That wrinkle is there now as he stares at me.
I hold on to this moment. It’s something I would picture in my mind’s eye over and over again while I was locked below the surface. Reuniting with my mate.
I stand for him.
“Rosie,” he repeats and staggers toward me.
“Farron.” His name is my lifeline.
I run to him, and he envelops me in his embrace. My whole body gives out, falling against him, but he holds me up, holds me strong. This is home. This is peace. This is safety.
“My mate,” I breathe.
My hands run over his back, in his hair, his face, under his shirt so I can touch his sacred skin. He pulls me tighter againsthim, breathing in the dip between my neck and my shoulder, his lips all over me, first my collarbone, then my ears, then my cheeks, then my eyelids, then my mouth.
I let it all drift away, the sorrow, the exhaustion, as I fall completely into his embrace. I am a battery, drained, and he is an entire lightning storm, bringing me back to life. His lips are soft at first, barely more than a whisper over mine. I tug his hair then draw his face closer, and he changes, now hungry, seizing my breath. I don’t ever want him to stop.
His lips don’t leave mine, our kiss long, desperate. When he does pull away, he blinks down with his golden eyes, and my heart skips a beat. Mymate. He’s so beautiful.
“I thought I lost you,” he whispers.
“Never,” I swear to him. “I never gave up hope. All those days in that cell, I knew it wasn’t the end. I knew I would be back here with you, in this moment, in your arms. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
A shaky smile breaks across his face. “You see the world so beautifully.”
“Youare my world.”
He pulls me close again, and I nestle my head in the crook of his neck. His strong hands run down my hair. “I love you, Rosalina. I love you so much. All of this—we can do it. I promise you. You and I, as long as we’re together, we can … We can do this, okay?”
I know what he means. He’s not talking about the realms being overthrown or breaking curses or saving the world.
He’s talking about losing Dayton.
Tears spring to my eyes, and I bury my face deeper into his chest. This heavy grief wraps us together. “How, Fare? How do we do this?”
He pulls back, thumbs wiping away my tears. His own face is wet. “One heartbeat at a time.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. One heartbeat at a time.
Lub-dub.
My love for Kel, held forever at a distance.
Lub-dub.
My love for Ezryn, echoing off his impenetrable shell.
Lub-dub.
My love for Dayton, now an evil thing, something to be spurned and buried and forgotten.
Lub-dub.
My whatever this painful and consuming feeling for Caspian is.
Lub-dub.
I open my eyes and stare at Farron. My best friend, my first true love. The first man to make me feel like I was someone worth loving.
