Back in my father’s lair, I had regrets.
I’d barely lived when I thought I was about die.
I won’t make that mistake now. I won’t waste the time I have.
I lean inward, seeking his lips. “I want to fill my chest with fresh air, swim in the ocean, run through the jungle, eat until my stomach feels like it’s going to burst, and experience everything else this island has to offer.”
His fingertips feather my jaw as his lips nudge mine. “You can have it all, my Veda.” His gaze heats me all the way to my pointed toes. “I want you to have it all.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The crunching footfalls outside the training hall are rapidly drawing nearer.
I step out of the keeper’s arms and head out to meet them—my family. My pack. Because that’s what they are to me now. I may not believe in love, but I believe in connection and loyalty.
Hurrying through the training room, I reach the edge of the porch just as they arrive at the bottom of it.
Lucian and Anarchy are both dressed in the same style of clothing that I’m wearing—both in black. They’re also each carrying a large, covered bowl, from which the delicious smells are drifting.
The panthers race up the steps before I can descend to them, their silver eyes bright. They greet me with purrs, their big bodies pushing me this way and that until I’m forced to kneel so they don’t knock me over.
I greet them each in turn, nudging my head against theirs. “Riot, Rumble, Strife.”
Anarchy hurries up to the porch, deposits the bowl off to the side, and pushes through the panthers to drop to her knees and give me a hug.
Oh. I was not expecting this.
The strength in her slender arms is surprising, but it’s the way she presses her cheek to mine that gives me an incredible sense of comfort.
She draws back, her hands resting on my shoulders, her pale-blue eyes solemn, and her lips pressed in a worried line. “How are you?”
She’s searching the location of my eyes, even though the blindfold will conceal them from her.
I take a quick breath and exhale it slowly.
“I’m okay,” I say.
She gently arches an eyebrow at me. “Really?”
I grimace, knowing that she’ll be listening to the tone of my voice for clues as to my actual state of wellbeing. “Well… Not really… but I’m working through it. I’ll feel better once I figure out what I’m supposed to do.”
She gives an emphatic nod. “We’re here for you when you make that decision. All of us.”
Lucian has hung back, only now reaching the top of the steps, but he wears a significantly more concerned look on his face than Anarchy. “Veda, did you hurt your eyes?”
Oh, that’s right.He’s never seen me wear a blindfold. When I met him on the train, I was wearing sunglasses. And then, in my father’s lair, it was so dark, I didn’t need anything to protect my eyes.
“My eyes don’t tolerate bright light yet,” I explain as Anarchy shifts to the side, giving me a direct line of sight to Lucian. “All those years in a dark cell took their toll.”
“Oh.” He seems to take a breath. “Of course.” His focus shifts to the keeper, who is a glowering presence in the porch doorway.
Lucian instantly scowls back, the aura of shadows around his form darkening. “We brought food.”
Before the keeper can respond, I give a groan of appreciation. “Food.” Then, “Where can we eat it?”
There aren’t any tables or chairs within the training area or dressing room.
“This way.” The keeper is already moving past me with a gleam in his eyes. “It isn’t far, I promise. Just around the back.”
