I wrapped my leg around his, seeking more warmth. The long sleeping pants I wore slid against his. Along with our pajama tops, we were wearing more clothing in bed than we had since we got together. Nighttime in Whitcliff meant cooler temperatures, given its exposure to the ocean. “I don’t think Gathrriel could comprehend we were in love. In his brain, we are enemies until—”
“Until the stars burn out,” he finished for me.
They were the words I had carelessly spoken to him a year ago.
I nodded, craning my head back to look at him, afraid this was some dream and Gathrriel had actually won. He lay with his eyes closed, his features relaxed. I reached up, and Samkiel grunted as I gently ran my fingers across the massive bruise that had formed on his neck. His skin was healing too slowly. Gathrriel had damn near ripped his head off with his teeth, and he had taken far too much blood. The puncture wounds were almost gone, but Gathrriel definitely did not feed on him like I did. It made me want to kill him twice. I leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on the large bruise across his neck. If I could kiss away his pain, take it into myself, I would. I loved Samkiel and had slowly learned how to show that affection in ways I would never do for anyone else. He groaned softly, not in pleasure but pain.
“I will say,” he said, turning toward me. “It only feels good when you do it.”
I snorted and wrapped my arm loosely across his chest. “Well, I doubt he was trying to turn you on, considering he was intent on killing you.”
His face grew grave. “He would have, you know? Killed me.”
My hand stilled as I met his gaze. His eyes held no hint of a joke or half-lie. “He overpowered me in every way, and if I’d fought back, I would have hurt you. I’d never allow that. I will never raise my hand to you in such a way, no matter the circumstance. When it comes to you, I’ll always choose you, no matter the consequences. The world can burn, and the realms can fall to destruction. If there is ever a choice between the two, I need you to know that neither the crown nor the throne means anything to me. None of it would matter without you. It’s always you. You are my priority. I may be a god, but you are the altar at which I worship.”
My heart swelled at his admission. I knew Samkiel loved me. I had known that far longer than I cared to admit. He’d shown me over and over, but when he spoke it … Poets would break their wrists, trying to transcribe the words he gave to me. I leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Samkiel turned, rolling onto his back and pulling me on top of him. My hand slid through the short hair at the base of his neck, and when he went to deepen the kiss, he winced but tried to hide the pain that riddled his body. I shifted and pulled back, my hand splayed lightly over his heart. I couldn’t see them now because of his shirt, but I knew bruises and scrapes covered every part of his chest and back. Even with his armor on, Gathrriel had been too strong, too determined.
“Being a hero is overrated,” I said.
“Vastly,” he said, pulling me back down and wrapping his arms around me, his breath tickling the hairs along the top of my head as he snorted.
“You should quit.”
Samkiel low chuckled. “I’ll get right on that.” He leaned forward, kissing the top of my head before relaxing under me.
I nodded and tipped my head back on his chest to watch him, plucking at the dark sleep shirt he wore. “When does the fighting stop?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said in all earnestness.
“I feel like we win a battle, only to run straight into another. I want us to be happy.”
He raised up, looking down at me. “Are you not happy?”
“No, I am.” I smiled. “I swear, but I want everyone back, not lost to themselves and being abused because of some spell my father created. I want our home and the city you’ve made safe. After everything, I want peace for us. What if one day we decided we want a family, children?”
His brows rose, and he grunted in pain as he sat up, his hands reaching for the waistband of his lounge pants. “All right. Let’s get started right now.”
The laugh that erupted from me was enough to make my ribs ache. I slapped his hands away and gently tugged him back down to lie next to me. “Stop it. You’re too bruised and beaten.”
“If you think that would stop me, you don’t actually know me.” He smiled, placing a kiss on my nose as we settled next to each other once more. He slipped his arm behind my head once more, and I curved alongside him, fitting my body against his side.
“Do you want that?” he asked, his voice soft and filled with wonder as if he’d never thought it would be something either of us would consider. “Eventually?”
I shrugged in the darkened room, glancing up at him. We only spoke about it once back on Onuna when we were ice skating, and at that time, I only saw darkness in my future, but now? “Eventually, maybe. I don’t even know if biologically we could, but I’d like the choice. Although I refuse to bring anything we make out of love into this angry, violent world.”
A dark look crossed his face, and I knew my sweet, loving Samkiel would damn the world itself to make my wishes come true.
“I know we joked about it before, but I’d want that with you. A family, if you so wish it. Anything you want, Dianna, merely ask, and I’ll carve the universe into atoms to make it so.”
I leaned up and slanted my lips across his. “Don’t get too excited. If we do this, it won’t be soon, but we can still do the fun practicing part.”
His smile was downright wicked, even if his eyes held nothing but love and admiration as he said, “I have lived an entirely long time, seen realms rise and fall, but I think I’ve always been a ghost. Never really there, I just moved through life waiting for something that would make me feel alive, make it all worth it. I wasn’t living without you, akrai, and I wouldn’t choose to remain without you.”
My eyes burned at his raw confession. “I know the feeling.”
He palmed the back of my head and pulled me close, his kiss a claiming. I pulled back before we could get out of hand, savoring the taste of him on my lips as I rested my head in the crook of his neck. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply, exhaustion lulling us toward sleep as we both settled.
“We need to sleep so we can resume our search for Miska tomorrow,” I added to the darkness. “Any lead we can get to Nismera’s stronghold should be our first priority.”
