Page 38 of The Fate of Eternity

Fuck.

Of course, Beau lures us out of the walls of the academy for a secret mission and then disappears.

Rolling my neck, I brace myself for the new wave of attackers while my thoughts remain on Kryll’s older brother.

I’m not sure if he actually wanted the help or if he just wanted us to kill things that actuallyneededkilling instead of some fool on campus. Not that anyone on campus has done anything wrong, but we’re all wound up and pining for our girl.

A pained cry rings in my ears, quickly followed by another and another. A burst of fire descends from the sky, followed by another, but this time, it’s not a white dragon at the other end of it.

No. It’s midnight blue.

Massive claws drop to the ground a moment later, shifting as they hit the ground.

“Finally, you’re back,” I gripe, giving him a pointed look, but Beau ignores the hell out of me. I step toward him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, when movement to his left catches my attention and I freeze.

“Adrianna,” I breathe as she saunters toward me with Cassian at her side.

Her blonde hair is braided into a crown on her head like always, but the exhaustion that clings to her features is moreintense than usual. My body stiffens at the fact that she’s not as relaxed and calm as I expected. But instead of turning my anger her way, I settle my gaze on Beau.

“Why the fuck did you bring her here?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Adrianna interjects with a raised brow, and I soften—just a little.

“Nothing, Trouble. I’ve missed you. You look beautiful. Let me just?—”

My words are cut short by the racing footsteps that approach from my right. I turn in time to get a hold on the vampire with practiced precision. Eager to get back to her, I make it swift, letting the lifeless limbs collapse to the ground at my feet a moment later.

Turning back to her, I panic when she’s not there, but a flash of her blonde hair is like a beacon in the night, drawing my gaze to my left, where she destroys another vampire. A glint of her favorite silver accessories makes me grin as she wipes the blades on her pants, ridding the blood stains from her prized possessions.

A shiver runs down my spine as her eyes meet mine and my feet carry me toward her before I even realize it. She steps into my open arms without pause, settling the worry in my chest as I envelop her.

“Hey, Trouble,” I breathe. This time the softness outweighs the stress in my tone and she melts against me.

“Hey, Fangs,” she says, peering up at me with a grin. I match it with one of my own.

Life is scattered.

Life is madness.

Life is complicated.

But with her here, in my arms, everything settles, even if just for a moment.

Brody’s chants echo in the distance, the smell of burning flesh tingles in my nose, and the roar of Cassian’s wolf vibrates the air around us, but between the two of us, the world stops.

“I’ve missed you.” Admitting the fact doesn’t cause me the pain I expect. If anything, it eases the weight on my chest.

“I’ve missed you too.”

“Did you ever think you would say that to me, of all people?” I can’t tell if the question is to feed my vampire ego complex or to bathe my heart in her, but once the words leave my lips, I don’t regret them either way.

“Did you ever think you would miss a lowly fae?” she retorts, the sass shining in her eyes as I shake my head. She’s got me there, and she knows it.

“I didn’t think a lot of things until you.”

“Oh, you’ve got charming words tonight, huh?” she muses, and I shrug.

The pressure in my chest intensifies again, the weight of my instinctive response growing heavier with every breath. It’s so intense it feels like my eyeballs will pop from my skull with the effort of holding them in.

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