I threaded my fingers through his hair, feeling the familiar texture beneath my trembling hands, anchoring myself to this moment, to him. My back screamed in protest where it pressed against the rough tree bark, and I could hear the battle cries rising around us—the clash of steel, the roar of the approaching army, the shouts of our allies preparing to fight. The world was falling apart at the seams.
But for these stolen seconds, none of it mattered.
His hand cupped my bruised cheek with infinite gentleness, his thumb brushing away tears even as he kissed me like I was oxygen and he'd been suffocating. I felt his other hand trembling where it rested against my waist, as if he still couldn't quite believe I was real, that I was here, that we'd both made it through hell and back.
When he finally pulled away, just barely, his forehead rested against mine. His breath came in ragged gasps that matched my own. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered, his voice breaking on the words. "Joy, I thought?—"
"I know." My voice was just as broken. "I know. But I'm here. We're here."
His eyes—back to their normal dark brown now—searched mine with naked vulnerability I'd never seen from him before. "Use your shadows to protect yourself. I’m not losing you again”
Behind us, a roar went up from the portal as the first wave of Unseelie soldiers began to cross through.
Reality crashed back in with brutal force. He pressed one more fierce, quick kiss to my lips—a promise for later—then pulled back with visible reluctance.
"Stay hidden. I mean it." His expression hardened back into the enforcer I knew, but I could still see the fear for me lurking beneath. "I'll come back for you."
Then he was gone, racing back toward the battle, leaving me trembling against the oak tree with the ghost of his kiss still burning on my lips.
.
