Page 54 of The Immortal Covenant

Something that might’ve been guilt flickered in Malorg’s gray eyes. “I apologize for today. I had a lot on my mind. It won’t happen again.”

Sarilian studied Malorg’s face, nothing the way Malorg avoided his gaze. There was more he wasn’t saying. Sarilian’s heart squeezed in his chest, his throat too tight.

“If my presence here is too much for you, I can resign my post—convince the Dawn Council to appoint a new emissary. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or drive you to regret what we once had any more than you already do.”

Malorg’s conflicted gaze flashed back to Sarilian’s face. The Infernal’s mask had shattered, leaving his expression torn open like a gushing wound. The pain in Sarilian’s gut squeezed even tighter.

He reallydoeswant me to leave—or at least, part of him does.

“Don’teverregret anything between us.” Malorg’s voice was firm, almost desperate. “I certainly don’t.”

Sarilian yearned to believe him, but Malorg’s words from the tower(This is a mistake)rattled around his skull like chains, holding him back.

“How can you not?” Sarilian whispered. Shame curled through him. “I promised you hope when we first met, but all I’ve done is make your life harder.”

Malorg shook his head, his breathing growing ragged. “No! That’s not—”

“You asked me before why I left?” Sarilian stared at a tapestry hung on the wall. It depicted a seascape in shifting waves of gray: a boat alone on the ocean, struggling not to be swept under by a raging storm. Sarilian empathized. “I told myself that walking away was for the best—that a clean break would spare us more pain in the long run. But the truth is, I was being selfish. I was scared that, if I didn’t stay away, I would end up forsaking my duty and give in to temptation. Give in toyou.”

“And now?” Malorg asked softly. A step closer left him near enough that Sarilian felt the faint chill emanating from him. If he stretched out a hand, he could touch him.

“I don’t know.”

The confession came out almost pleading. Sarilian shuddered, his thoughts and emotions both a confused jumble. He needed to focus. He’d come here to salvage the Accords, nothing more. Yet, frozen in the icy embrace of Malorg’s presence, the rest of the world shrank away into meaningless obscurity.

This is why you’re really here,a tiny voice whispered in the back of his head.This is exactly what you hoped would happen.

Was it? It both thrilled and terrified Sarilian to realize that he didn’t know.

Their breaths came in quick bursts. Sarilian saw his own uncertainty and yearning mirrored in the roiling tension consuming Malorg. The Infernal made no move to step closer, but nor did he pull away.Does he feel as powerless in this moment as I do?

“I thought you didn’t care,” Malorg admitted. His voice trembled. “That it was easier for you to walk away than it would have been for me.”

Shock rippled through Sarilian. “It was the hardest thing I’ve had to do since I arrived in the Immortal Realm. A part of me wanted to take your hand and leap through that rift with you, regardless of the consequences.” He hesitated. “A part of me still does.”

Malorg’s body shook. Gone was the dangerous Infernal warrior, the feared slayer of voidspawn. In his place stood a lost soul desperate to hope but no longer knowing how.

“Go or stay, I’d do anything if it meant being with you.” Raw truth rang in Malorg’s words, carving out a hole in Sarilian’s heart and lodging there like an intractable splinter.

Sarilian didn’t know which of them moved first, but suddenly, the last few paces between them had evaporated. Sarilian’s world constricted to their intertwined bodies. Hands scrambled to touch. Lips sought to press. The only sounds were their shared moans and mingled sighs. It was that moment on the tower again only amplified from a fire to an inferno, a storm to a hurricane, because this time, they both knew there was no stopping it.

If their love consumed them in fire and ice, then they’d gladly leap together into that glacial conflagration, hands clasped and heads held high.

“There’s been no one else but you,” Malorg said in-between bouts of kisses as he steered Sarilian toward the pillows.

It took Sarilian’s preoccupied mind a few seconds to process the words. When he did, he pulled back, fixing Malorg with an amused smirk. “Is that your oh-so-subtle way of asking me if I’ve taken other lovers this past year?”

From the way Malorg’s expression clouded, his lips firming, Sarilian took that as ayes. Chuckling, he nipped at Malorg’searlobe, eliciting a groan. “Even if I had, there’d be no comparison.” He waited a few heartbeats to let Malorg stew, his hands gripping Malorg’s lean waist, before adding, “Though, for the record, there’s been no one else for me either.”

Malorg relaxed slightly, and Sarilian found himself amused instead of irritated by Malorg’s possessive jealousy. It made him feel needed in a way different from the rest of his responsibilities—because of who he was rather than what he could do.

“No matter what happens, I’ll never walk away again,” he whispered into Malorg’s ear. His hands crept lower, making Malorg moan and arch his back. “I promise.”

As they collapsed onto the pillows, allowing their garments to fade so that nothing stood between them and their passion, Sarilian couldn’t deny that he needed Malorg just as desperately as Malorg seemed to need him. And for the first time since his arrival in the Dawnlands, he wondered if he might’ve found something more important to him than the Covenant itself.

twenty-two

Malorg

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