Page 111 of Forging Darkness

I shift back before my feet even touch down, the foot and a half of surface snow absorbing my weight. Stumble-running to where she landed, all I see are gold feathers.

Stupid, I berate myself.I should have forced her to let me fly us both.

“Emberly!”

She doesn’t answer as I drop down in the snow above her head and pry her wings apart. Her eyes are sealed shut. I don’t see rivers of blood, but I’m still not breathing easy.

“I think I’m done with flying for the day,” she croaks.

“Where are you hurt?” My hands are already smoothing over her limbs, checking for broken bones. Nothing seems to be protruding and she hasn’t winced away from my touch.

Good. That’s good.

“Everywhere?”

I huff out a half-laugh. She’s going to be the death of me, but I can’t say I’m sorry about that. “Only you. How about you consider giving me a day or two off from worrying about you.”

“Where would be the fun in that?” She ducks her head as I help her sit up, but I don’t miss the blush coloring her cheeks.

Gosh. This girl.

“Where indeed,” I mumble with a shake of my head. “Doesn’t look like anything is broken. Can you stand?”

Rather than answer, Emberly pushes to her feet, trembling like a leaf. No way am I letting her walk the rest of the way. And I’m not planning on asking this time. I tilt my head, eyeing her wings. Those could be an issue.

“Let’s see if we can phase back. We might be out of the orb’s range by now.”

I wait until she’s able to phase back to the mortal world before following after her. There’s zero chance I’d leave her unprotected in the spirit realm, even without any obvious threats.

After being in the spirit realm for so long, the mortal world seems even more muted when we return. White on white and a blue-tinted gray sky. Emberly has her eyes shut, her face tilted toward the sun. She’s dressed in the blood splattered white and red garb she wore when I first spotted her on the arena balcony. As she greedily gulps the pine-scented air, my chest tightens with the realization of how close I came to losing her. To losing myself.

But I did lose myself. I forfeited control of my being to the monster, Legion. And she brought me back. That hour as a Forsaken is filled with darkness and shadows. There’s very little I actually remember, and I can’t decide if that’s a mercy or not.

“Okay, let’s go.” She shakes out her limbs and turns in the direction of the town. I come in behind her, scooping her up before she finishes her first step. She yelps when her feet lift off the ground.

“I’ve got you.” My voice is gruff and it feels like I’m juggling pebbles in my throat. I start marching through the knee-high snow.

“Put me down. I can walk.” There’s no bite in her words. She doesn’t mean it.

“Want to.”

Her arms are already twined around my neck, and I catch her eyeing a spot on my shoulder to rest her head. I keep a secure hold on her with an arm under her knees and another wrapped around her lower back and rib cage. I have to force myself not to crush her to my chest.

She feels good in my arms. Maybe even too good.

It’s barely a minute before her head drops to my shoulder and her eyes slip shut. I release a silent chuckle when her breathing evens out. I don’t deserve her, I know that, but it doesn’t matter anymore.

This girl is mine—she just doesn’t realize it yet.

* * *

“Emberly.” I waited too long to wake her, but I’m not sorry. I could have walked around the world—twice—with her in my arms, her warm breath puffing against my neck. If she doesn’t wake soon, I’m going to have to dump her in the snow or risk giving in to the urge to find somewhere safe and lock her away from the world.

She snuggles her face into the curve between my neck and shoulder, and I swallow a groan. Next, the tip of her nose drags along the column of my throat, and a full-body shudder works its way down to my toes.

Was that intentional?

Pulling back, I search her face. Her eyes are half-lidded, and her gaze sleepy, but she ducks her chin to hide a smile.

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