Page 64 of An Accident Waiting to Dragon

That’s all he cared about. Turning his back on her family, and the pixie in the hut, he focused solely on her. Asher held her close, bringing one hand up to cradle the back of her head. “Sorry about what?” he asked softly.

She didn’t speak for a long moment, and he just held her, and waited, trying not to worry.

“Asher?” she asked, in a small voice.

He hummed in response.

“I am a stubborn fool.”

A statement that had him trying to see her face again, but she clung on tightly, so he went back to just holding her.

“I blamed you all this time,” she said.

His heart flipped a little, not expecting that.

“Being away from you…these have been the worst years of my life. Like I was missing an important part of…me. I did that to us.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t. I?—”

“I’ve loved you since I was a girl.”

Her confession cut him off short.

“I never told you that,” she said.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. At least he’d have this moment before he broke his blood vow and gave up his life. He could take this into the afterlife with him.

“And I knew…I knew deep inside that no matter what it looked like, that even though there wasn’t any other explanation, that you would have saved Goran if you could. But you wouldn’t tell me.”

Asher squeezed his eyes shut. “I couldn’t. I?—”

“Goran told me,” she said. And his heart stopped entirely. “Everything.”

This time when he took her by the shoulders, she let him, looking into his eyes, hers clear and true, shimmering gold, and yet shadowed at the same time.

Vaguely he was aware of a murmur of noise behind them. Her family.

“I don’t understand,” he said.

She waved at the small house. “Goran told me. About the black death.”

“What?” a wavering yelp sounded from Mauren behind them.

Gwen shot them a pained look, but then returned her gaze to him. “Goran wants me to tell you he was sorry. That he absolves you from the oath. That he made a mistake, not realizing the consequences.”

Asher closed his eyes, picturing his friend’s face. Not the day Goran died, but before then, when he’d been so vital, a prankster who loved to laugh.

Thank you, my friend. Rest now.

He sent the thought into the universe and hoped Goran heard.

Gwen laid her head on his chest, tightening her arms around him. “There’s more…”

He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Tell me.”

“I never want to leave you again.”

Every piece of Asher, from his heart to his bones to his soul, stilled. As if he needed utter quiet so he didn’t miss a single breath of hers.

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