He turned in the open doorway to face me. “You’ll leave after your birthday celebration, I assume.”
“No, before.”
He hid his wince well. “As you wish, Sire.”
“I appreciate all your efforts,” I said. “I know you'll handle things well while we're away. You’ll step back into the regent role while we’re gone.”
“Of course.” He bowed again before leaving, shutting the door behind him.
Silence wrapped around me like a second skin, broken only by the crackle of the fire. I could barely breathe. Think.
Reyla…
Every step back to the bedroom felt like I was wading through a turbulent sea. I slipped inside without making a sound.
Farris lifted his head, his ears perking forward and his tail drumming once on the quilt. Ever dutiful. Loyal to the end. His eyes tracked me as I stepped deeper into the fading firelight. I only paused to feed the flames, building the fire higher to keep her from getting cold.
Moonlight striped her skin. Still breathing. Still far from me.
I crossed to the bed and climbed onto it, taking care with my motion. My weight shifted the mattress, but she didn’t stir even then. I slid in as close to her as I could, curling around her without jostling her, my side pressed against hers.
Warmth radiated from her now, and that was new. Her skin had regained its color. But her shadow still shifted, pulling long across the quilt before jerking back to her side. Then it started all over again. Rippling, testing the boundaries.
If it snapped free, would it keep going, taking what was left of my love along with it?
My hands shook as I reached for the book. The leather creaked softly when I opened it. The pages were thick, edged in dull gold leaf that caught the firelight as I turned them. Ashen symbols looped along each page. Some curved like runes while others bent around each other in spiraled thorns.
“This book is going to help you, love,” I told her as if she was here, listening, looking up at me with excitement to hear what I’d read.
I found what Valera must’ve meant near the end and began reading aloud, my voice low and raspy.
“To descend into the beloved’s shadow, the soul must first bare itself. But that is only the first step. To reach the chain, one must walk the corridors of their fated mate’s sharpest memoriesand not only embrace them but be willing, deep within their soul, to carry their burden. But beware. Each step reveals both wound and wonder. Only the truth of being known and still loved despite the knowing can shatter the shackles fastened by deceit.”
The words hit like a blade in the heart.
Had I truly known every part of my wildfire? What dreams had she buried too deep for even me to touch? Were there corners I’d turned from without meaning to because some part of me hadn’t wanted to know? My chest cracked at the thought. This wasn’t magic I could throw like fire or wield like a sword. This was older, power sharpened to the bone.
I tapped the page, scanning the script again.
“Speak her full name and yours as one, and speak with your soul. Let shadow touch shadow, heart touch heart. Step sideways through silence. Don’t only bear the burden but embrace it.”
My gaze lifted to Reyla, still unmoving other than her hand twitching on the quilt.
The mating mark on my wrist flared. Under her sleeve, hers glowed back in perfect rhythm. Her shadow stretched again, slow and reaching, drawn to the book.
I read more.
“To join a soulpath shadow, you must bare your heart and your mind. Hide nothing. Mask nothing. Lie, and lose them.”
I stilled. The fire dimmed behind me, and the air went cold.
“Touch the beloved with intent. Never duty. Not even with hope. Touch them with truth, then step where only lovers dare.”
My pulse thundered. More ink curled across the bottom of the page.
“Carry a memory, shared behind your eyes. One made of laughter, of open hands, of the night and the stars and the moon that shines true. That memory will tether you to one another.”
I closed my eyes. Let the fear rise. Not of death, but fear of doing all of it,and still losing her.
