Out of death, there is life.
Cameron paused as she remembered something her parents had taught them when they were young. Something she’d hadn’t thought about in years.
Out of tragedy comes strength.
Out of pain comes wisdom.
Out of sorrow comes insight.
You will never know how high you can soar until you’ve learned to fly with wings that were broken by enemies and reforged by your own determination to succeed and let no one hold you down everagain. To show them all that their cruelty will not define you. That you will not live by their rules or dictates. You are your own master and they will never have power over you again.
Let nothing hold you back. Let nothing hem you in. You set your course and you fly to the heavens. A beautiful, imperfect creature, capable of love and trust, even after betrayal. Capable of mustering courage in the midst of utter terror. And capable of delivering mercy even after all you’ve ever been shown was cruelty.
You will rise above the ashes of the future they attempted to burn to the ground, a stronger creature, steadfast and more determined than ever to see this through. For there is nothing more terrifying in this universe than the Soul Determinatus. For it will not be stopped and it will not be daunted.
So go on and bring to me your worst if you must, and I will deliver unto you my very best.
That was Kalder in every way. Like her father and her brother. Life and enemies had done their best to tear him down and leave him heartless.
Instead, he’d chosen to soldier on past the pain, and while withdrawn from others so as to protect himself, he didn’t lash out at the world. Lash out at strangers who were innocent.
He was a good man. In spite of it all.
Nay, in spite ofthemall, he’d risen above their cruelty.
And as he kissed her so that she could breathe she knew just how much she wanted him. Even though it was foolish. Even though there was no hope of any future with him.
She wanted to share with him what she’d never shared with anyone else.
Don’t be stupid, girl!
Her thoughts were scandalous!
More than that, they were sinful. And yet she’d never felt like this about anyone else. She didn’t know if she ever would again. Of all the men she’d known over the years, not a single one had ever made her blood quicken with nothing more than a coy look. Nothing more than the brush of his hand.
And Kalder did so much more than that.
Especially when he paused next to an old column where a section had been hollowed out. With a gentle hand, he pulled her down below and into a glorious room that must have been a grand hall at one time.
“What is this?”
“The remains of the first palace.” He put his hands at her waist so that he could guide her into a cubbyhole that was cushioned by a spongy type of vegetation. “This is where I used to come to read.”
Surprised, she turned to study his luminescent eyes. They were silver in color now, with a dark, stormy blue outline. Unbelievably beautiful. “You look so different like this.”
“Hideous, you mean.”
“Nay. Like an angel.” She kissed him for a breath of air.
Kalder savored the feeling of her lips on his. Of her tongue brushing lightly against his teeth. Just as he reveled in the sensation of her in his arms. And the one thing he loved most about being underwater—her male clothing clung to her soft feminine curves and became completely sheer. The white linen was so fine that it revealed more than it covered and allowed him to see every bit of her charms. She’d be horrified if she knew how bare she was to his gaze.
How hungry and rock hard it made him that he could see the perfect outline of her areolae. Of the dark triangle of hair at the juncture of her thighs that kept drawing his attention to fantasies he really shouldn’t be thinking about.
This was a terrible idea.
And at the same time he wanted nothing more than to peel her clothes off and run his hands over every inch of her lush, supple skin. Indeed, her dark chestnut hair looked sublime fanning out in the water. Like a dark halo that framed her beautiful face.
He couldn’t think straight as he stared at her. She looked like some watery fey creature come to capture him, body and soul, and at the moment, he couldn’t imagine anything better than being ensnared by her. Indeed, he’d gladly consign himself over to her for all eternity.
