Page 120 of A Shattered Kingdom of Steel

“I didn’t think… You were under a sleeping curse, Lymseia. I thought—I couldn’t… I was so powerless. The night it happened, I woke to your fear. I felt it. You were so afraid, and I couldn’t…” He presses his lips together, guilt wearing down his handsome features. “I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t protect you.”

“Shh.” I reach up to place my hand against his cheek, and closing his eyes, he leans into my touch. “The curse is broken. And I have a feeling that’s all because of you. Because of your love for me.”

He opens his eyes, the wounded look inside them tearing me apart. “I could feel you fighting it,” he says softly. “While you were asleep.”

I blink away my surprise. I have no memory of the past two days, and yet I’m not surprised to learn I resisted.

“Of course I fought it,” I say, letting confidence flow through my voice. “I wasn’t about to let you have all the fun without me. Besides, who would threaten to punch you every day if not for me?”

A small smile tugs at his lips, and I take it as a little victory. “You know, you say that, yet you never do.”

“Well…” I smirk, letting my eyes fall to his lips before lifting back up to his diamond irises. “You see, I’ve come to quite like your pretty face, and it would be a gods-damn shame to mess it up.”

Shaking his head a little, he grins and dips me for an earth-shattering kiss. I feel everything and nothing at the same time, the feeling of his lips on mine blinding me to the world around us. There is no separation between where I end and where he begins, no place where his essence can be distinguished from mine.

When he pulls away, Asheros takes my face between his hands and touches his forehead to mine. My breath hitches, thrilled by his nearness, by how wonderful and exhilarating and gods-damned amazing it is to be reunited with my love, my equal, my mate.

“Nervous, Bladesinger?” I can practically hear the smirk in his voice.

“You wish,” I reply, silently thanking every god that cares enough to listen.

This is what I fought for.

What I’ll continue to fight for, every single day.

Closing my eyes, I inhale his scent, letting it wash over me. I stand before him, fully healed. My physical body and my soul. Our love has healed me. Our love has healed us both in more ways than one.

Somewhere, beyond these walls, Tanyl plots our kingdom’s destruction. He and the crepulnai move in the shadows in service of the queen of the Old Gods—a threat like no other. Only the gods themselves can know the full extent of what lies ahead. Of the battles to be fought.

But right here, right now, in the arms of my mate, I know that our love is the one force in this world that’s capable of anything.

And in this moment, that’s more than enough.

Epilogue

Lymseia

“As much as I’d prefer to lounge here with you all day,” I say, attempting to free myself from the tangle of Asheros’s limbs, “I do have things to do.”

“Mmm, I’d say you have plenty to do, High Commander,” Asheros purrs, making good use of my new title. He adds a devilish wink. “Though the things that require your attention are in this room.”

“Oh, please,” I say, wriggling from his grasp. Blowing a kiss, I give him a flirty grin. “You’re more than capable of seeing to that yourself.” Crossing the room, I pull my clothes from the dresser and put them on, even though my growing desire makes me want nothing more than to crawl back into bed.

After I woke from the sleeping curse, I shared everything I’d learned with Cryssa and Viridian—finding Arella, our encounters with the crepulnai, Lyndhaven, and finally, that night in Illnamoor when Tanyl cursed me.

Reliving that night was unpleasant for me, but even more so for Asheros. He’d pulled me close, rage and guilt pulsing from him.

“It’s not your fault,” I’d told him through the bond. “Tanyl is to blame.”

“I know,” he’d said, though I wasn’t convinced. “And I promise you, Bladesinger, that when we finally drag his worthless hide back here, I’ll make him suffer two-fold for what he did to you.”

Immediately, we sent word to Orim and Arella that Tanyl’s whereabouts were unknown. Though he hasn’t been seen since the night he cursed me, and there have been no reports of a winged male, we’d be fools to think we’d seen the last of him.

Until Tanyl has been dealt with, Asheros and I decided it’s best that Orim stay with Arella, for her protection. Savell, Ronan, Kheldryn, and Gryska arrived at High Keep about a week later, and after lots and lots and lots of convincing and swearing their loyalty to Viridian under the pain of death, he finally agreed to let their acts of treason slide. Somehow, he’d even managed to convince the council to abide by his decision.

I’ll forever owe him for that.

And despite all that transpired since I’d first left High Keep, Viridian still encouraged me to represent him as a diplomat in Illnamoor.

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