Page 20 of Bound By Roses

“We both know you won’t choose to live without me, so I get to make the same choice. We live together or we die together.”

“Then we’d both better keep our hearts beating.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss each and every one of her knuckles. She pulls me closer, and just as I’m readying to set about making her scream my name again, my stomach rumbles.

She sits up. “You haven’t eaten.”

Stupid bodily functions. “No, I haven’t.” There’s no point in lying to her about it. “I had other things on my mind.” I move to kiss her again, but her fingers press against my lips.

“Eat. There’ll be plenty of time for this later.” Her teasing laugher fills the airy room.

I flop back on the bed with an exaggerated groan before forcing myself to stand and button up my pants. I can think of so many other things we could do that would be just as filling as a meal.

When I’m presentable, I turn to find her off the bed and staring out the crumbled side of the tower, arms pulled tightly around herself. “Are you cold?” I ask, pressing myself against her and running my hands over her shoulders.

“No,” she says, leaning into me, but her voice would say otherwise. There’s no chill in their air, even with the sun setting, but the word lacked any warmth.

I follow her gaze across the water, over the beach, and all the way to the forest I once called home. Beyond the green tips illuminated by the fading rays of sunlight, there’s a distinctive patch of darkness that has no reason to be there.

Unless...

I work it out in my head as best I can, determining where we are in relation to both Rosewood and Lunae until I’m certain ofit. The patch of darkness is directly where I would expect Abby’s former kingdom to be. Which can only mean one thing.

Imelda and her son have returned home.

“We’re safe.” I whisper the words against Abby’s ear and wrap my arms around her. She shivers, and now I’m certain that it has nothing to do with the temperature.

She doesn’t say the words aloud or through the bond, but I know what she’s thinking because it’s exactly the same worries flitting through my mind.

For how long?

How long until Imelda returns? Until her son grows strong enough to wage a war that isn’t just a message to Aurelia and her people? How long until those shadows spread so far and wide that they’ll consume more than just Lunae?

Aurelia’s earlier suggestion returns and the weight of it is suddenly much more intense. “We could run.”

Abby turns to me, wide eyes shining brightly in the golden glow. “Run?”

“We don’t have to stay here. We can go back to Rosewood or find a place of our own. Our fight can end right here and now.”

She shakes her head. “You want to abandon these people? And Rosewood? What about Kaylee and Tess and everyone else who depends on you?”

“I don’t want to. I’m just saying it’s an option. I would abandon everything if it meant we could live in peace. If it meant keeping you safe.”

“We can’t run,” she says after a long moment in silent contemplation. “No matter how terrifying the darkness is, running is only temporary. It will chase us and when it catches up, there may be no one left to fight beside us.”

I blow out a long sigh. “So we stay?”

“We stay. At least until Jade wakes up. We may have to go back to Rosewood eventually, but for now, I think we needto make ourselves comfortable here. Which reminds me…” She trails off as if whatever she’s about to say is something I won’t agree with.

I cup her face in my hand. “Tell me.”

“I don’t want to go back down there.” She gestures to the greenery on the stone walls. “I can’t grow anything beneath the waves. I’m powerless there and I need to feel powerful right now, otherwise I might crumble even more than these ruins.”

Did she really think I would object to this? I press my lips against her forehead.‘So we make this our home,’I tell her through the bond, so she feels the words as much as hears them.‘For as long as it needs to be.’

She pulls away, but this time there’s a slight smile playing at her lips. “Go get something to eat so we can have dessert.”

I can’t stop my grin from spreading. “I hope it’s chocolate cake.”

“I was thinking something a little more exotic.”

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