My hands felt useless. Again, it was too late. I’d already done the damage.
“I’m sorry.” Hurting her was the last thing I’d ever want to do.
“It’s not you,” she mumbled against my neck. “It’s this horrible situation.” Leaning back, she looked up at me. “You’re the one in pain. I should be comforting you, not the other way around.”
“Are we keeping score?”
She shook her head. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.” I cupped her pretty face, holding her still, staring into her eyes. She needed to understand, and I’d tell her every moment I had left. Maybe then, she’d have that when it was over. “I love you. Not in passing, not in pieces, but wholly and with everything I am. You were etched into my bones before I even knew your name. I'll find you in every life, in every world.”
The odds were good this would end with us sitting right here.The thought that I could one day become a name that didn't catch in her throat broke me.
My voice cratered. “Remember me?”
“Lore.” Tears welled in her eyes again. “We’re getting out of here. We’ll steal the talisman. One flit, and we’ll be back at Evergorne, fusing the three together. Stay with me. Promise me that. Stay.”
I took her hands, memorizing the shape of her fingers like it could anchor me to this world.To her.
“I will find you.” The words scraped up my throat. “In every life, in every world, and in every scrap of time the fates throw me into,I’ll find you. I won’t forget you, not even after the stars burn out and time collapses in on itself.” I held her gaze, aching with everything I didn’t know how to say, though I was determined to try. “My beautiful, fierce wife.”
“I will remember you,” she whispered. “Even when I pass, some part of me will reach for you across lifetimes, across shadows and ruin. I will find you, Lore. I’ll know you, even if I don’t understand how.” She stroked my face, her fingers trembling. “My soul already knows yours. It always has. And if there’s nothing left of me but ash and wind, I’ll still find my way back to you. I promise.”
Claiming her mouth, I kissed her with everything inside me, hoping to show her with my touch how much she meant, how much she would always mean to me.
I turned and laid her on the bunk, my breath catching in my throat. The room was cold, but she was warm and alive with fire and fury and grief. I needed to feel her more than anything. I splayed my hand across her shoulder before sliding it to her waist.
She reached for me like she thought I would vanish between heartbeats, her fingers tangling in the back of my shirt, dragging me down on top ofher.
Braced over her, my elbows biting into the stiff mattress, I deepened our kiss, pushing past everything I wanted to say and letting my body speak for me instead. I stroked my fingers up to the delicate line of her throat, resting my thumb where her pulse throbbed.
Her hands were frantic. Tugging at my hair, my clothing. Like if she held on tightly enough, the curse wouldn’t be able to claim me.
Seconds were slipping through my fingers and all I could do was cling to her and kiss her.
She made a sound in the back of her throat, a small, broken bit of noise that splintered my heart. I kissed her deeper in answer, my hands tightening in a claim that said I was still hers. Always hers.
When we broke apart, she looked up at me with her heart in her eyes. What did I ever do to deserve such devotion? I was no better than anyone else. If anything, I was worse. The things I’d done… Most because I’d had to. Some because I’d wanted to. Despite that, the fates had given me this precious gift.
I brushed her hair back, needing her to see me. Hear me. “I’m not leaving you. No matter what comes, no matter how dark things get, I will fight the fates themselves to stay by your side. You’re worth fighting for, and I’m armed and ready for battle.” I pressed my forehead against hers. “Evermore. I know I say it a lot, but it’s with my whole heart. Evermore, Wildfire.”
“Evermore,” she whispered back.
I laid down beside her and held her, wishing I could hold her forever. But no one knew if they had tomorrow. I was no different from them in that.
And we still had two days.
She sat up and leaned against the wall, dangling her feet. “Prager sucked us into the same trap, but I wonder if there are differences.”
I loved hearing the strength returning to her voice. When she cried… It sliced right through me.
Sliding off the bunk, she went to the door, where she pulled a blade and started working on the lock. I got up and looked around for another way out, though I doubted I’d find one. My gaze was caught by something scratched into the stone wall. Approaching, I crouched down to read.
Guard passes on a loop. Moira gives you a rune to open the door.
What the…?
I shook my head and read it again, finding the same message scrawled in handwriting I didn’t recognize.
