As our eyes meet, his lips form a soft, fleeting smile that fills my world with light.
“I never want to leave you again, Asha Silverspun.”
Chapter 16
My heart splinters into little pieces that pull back together in a rush. “Erik!”
I throw myself into his arms, knocking him into the snow, desperate to feel his body against mine, to convince myself this isn’t a dream, that his heart is beating, and his chest is rising, and his arms are really closing around me.
By leaping forward, I’ve left my hammer behind. The light dims around me, but the moonlight has never felt brighter.
Erik catches hold of me, wrapping his arms around me so that we end up in a sitting position, my legs curled around his waist.
“Asha.” He says my name, and that’s all before he presses his cheek to mine and closes his eyes.
I hold on tightly, inhaling deeply, dragging in his wolfish scent, and at the same time trying to control my ragged breathing and to stem the river of tears flooding my eyes.
It’s no use fighting them.
“You died,” I cry, weeping against his neck and trying to drag him closer, even though his chest is already plastered to mine and my legs are already locked around his hips. “You died, Erik.”
He holds me as I cry, his voice broken as he growls my name over and over again. “Asha… Asha…”
“You chose to die.” My accusation is hard and grief-stricken, full of all the pain I thought I could push away.
His response is quiet, his words washing through me. “I never meant to cause you pain.”
“It hurt. It tore—” My voice chokes because my tears won’t stop. “Losing you tore me apart. I couldn’t…” I try hard to speak. “I couldn’t breathe. My heart… it broke.”
His eyes are closed, but tears leak from them. His hands press against my sides, pressing, moving, sliding up my back to my neck, then my face, cupping my cheeks.
“Never again,” he growls, his lips finding mine, a brief touch that isn’t enough for me. “I will never leave you again. As long as you want me, I’m here.”
I don’t wait for him to kiss me again, pressing my lips to his with a hunger born of loss and new hope. My hands tug at the base of his tunic, my fingers seeking his skin, needing to convince myself of his warmth, hislife.
I’m conscious of the dragon and the Celestial Star, both very close behind us, the Star now dancing quietly at Graviter’s side, the energy around her humming happily.
The dragon’s eyes fill with tears as he lowers his head in what I can only interpret as a bow. “Asha Silverspun, I have witnessed the making of your hammer and now I have seen what you can do. I will never forget how you used your hammer to bring back life. The dragons will never forget.”
He clears his throat and turns away before I can reply.
“The Star and I will leave you to this time together,” he says, already moving. “We will return at daybreak.”
Daylight can’t be far away now. Maybe only an hour.
Time feels even more precious than it did before.
With every second, every heartbeat that I spend with Erik, my awareness of how quickly it could all end only grows stronger.
Graviter sends a storm of wind around us as he rises into the air with a fierce leap, tucking his legs under him to safely avoid colliding with us.
He soars overhead, banks to the right, and heads farther west.
Within seconds, he disappears into the night.
The Star darts toward the forest, as if there were suddenly something very important over in that direction. She also disappears into the night, but I’m certain she’ll be back, too.
Right now, my whole world is this moment.
