No,” I wailed. “You can’t have him.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I could feel my breath stuttering as I struggled to inflate my lungs. A buzzing sound erupted inside my head, and for one brief moment, I surrendered to the darkness.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Cadence
The darkness peeled away, and I squinted into the light as my vision slowly returned. Even before I saw him, I felt it; the power in the air, restless and waiting. It was then that I realized it wasn’t true darkness that had encased me.
Not exactly.
Ryker unfurled his wings, and his shadows rippled before retreating beneath his skin.
“Cadence, are you all right?”
The sound of my brother’s voice made my lips tremble, and I choked back a sob as my gaze found Callum’s.
He was unharmed, peering down at me through thick lashes that did little to hide his concern. Wordlessly, I reached for him, my arms tightening around him as though he might vanish if I let go.
A wet, ragged cough shattered the silence, drawing my eyes to where the King was sprawled on the floor, his hands pressed to the bloody wound in his abdomen.
