I smiled. “I love it.”
“Good. In time,” he said , his voice tender, gliding his finger to the Velastra mark, “you will feel this too. And when you do, we won’t need anything to tether our hearts. Our love will be enough.”
I smiled back at him, but a darker thought slid into place. “Tomorrow, I’ll have fourteen days until my next reset. If it happens… I won’t remember you. I won’t remember any of this.” My throat tightened. “And even when you tell me what you did, I won’t feel the way I do now. Yes, I’ll be grateful. Maybe even more than grateful. But I won’tknowyou.”
I swallowed. “You turned realms upside down to get me back, and I have nothing to offer you. This will happen again. And again. Until we find the ring. You can’t be okay with that.”
His gaze didn’t flicker. Didn’t soften. It deepened, like he was watching something sacred, not fragile. “Maybe,” he began, his eyes still fixed on mine. “Maybe you bewitched me, mage.” The edges of his mouth quirked into the briefest of smiles.
“Maybe I should try to fix that.”
“No. You can’t fix this. I wouldn’t want you to.” He tilted his head and his hair drifted over his shoulder. “I decided long ago that I’d love you in any lifetime, whether you remember me or not.”
My heart faltered, then began beating so hard I was sure he could hear it. His confession unmade me completely, unraveling every defense I'd built around my heart.Love in any lifetime—that was his offer. Not just this version of us, but every possible version. I pressed my hand to my heart, as if I could hold the feeling there forever. I wished I could.
“I still think you deserve better,” he said, cautiously. “I am death and darkness. There’s not much good left in me. But I’ll be good. For you.”
The devastating tenderness in his declaration broke me further. It was a sweet ache that spread through me like warm honey.
I gazed up at him, studying the sharp angles of his face, the conviction in his eyes, and the way he looked when he was being …mine.
Another door opened inside me, and I stepped forward, closing the space between us.
I held his gaze as his became curious, then it bled into desire when I inched closer and stood on the tips of my toes. I leaned in, slowly, and pressed my lips to his.
It was a soft kiss. The kind reserved for reflection and deep feeling, my way of answering what words couldn't express.
His lips were warm against mine, and for a heartbeat he went perfectly still. As if he couldn't quite believe I'd made the first move.
When I pulled away, his eyes remained closed for a few heartbeats, as if he were committing the kiss to memory.
"Elariya," he whispered, my name sounding like a prayer on his lips.
“Wolfe Nightblade, you are my something good. I'd rather be yours in the dark than belong to anyone else in the light.”
He went rigid, his eyes widening with raw hope mixed with devastating relief. “You…said that to me before.”
My breathing slowed. “I did?”
“You did.”
That had to be a good thing. No, I wasn’t remembering. I was feeling, becoming aligned. “I guess I must truly mean it then.” I smiled back at him.
“I guess so.” His palm curved against my cheek and he ran his thumb across my skin in slow, tender circles. “Enough for today, Ziyka. You need rest.”
“I don’t know if I could sleep yet.”
He pressed his lips. “Well…you like baths. You like baths with scented oils, rose petals, and candles.”
I chuckled. “That sounds exactly like me.”
“Okay, a bath it is.” He crouched down, took my legs and slipped off my shoes, one at a time.
He straightened with a proud smile and swept me up into his arms. I let out a soft gasp of surprise, but my arms instinctively slid around his neck to steady myself.
"I can walk," I protested weakly, though I made no move to ask him to put me down.
"I know, Ziyka," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "But I like carrying you."
