Page 95 of The Mirror in the Mountain

My hand balled against his chest at the thought, before slowly flattening as I forced that fear away. “Sometimes I forget you’ve lived this all before. I’m sorry that you have to go through this again.”

“If we achieve what we should have during the first war, I won’t be,” Bash said grimly.

“Still, I wish I could save you the stress of it,” I murmured, kissing the line between his brows.

He arched an eyebrow. “Said the cause of the majority of it.”

I laughed, the sound of it almost startling. Bash pulled my head down, capturing the sound with his lips.

“When this war is over, my main priority is going to be making you laugh,” Bash murmured, a wisp of his longing seeming to curl around my heart.

“Here I thought your plan was to make me moan,” I said teasingly.

A smirk played at the corner of his mouth. “That too.”

“Along with a few minor endeavors like ruling the faerie realm,” I added flippantly. I was rewarded with a real, full smile this time that made my stomach flip.

We sat there, entwined with each other for a long moment. I knew we should at least try to rest, but despite my fatigue, the act felt impossible even as dawn steadily ticked closer.

Bash’s thumb ghosted over my cheek, his fingers winding into my hair. “What’s that look, Eva?”

I let out a sigh, my fingers lazily tracing the freckles on his neck. Gently, I connected the constellation hidden on his skin. His heart beat beneath my fingertips as I drew the bound shape of Andromeda, awaiting her death by the sea before someone unexpected saved her. Slowly, I worked my way down to where his freckles disappeared under his shirt—to where her outstretched arms were chained even amongst the stars. “I was just thinking about what I have left to do. What I’d like to do before my life is over.”

He stilled slightly. “And what is that?”

“I’d like the chance to explore this world,” I said longingly. “There’s so much of this realm I haven’t seen. So much left to visit together if we get the chance.”

“When,” Bash corrected quietly.

“And I always thought I’d have kids,” I said, watching as his eyes heated. I elbowed him, and he smiled shamelessly. We had talked about this once before, so long ago it seemed a lifetime ago. “One day.”

“When this war is over, we’ll have as many as you want.”

I laughed, throwing a pillow at him. “And what if I want ten?”

He looked far too delighted at the prospect. “Whateveryou want, hellion.”

I rolled my eyes. “Maybe not that many. But I’d like them to have siblings. A friend for them to grow up with, like we had.”

Bash nodded. “Someone to get into trouble with. And hopefully out again.”

I rolled over and propped my chin up on my hand.

“I’d like to accomplish more,” Bash said thoughtfully. “Before my time comes.”

“Oh?” I asked, still wrapped in him. “And what would you be remembered for?”

Bash’s mouth curved in a wistful smile. “For something more than just who I am, but what I did with my time. As someonewho was there for my people, and the people who needed me. For a strong arm, a steady heart…and an occasional moment of divine madness.”

He flashed me a quick, impish grin that left me breathless. The King of the Southlands and the Faewilds, far more concerned about his mark on those around him than his own mark on history.

“If I die tomorrow, I hope they remember what we tried to do,” I said hoarsely. “What we all risked, in the hopes for something better.”

Bash’s throat dipped in a telltale swallow. “I was hoping to have a few hundred years with you, hellion. But if tomorrow…If we?—”

I quieted him with a finger to his lips.

“It’ll break my heart if you stop believing that we can somehow defy the inevitable together,” I whispered. “Maybe it’s selfish, but I need you to believe for the both of us.”

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