Zara watched in awe, as she brought the tip of her finger down onto a tendril and it jumped onto it, wrapping around her finger playfully as she grinned, chuckling.
“My uncle found me an hour later, scolding and dragging me back to the camp. It wasn’t until I was older that I found this place again, but it became a safe place for me, somewhereI could go and escape reality for a while. To lie among the stars.”
The magic disappeared, and Zara’s smile fell.
“I saw you here once, last year, before everything,” she breathed softly, and I nodded. “It was the first time I ever laid eyes on you.” She brought her gaze to mine, and the emotion swirling there cracked something in my chest. “This place, this cliff, was one of the first places I discovered in Nexia,” she admitted. “I had come here almost every night and laid right here on this boulder and dreamed of another life, a better life. It was my escape too.”
A tear fell down her cheek, and I reached out and wiped it away with the pad of my thumb, cupping her face with my hand. She leaned into it, more tears falling as she sniffled, her eyes sweeping over my face, and then going distance as if lost in a memory.
Something pushed at the barrier between us, and I hadn’t realized I had it closed. I let her in and images of her walking in the woods, of hiding, of me walking out onto the cliff. Zara taking a step toward me before being yanked away.
Pain flickered across her features, and my heart thundered, the sound of my pulse in my ears. Her mind raced with endless possibilities, of what-ifs, and things we couldn’t change. I pulled her into my chest, cursing the Fates for this path we were currently on. Both of our hearts were broken for the life that was stolen from us. Our families, our past, present and our future. Snatched away and used like pawns in a game. I pushed her back, cradling her face between my palms, my eyes burning into hers with promises I wasn’t sure I could keep.
I crashed my lips to hers, bruising and unrelenting. Her mouth parted for me, my tongue sweeping in and meetinghers. A whimper left her lips as she reached for me, her fingers digging into my chest as she pulled me closer.
I obeyed, my hands leaving her face as I pushed her back. Her nails dug in, pulling me down with her, until I was laid out above her. One hand rested on her hip, the other grasped her chin, her neck, tilting her head back. My tongue plunged into her mouth again as she continued to claw at my chest, my shoulders, my back. A deep rumble vibrated through my chest–our souls.
We will find a way.
The promise wrapped around us through the bond—fragile, and heavy with everything it carried. I only hoped we could.
Chapter 31
Zara
Drip. Drip. Drip.
I groaned, grabbing the pillow underneath me and plastering it up onto my ears to drown out the sound. Three days. Three days of rain, of this tent, and I was going to go insane.
After that day on the cliff, the day Xavier killed Atticus, he shadowed us directly to one of his camps near the ward. We hadn’t spoken, and I don’t think either of us wanted to ruin what had happened that night. I haven't seen him since, well, that’s not entirely true. At night I felt his arms around me, his breath at my neck. Felt his large, muscular body as it wrapped around me. But when I woke in the morning, he was always gone.
The moment he appeared in this camp, he had been swarmed by his people, and I had been brought here. Xavier had been keeping the bond between us tightly shut, and I understood why. If Morgana could access him through me, through our bond—I should leave—could leave if I really wanted. But why hadn’t I? Whatever this was between us wascomplicated and despite what was said, and done, it didn't change anything, not really. Morgana could use me, force me to hurt them—him.
My stomach churned at the thought.
I should leave. Being here was risky, anything I heard or saw she would know. Being here, she could force me to destroy them before this battle even began. I needed to go. But if I was going to die—I wanted more time. I didn’t want to be the reason his kingdom fell, his people died. I didn’t want to be the reason his will was stripped from him. She would make him turn on his people. Force him to do unspeakable things. Use him, like she used me.
I hadn’t known. She never told me that part of the plan, and I think she’d meant to keep it that way—to play that card at the precise moment it would give her the greatest leverage. But his will, his soul was stronger than mine. Xavier could keep that barrier closed, keep her control at bay… at least I hoped.
The memory of Atticus forcing me to take down Xavier’s shield had me gritting my teeth. I tried to feel something, anything, about his death. After all, I'd been with him for years. We must have had good moments, memories—right? I should’ve felt sad, or something, but I felt nothing. Looking back now, I saw it more clearly. The control, the greed, the lust, the need for power. I should have seen it. Should have known that he was only using me. The same way Morgana did. It had been obvious, and even Lana tried to warn me.
With nauseating realization, I rolled on the cot, pulling my legs to my chest under the tattered gray blanket. I did see it. I just hadn’t cared.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
So, when had I started to?
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Muffled shouting sounded, and I released the pressure on the pillow.
“Move out of my way, griffin shits. I am allowed to see her. ”
“The king's orders were—”
“Who do you think sent me here, your mother? Move.”
My eyes widened as grunts and shouts sounded, and then Cynthia was walking into my tent, a wide grin on her face. She looked tired; she had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was frizzy from the rain. She was covered in mud, and I wasn’t sure if the leather she wore was truly brown or if it was just stained. In her hand, she had a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread.
