But my last thought was of Isabelle. Of wanting to tell her to run, to leave before she got hurt by him. But I was helpless, just a man forever encased in his stone tomb. This was to be my legacy.
My mind drifted, protecting me from an eternity of being stuck. I thought of nothing but her, even if it pained me. Her voice. The way she rolled her eyes when she pretended to be annoyed with me, but really I knewshe liked it. She was easier to read than she thought. One just had to pay attention.
Even now I can hear her voice. Though it’s not a happy one. No, Isabelle’s voice is full of heartbreak and pain, a pain I’ve never heard come from her before. She’s screaming at me, but I can’t quite make out all the words. Until one thing sticks.
I love you.
I fucking love you.
Those words aren’t delivered like a woman in love. She’s pissed. As if I made her fall in love with me against her will. Perhaps I did, but I can’t bring myself to regret it. Never.
But then her voice abruptly stops, and all I’m left with is her pain. I can’t comfort her, and it’s too fucking much. I will my body to move, to do anything but remain still, but of course I don’t have the power to counteract the curse.
Just as that thought begins to form, a rippling sensation takes over my body. A tingle at first, then the invisible restraints that kept me in place begin to crumble one by one. I can do nothing but watch as my body morphs once again. This time, the experience is unpleasant. Like I’m trying to fit my body through a tiny cave, sharp rocks digging into my sides. Breathing is hard, and my vision goes blurry.
Then…
I stumble.
I sway like a drunk sap who saw the end of too many bottles. My stomach lurches, feeling the strangest sensation as I breathe in deeply, filling mylungs with oxygen once again. And that’s when I see her. My queen. She’s walking away from me, led by a woman I don’t know. The man, however, I know well. The kraken king. But why is the kraken out of water?
I can’t let Isabelle leave. I need to know this is real and not some cruel nightmare the curse is torturing me with. “Kitten,” I purr, my voice feeling like a stranger’s. “Leaving so soon?”
Isabelle and the woman pushing her toward the door—whom I imagine is Erin, Allarick’s wife—stop dead in their tracks. Erin is the first to turn, her eyes wide when she sees me as me and not the stone statue. But Isabelle is slower to turn around, like she too believes she’s in some kind of fucked-up dream, which gives me the opportunity to look over her body.
I see blood and bruises along her arms and legs. Her hair is wild, barely contained in the braid that winds down her back. But it’s the sadness in her eyes that makes me want to burn everything to the fucking ground until I rid the world of all who wronged her. She stares at me as if she’s seeing an apparition. She takes a step forward, but then hesitates, too afraid or stunned to move forward.
So I do it for her.
My muscles are sore, and my legs protest with each step closer. I would crawl with broken bones and bloody wounds if it meant she’d be in my arms. “Kitten,” I say again, needing to reach her. “Come here.”
Then, as if a fire has been lit within her, Isabelle throws herself at me, arms going around my neck while her legs wrap around my torso. I barely keep us upright,gathering my bearings from my abrupt change. Still, my arms wrap tightly around her slight frame, pulling her even closer. It’s not close enough though. I need her with the intensity of a hundred burning suns because my Isabelle did it. There’s no other way I’d be here right now if she didn’t just save my kingdom.
“You bastard,” she cries into my chest, hitting her bloody knuckles against my shoulder. “You fucking bastard.”
“Never claimed to be anything different.” That earns me another thump of her fist. She tilts her head up, trying to look pissed at me. But I know her secret. “You love me,” I whisper, lips curling into a smile so wide it hurts.
“I also said I hate you.” She sniffles, but I ignore her and capture her lips with my own. I kiss her with wild abandon, not caring in the least that we have an audience. That’s never stopped me before, and it most certainly won’t stop me now.
But Isabelle breaking the kiss stops me, her eyes glossy with unshed tears, lips wet with my kiss. “It’s really you,” she murmurs, reaching up to stroke the side of my face.
“It’s really me, Kitten.” I know she needs to hear it. “And I love you too. Your darkness calls to mine.” Once the words “I love you” would have filled me with rage and sadness, a reminder of what happens when you give your heart away. It exploits your biggest weakness to your enemies. But perhaps I’ve been looking at this all wrong. Isabelle isn’t my biggest weakness. No, this woman is my strength and resilience, and now thatshe’s saved my kingdom, our people will see that as well.
“You saved us all. We all owe you a great debt.” I want to know everything that happened since Garvan cursed me until now. I’ll get the story soon enough, preferably after a night of rough fucking.
“I don’t care about that. I care that you’re okay, you foolish man,” she chides. “You don’t get to leave me after you made me love you.”
Her words strike something within me. A memory of our first encounter, when she was nothing more than a human woman. Her words from the start of our marriage ring in my brain. Once this is all done, she wants to be set free. I can’t cage my wife forever, even if she loves me and I her. I won’t go back on my promise.
“Instead, you’ll be leaving me.” I watch as her face scrunches up in confusion.
Realization dawns a moment later, and she shakes her head adamantly. “I don’t want that anymore. That was before I…”
“Before what, Kitten?” I prompt.
She bites her lip, and I want nothing more than to suck it into my mouth and kiss her until she knows nothing but desire. “Before I fell in love with you, asshole.”
“You have the sweetest nicknames for me, Miss Sinclair.” I laugh, and Isabelle cracks a smile. She pulls me down and presses her forehead against mine, eyes closing.
