Rosalina
I’m on my back, breathless and overwhelmed, as my mate lies over me. His expression is as shocked as mine must be.
Ezryn. He threw me to the ground right before the arrow could strike.
He found me. Again.
His face, framed by tousled dark brown locks—so much longer than the last time I saw him—is still so new to me. Yet as my gaze drifts over each rugged feature, I can’t help but think:Mine. Mine, now, forever. Mine.
Our eyes meet in a silent exchange—a thousand words passing between us without ever being spoken. With trembling fingers, I reach out to trace the contours of his face, memorizing every angle and line as if to commit them to memory for eternity.
“Rosalina,” he whispers.
“Ezryn.”
Our gazes linger, charged with unspoken intensity. Ezryn leans down, his lips drawing closer to mine. Time seems to slow to a crawl as our breath mingles.
I sat in prison for three months thinking of all the things I would say to Ezryn when I saw him again. How I would scream and yell and spit.How could you jump across that chasm? How could you leave me?
All that anger seeps out of me as his hand caresses the side of my face. Yes, I’ve waited three months. I can’t wait a moment longer.
I grab the back of his head and pull him to me. Our lips meet, and his touch is like lightning splitting the sky. Every piece ofme is alight, electrified. Longing and belonging swirl through our bond, a contrast both painful and beautiful. I melt into him, my body molding against his as if trying to bridge the distance that had lain between us.
Cannon fire rackets in the distance, and I feel the heat of a nearby explosion. My hair whips up with the velocity of another arrow, but I don’t care about any of it, not in this moment. It’s only us, lost in this sweet surrender.
Ezryn pulls away and stares down at me, a look of reverence across his face.
“Hi,” I whisper.
“Hello, my lo—Watch out!” He grabs me around the shoulders and rolls. We tumble over one another to the very edge of the roof, barely missing a volley of arrows.
Quickly, Ezryn jumps to his feet and hauls me up. I pull on his loose shirt. “I need to get on that ship and bring it down.”
“That one?” he says glumly, looking up at the airship.
“Yes!”
“All right.” He removes the bag he was wearing on his back and starts rummaging through it. “You want on that ship? I’ll get you on that ship.” He pulls out a coiled rope attached to a grappling hook.
“Where the hell did you get that?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Turns out I’m a pretty good haggler.”
The metal gleams in the bright sunlight as he swings the hook around and around, gaining momentum. “See the descended ladder on the starboard side? We’ll use that to get on the deck. The ship is just about in position. Hold on to me and whatever you do … don’t let go.”
I sling the bow over my body, with the string across my chest and the wooden bow itself at my back. Then I wrap my arms around Ezryn’s neck. “Why do I have the feeling I’m going to regret initiating this?”
A dark shadow blocks out the light as the airship gets closer. With a practiced flick of his wrist, Ezryn launches the hook toward the ladder hanging off the side of the airship. The rope trails behind it like a lifeline.
The hook finds its mark and secures onto the rungs.
“Ready?” Ezryn asks.
“I don’t think SO!” My voice arcs into a scream as Ezryn grabsthe rope with both hands and leaps off the building. The wind whips past us as we fall through the air. For a heartbeat, it feels as if we’re freefalling, the ground soaring up to greet us.
Then, with a sudden jolt, we’re pulled upward, the rope of the grappling hook taut. I scream, scrambling tighter onto Ezryn’s back. Wind lashes my hair and makes my eyes water. Corsa Tuga is a blur beneath us.
Hand over hand, Ezryn climbs up the rope until we reach the ladder. I release my vise grip on him and grab the rungs, trying to steady my rapid heart. The hum of the ship’s engine whirrs loudly. Before we climb over the railing, Ezryn stops me. We face each other, each holding on to one side of the ladder.
