Page 140 of Heiress of Fire

Davina chuckled into his chest before tapping his arm. “Don’t be a baby.”

Beacon then ruffled her hair, before returning to Val. Caleb neared her.

“Thank you for being another big sister for me,” Caleb croaked.

Davina chuckled which sounded more like a sob. She would most probably never again hear their jokes, their banter, their disagreements, and never again see their wonderful abilities.

But they would have a future if she did this. They would be able to grow in their powers. Beacon and Valerie would have the possibility of having children; her siblings would live, and they would grow up, free from danger. There was no other choice, she had to do this.

Caleb let go and walked to Leilani.

One by one, they headed for the staircase. She watched as they all stood on the steps with beady eyes, looking at her with remorse before they stepped into Castellum.

The only one that was left to bid goodbye was Ron.

Davina clasped a ripped piece of her uniform as the pain in her heart worsened. Ron, the only one who believed in her, even after everything she’d done to him. Even after breaking his heart, he believed in her. And now, she would have to say goodbye. This time, the chances of them meeting again were low. She looked into his glossy eyes.

“Come back to me,” he begged. “Fight them, give them everything you got. But please don’t let them overpower you. I need you, I want to share my life with you. There’s still so much we haven’t lived.”

He was asking for something that she wasn’t sure she could give.

Ron wrapped his hands around her waist. His stare followed the shape of her lips before he looked back into her own. She wouldn’t deny herself the gift of the moment. She would give in, and she would enjoy it.

His gray-flecked gaze pulled her in, closer and closer. Until at last, they closed the space between them. Davina wrapped her arms around his neck while his fingers tangled in her curls.

She would no longer be foreign to how sweet and soft his lips were. This could very much be their first and last kiss. So, she would savor it, enjoy it, and keep it locked in her memory until she took her last breath.

His lips tasted of honey and tears. The perfect representation of how sweet and sour love could be at times. Davina’s fingers brushed his neck before she let him go. And she felt undone by the brush of their lips.

She had to tell him. He could not go an entire life without knowing what she felt for him, without him knowing how much she loved him. It wasn’t an infatuation, and she certainly would never forget about the magnificent being that was wrapped in her embrace.

With her hand over his cheek, she said, “Ron, I—”

“I don’t want us to say it until after we survive this.”

She wanted to say, if we survive this.

Her last memory with Ron would not become an unpleasant one, so she nodded.

“You’re not going to try to convince me to stay?” she asked.

“No matter how much I tried to fight you in the past about this, I realized that I can’t. This is what you must do, I’ve come to terms with that, even if I wish you didn’t put yourself in danger for us like this,” he began. “So go, do what you must.”

“Ron.” She wanted more time with him.

Ron removed his hand from her waist. “Go.”

Davina looked into his eyes, strikes of lightning ran inside of them. “I don’t wanna go yet.”

“Go before I change my mind and force you to stay.” He brushed his fingers across her hand. Davina stumbled as she took a few steps back.

“Go!” he yelled.

She split into a run, still facing him as she pulled out her wings of fire. Her wings stretched wide across her back before they threw her into the air. His figure grew smaller as she floated higher into the dark sky, Ron never breaking her gaze.

I don’t want to go, she cried in her mind.

The air whipped across her cheeks, causing her curly hair to flap around her. She sighed then turned, heading for Neptulus. Even as she neared Neptulus, she couldn’t help but think what he told her.

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