“How do I apologize in the Tongue?” I call back to Emlyn.
He grimaces as he steps onto the scarred terrain, clenching his jaw as he kneels beside me. “E’len shillah.”
“E’len shillah,” I repeat. Again and again, hoping the Land will understand. That maybe it’ll ease Her pain.
I freeze as a subtle pulse radiates through my fingers.
“She wants you to prove it,” Emlyn says softly.
“How?”
He meets my eyes, biting his lip. Then he takes my hand, forcing it deeper into the dirt, clamping it in place. “This will hurt.”
Before I can respond, my insides lurch through my entire body, like they’re being sucked through my arm. My fingers contort beneath Emlyn’s grip. I gasp for air, but every breath gets instantly lost to the pull.
Emlyn shouts words I can’t understand, his voice pleading. Darkness shadows the edge of my vision. Emlyn’s voice grows louder, more desperate.
She’s killing me.
If that’s the price… at least I saved Emlyn.
My heart splinters under the strain of the Land’s anger. Images flash through my mind, mostly of him. The moments that could’ve been. Eyelids… flutter shut.
Then I’m released, a cool wave washing over me.
I slump to the ground, my muscles no longer working now that the tension’s broken. Emlyn hauls me up, cradling me in his arms.
“Reid? Are you alright?” His hand’s warm against my cheek as his golden eyes scour my face.
I weakly bat it away, trying to end his fussing. “Think so.”
I groan as I push myself up, then stop. What had moments before been scorched dirt now has a sprinkling of grass, the delicate blades breaking through the surface.
“She was taking your life to heal Herself,” Emlyn says.
“Huh.”
Now that the euphoric rush of survival’s fading, exhaustion settles in my bones, greater than before. But it’s worth it. Everything’s coming back to life.
Laughter flutters out of me, cut short by a sharp ache spiking from my wound. “So I just have to nearly die every time I incant and everything’ll be fine.”
Emlyn grabs my face, his honey eyes swirling with tender panic. His voice comes out raw. “Don’t even joke about that.”
A frantic heartbeat. One. Two.
It’s hard to say which of us closes the gap first. It doesn’t matter. All I know is our worlds align when our lips collide. Warm. Wet. Stealing the air from my lungs.
Ever since that night in the alley, part of me always expected he’d kiss me again. I’d dreamed of it—many times. I imagined it’d be much like before—a frenzied rush to devour one another.
This is not that.
His body trembles as he clings to me, gripping me tight, but not from desire. From the fear of almost losing me. As if I’ll disappear between breaths.
My fingers get lost tangling through the soft strands of his hair, pulling him closer as our kiss feeds the fire within us. Assuring him I’m still here.
I’m not going anywhere.
Chapter 36
