Blake flinched like I’d struck him, but he didn’t step back. His gaze locked onto mine, searching, as if he could see straight through me. “Why? Why does it have to cost us our present? You can choose me. I won’t let your past steal you from me.”
My throat was tight. “Hasn’t it already?”
In an instant, he was in front of me, close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off him. “A few nights ago, we were going to be Soul Paired. Now—what? A ghost from your past means more?”
“Blake, it’s not that simple—”
“It is! I am here. Now. And I will fight for you—” His voice cracked. “I will be what you need.”
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “Blake. It’s in the prophecy.”
I recited it for him now, no longer a lullaby but a warning.
“Born of passion and the silencing queen,
A light shall rise where none have been.
Through her, the dawn will banish night,
If the dragon’s heart grants her might.
Should the hollow one consume her power,
Darkness will reign in the final hour.
Let the serpent’s heir stand by her side
And storms shall rage and kingdoms die.
“We must finish the Raveling. We still need to fix the Anchors in the other three dominions. And if I am the woman of the prophecy, then Draven is the dragon’s heart that will grant me might.” The flash of pain in his eyes was like a dagger to my own soul.
“What about us?” The pain in his voice was tearing me apart.
Guilt and anguish ripped through me. “I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. “All I know is that we must go to the Dominion of the Red Phoenix to stop the warring andrepair the second Anchor. After that, I think we need to go to the Azure Dragon Dominion. In any case, as soon as possible…” I squared my jaw. “I need to find him.”
Blake stiffened, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He stepped closer, his voice broken.
“Please don’t do this. We don’t know if this prophecy is real. We can’t—” he whispered, his hand reaching out to cup my face. His touch was so gentle, filled with everything we could have been. “Rubi…”
Tears blurred my vision as I leaned into his touch, my heart shattering. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I have a duty. I’m no longer free to simply follow my heart. And I don’t even know what my heart wants anymore.”
I watched as this final blow landed. Blake released my face from his hands, stepping back slowly. For a moment, I thought he was going to turn away, to walk out of my life forever. But instead, he changed.
Every piece of him buttoned back up, his spine straightening. The beauty of his vulnerability, his open emotions, suddenly disappeared. He returned to the man I’d met outside the tavern. The ruthless Ambush Master. The brutal Twin Blade.
Blake lifted his head, the pain still etched into his features, but beneath it now was a resolve that hadn’t been there before. His voice was quiet, but every word rang with certainty. “I’m not letting you do this alone.”
Emotion swelled in my throat, but before I could speak, he pressed on.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I’ll protect you until you get to him safely. If you cannot be mine, then I will be yours. Whichever way I can.” His voice dropped. “And when it’s done…when he’s back…”
He swallowed. “I’ll leave you with him.”
Epilogue
Jace
Jace stared out into the distance, his hand fisted around the pendant at his neck. The chill of the evening air clung to his skin. The sun had dipped below the mountains, casting long shadows across the ground, and the sky bled into twilight.
