I stare at her, this fierce, broken, beautiful woman who's standing in a clearing full of rainbows telling me she loves me despite every reason her trauma gives her not to. Who's fighting her worst fears to be here, to say this, to choose partnership over safety.
Who's looking at me like I might be the answer to prayers she was too afraid to speak.
And I feel the exact same way.
21
RESSA
He doesn't speak right away. The silence stretches between us, filled with nothing but the soft drip of water and the whisper of wind through crystals. My heart hammers against my ribs so hard I wonder if he can hear it.
I've laid everything bare. Told him things I swore I'd never admit to anyone, especially not an orc. And now he's just standing there, staring at me with those blue-green eyes that see too much, and I'm starting to think I've miscalculated spectacularly.
Maybe Saela was wrong. Maybe grand gestures don't fix cowardice and cruelty. Maybe?—
Falla's hands cup my face, rough palms warm against my skin.
"I love you too," he says, his voice low and rough and absolutely certain. "Have been in love with you for weeks. Every check-in, every panic attack, every moment you let me see past your walls. I fell so completely that walking away felt like leaving part of myself behind."
The words punch through me, relief and joy and disbelief tangling together until I can't breathe properly.
"You do?"
"So much it terrifies me." His thumbs brush my cheekbones, gentle despite his strength. "Because you're right that loving someone gives them power to destroy you. And I've spent four days convinced I'd already lost you. That I pushed you too far, too fast, and ruined everything."
"You didn't push me." I reach up to cover his hands with mine, anchoring him to me. "I pulled you in because I wanted you. Wanted you so badly I couldn't think straight. And then I panicked like the coward I am and hurt you in the process."
"You're not a coward." His forehead drops to rest against mine, his breath warm on my lips. "You're the bravest person I know. You survived hell, came out the other side, and you're still here fighting for connection even when everything in you screams to run. That's not cowardice, Ressa. That's strength."
The conviction in his voice makes my throat tight. I want to argue, to list all the ways I've failed in the past four days. But he's looking at me like I hung these rainbows in the sky instead of just arranging crystals and water, and I think maybe he sees something in me I don't see in myself.
"I missed you," I whisper. "So much."
"Missed you too." His mouth hovers over mine, close enough that I feel the shape of the words. "Every moment of the past four days felt wrong without you."
"Then kiss me. Please."
He does.
His lips meet mine with a tenderness that makes my chest ache, like I'm something precious he's afraid of breaking. I melt into him, my hands sliding from his wrists to his shoulders as I press closer. The kiss deepens slowly, carefully, and I taste his relief and love and want all tangled together.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard.
"Take me home," I say. "Please. I need—" I can't finish the sentence but he understands anyway.
"You sure?" His hands frame my face, searching my expression. "We don't have to rush anything. I can wait as long as you need."
"I'm sure." I catch one of his hands and press a kiss to his palm. "I've spent four days regretting pushing you away. I'm done running from what I want."
The walk back to my cabin feels both endless and too short. Falla keeps glancing at me like he's afraid I'll disappear, and I squeeze his hand tighter each time, silently reassuring him I'm not going anywhere.
My hands shake as I unlock the door, nerves and anticipation making me clumsy. The cabin looks exactly as I left it this morning—sparse and clean and lonely. But Falla's presence fills the empty spaces, makes the walls feel less like a prison.
I turn to face him and he's already there, closing the distance between us with purpose. His mouth finds mine again and this kiss is different—hungrier, more certain. My back hits the door and I gasp against his lips as his body presses into mine.
"Bedroom," I manage between kisses.
He pulls back just enough to look at me, checking one more time that I'm certain. I answer by taking his hand and tugging him toward the small room where I've spent too many nights missing him.
