I swallowed. He was wrong, of course, but I could see how it looked. I might have wondered the same in his shoes. But it still hurt. Light, it hurt. I trusted him more than I even trusted myself.
“Kalen, it’s me. I’m more me than I ever have been. All that darkness I’ve fought so hard against all my life…this is the first time I’ve ever felt like I canactuallycontrol it.” I ducked in close, forcing him to look into my eyes. “Look at me. Tell me you can’t see the truth of me.”
A pained expression crossed his face as he met my gaze. “I’m not the best judge of character. I never suspected my mother. All these years passed, and I never knew.”
“If you’re not a good judge of character, then neither am I.” Finally, he let me take his hand. His palm was rough against mine as I threaded my fingers through his. “We are the same. Don’t you remember? My father, everything he did…I refused to believe he was anything short of heroic. I so badly wanted to believe the best of him that I tossed a blanket over my memories and pretended they didn’t exist.”
He took a moment to reply. “And now?”
I blew out a breath. “And now I’ve moved on. Withyour help. I thought you felt the same.”
“It’s not that—”
I tightened my grip on his hand. “I am yours, you are mine. We made a vow, Kalen. One that supersedes all others. If I wasn’tme, don’t you think you’d be able to tell? Don’t you think you would be able tofeelthe change in me through our bond? I can feel you here.” I tapped my heart. “I can feel your power and your anger and your love. Can’t you feel the same from me?”
He dropped his forehead against mine. Heat stormed through me. His nostrils flared as he scented me, tasting me as only he could—by reaching for the thread between us and touching the very soul of me. I leaned into him and let him pry, let the fingers of his mind dance over mine. I could feel him brushing up against my heart. I could feel his pulse quicken to match the rhythm of mine.
He was so close. Too close, if he were anyone else. If he tugged the right thread, he could unravel me. But I met his gaze and did not pull back.
His brow furrowed, and his hands slipped into my hair. His fingers tightened around my strands as he gripped me there. Finally, he spoke, his voice rough. “Why would you suggest it, love? Didn’t you understand what it would mean?”
“It doesn’tmeananything,” I whispered. “You can feel me. Every part of me. I am who I say I am, and they have not changed me. Not the way you mean. What theyhavechanged is my understanding of who and what they are. And I know we can use the beasts to fight them. Or at least, I can. For better or worse, I’m one of them, and the sooner we both accept that, the sooner we can save this world from ruin. Isn’t that what you always wanted me to do? Accept who I am and the power I wield?”
His eyes scraped through me. “If I lost you, love, my body would buckle from the weight of my grief. And I would rip every star from the sky just to find the one that was you.”
I shuddered, nearly overcome with the need to feel every part of him. “That won’t happen, Kalen. I will vow it, if that’s what it takes. Because I know I’m strong enough to resist their darkness.”
At long last, a wicked smile curved his lips. My heart beat faster. For that smile, I would have given anything. “I love your strength. It makes me wish we were alone.”
It was only then I noticed several others were wandering around the rocks, watching the sunrise over the Ivory Cliff Falls. I wondered what we looked like to them, leaning against each other and fiercely whispering words I hoped no one else could hear.
“Oh yeah?” I cocked an eyebrow, blocking out the audience. “And what, in very specific words, would you do if we were?”
“Ah.” Kalen suddenly pulled back as heavy footsteps drew closer. “Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until later to discuss all things I plan to do to you.”
Toryn, Gaven, and Fenella walked over with Nellie and Druid Balfor just behind them. They were covered in cobwebs, and dust coated their black leathers. Fenella looked relieved to see us together. I wondered how much our momentary rift had been noticed by the others, despite my attempts to keep it under wraps. But she’d always seen far more than everyone else.
“That’s the last of them. We got everyone out,” Toryn said, thumbing the hilt of his sword. “Now where to?”
Gaven pointed to a small hole in the rocks just beside the falls. It was no taller than me. “That leads into the caves beneath the lake. We can cover it up with branches once we’ve all gone inside. The gods shouldn’t find us in there, even if they investigate this area. It’s not on the maps. I made certain of that.”
“Another tunnel,” Fenella said flatly. “Wonderful.”
“So we go into the caves and then what?” I asked. “Where do we go from there?”
Gaven sighed. “Follow the tunnels to wherever they lead. Or wait out the gods. Eventually, they’ll leave, right?”
I winced. “Something tells me it won’t be as easy as that.”
“It won’t be,” Druid Balfor said, frowning. “I do not think we should go into those caves.”
“The only other option is to go into the open fields, where they will spot us,” Gaven said. “But it’s your call.”
Everyone looked at me, even Kalen. The weight of the choice pressed down on me. If I made the wrong decision, people could die.
“Is there another way out of the caves if the gods find the entrance?” I asked.
“There is,” Gaven said a little hesitatingly, “but I don’t know where it leads.”
